Feature Channels: Public Health

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A new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has found that lower levels of vitamin D in the blood increase the risk of clinical relapse in patients with Ulcerative Colitis (UC), an inflammatory bowel disease that causes long-lasting inflammation and ulcers in the colon. The study was published in the February issue of the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

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Luis Martinez, Ph.D., is an infectious disease researcher selected as a Fellow in the second cohort of the AAAS Alan I. Leshner Leadership Institute for Public Engagement with Science.

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A study by researchers at the University of Southampton shows that antibiotics may be an effective treatment for acute non-complicated appendicitis in children, instead of surgery. The systematic review of existing literature is published in Pediatrics.

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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterial scourge that is resistant to most common antibiotics and thus difficult to treat, particularly in children where it commonly causes complicated skin and skin structure infections. In a randomized, controlled clinical trial — the first of its kind — a multi-institution research team reports that daptomycin, part of a new class of antibiotics currently approved only for use in adults, is effective and well-tolerated in children.

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In this month’s release, find new embargoed research about: Affordable Care Act television news content; housing assistance’s link to resident health; and the effect of CVS ending tobacco sales on cigarette purchasing.

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Future outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) can be controlled effectively and quickly with vaccinations – saving millions of pounds and hundreds of thousands of livestock – according to research by the University of Warwick.

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Saint Louis University pharmacologist Daniela Salvemini, Ph.D., will use a $363,000 grant from The Mayday Fund to advance her work to understand pain in order to develop new painkillers, partnering with physicians who treat four debilitating conditions.

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A UAB study shows specialized treatment sites contribute to better survival rates for those with acute leukemia.

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Genomic testing of biopsies from patients with deadly, treatment-resistant cancerous blood syndromes called histiocytoses allowed doctors to identify genes fueling the ailments and use targeted molecular drugs to successfully treat them. Researchers report their data in Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight (JCI Insight). They recommend the regular use of comprehensive genomic profiling at diagnosis to positively impact clinical care,

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A review of worldwide studies has found that add-on treatment with high-dose b-vitamins - including B6, B8 and B12 - can significantly reduce symptoms of schizophrenia more than standard treatments alone.

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More than 17.5 million people die from cardiovascular disease (CVD) each year – making it the number one cause of death worldwide and rates of CVD in low- and middle-income countries have been climbing at an alarming rate.

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New UF/IFAS Extension program aims to help people around Florida maintain healthy blood pressure.

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Rather than inciting fear, anti-smoking campaigns should tap into smokers’ memories and tug at their heartstrings, finds a new study by Michigan State University researchers.

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Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have discovered why a lethal superbug is so resistant to the last line antibiotic meaning potential treatments could now be developed to fight the killer infection.

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More than six decades after Castleman disease (CD) was first described, a group of experts from Penn Medicine and other institutions around the world has established the first set of diagnostic criteria for a life-threatening subtype of the condition, idiopathic multicentric CD (iMCD), which is often misdiagnosed as other illnesses.

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Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, MD, and colleagues at the John A. Moran Center and Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, were looking for a way to tease apart the effects of preeclampsia on the risk of developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), an eye disease found in premature infants. Their results, and the model they developed, were published February 14, 2017, in Scientific Reports.

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Keeping blood sugar levels within a safe range is key to managing both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. In a new finding that could lead to fewer complications for diabetes patients, Yale School of Medicine researchers have found that changes in the size of mitochondria in a small subset of brain cells play a crucial role in safely maintaining blood sugar levels.

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In an effort to one day eliminate the need for an annual flu shot, a group of researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are exploring the surface of influenza viruses, which are covered by a protein called “hemagglutinin” (HA). This particular protein is used like a key by viruses to open cells and infect them, making it an ideal target for efforts to help the body's immune system fight off a wide range of influenza strains.

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Barry Alto, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of medical entomology, said scientists need better diagnostic tools to detect Zika virus to meet challenges to public health. He is working with collaborator Steven Benner at Firebird Biomolecular Sciences LLC to develop methods they hope should take about an hour – far less time than current testing methods.

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Nurses in all roles and specialties face complex ethical situations that challenge their values, giving rise to moral distress. New approaches to overcoming the challenges of moral distress by increasing moral resilience are presented in a supplement to the February issue of the American Journal of Nursing. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Australia could save AUD $3.4 billion (USD $2.3 billion) in healthcare costs over the remaining lifetimes of all Australians alive in 2010 by instituting a combination of taxes on unhealthy foods and subsidies on fruits and vegetables, according to a new study.

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A study from the Monell Center and collaborators provides new insight into the causes of trimethylaminura (TMAU), a genetically-transmitted metabolic disorder that leads to accumulation of a chemical that smells like rotting fish. Previously attributed solely to mutations in the FMO3 gene, the study identifies additional genes that may contribute to TMAU. The findings indicate that genetic testing to identify FMO3 mutations may not be sufficient to identify all underlying causes of TMAU.

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ISPOR published a new Task Force Report, “Mapping to Estimate Health-State Utility from Non–Preference-Based Outcome Measures: An ISPOR Good Practices for Outcomes Research Task Force Report,” in the January 2017 issue of Value in Health.

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For hundreds of millions of years, ticks have survived on Earth by sucking blood from their victims for days, often leaving behind terrible diseases as a thank-you note. But no one has ever looked at why ticks, themselves, are able to survive while harboring bacteria, viruses and parasites. Now, for the first time, scientists have decoded how the ingenious tick immune system fights a myriad of microbes.

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A team of scientists have invented an instrument for measuring calories in social media. This "lexicocalorimeter" gathers tens of millions of geo-tagged Twitter posts from across the United States and presents a portrait of each state's calorie balance based on food and activity words. The results correlate closely with traditional measures of well-being and the approach could become a new remote-sensing tool for public health officials. The results were published in PLOS ONE.

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ACOEM applauds rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that will better protect workers from hazards of silica exposure.

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How many patients die in the hospital as a result of preventable medical errors? While debate continues over estimates based on flawed data, the US healthcare system can and must implement effective strategies to reduce adverse events and deaths, according to a special perspective article in the March Journal of Patient Safety. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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UAB names new leadership for Gorgas Center for Geographic Medicine.

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Patients with inflammatory bowel disease are more likely to see dramatic shifts in the make-up of the community of microbes in their gut than healthy people, according to a study published in Nature Microbiology. The results help physicians understand the disease more fully and potentially offer new ways to track the disease and monitor patients.

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Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York have discovered that a protein called Importin-11 protects the anti-cancer protein PTEN from destruction by transporting it into the cell nucleus. The study, “The nuclear transport receptor Importin-11 is a tumor suppressor that maintains PTEN protein,” which will be published online February 13 in The Journal of Cell Biology, suggests that the loss of Importin-11 may destabilize PTEN, leading to the development of lung, prostate, and other cancers.

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ISPOR published a new Task Force Report, “Clinician-Reported Outcome Assessments of Treatment Benefit: Report of the ISPOR Clinical Outcome Assessment Emerging Good Practices Task Force,” in the January 2017 issue of Value in Health.

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At 2:30 on a Wednesday afternoon, I headed down to 3001 Market Street to meet Katie Deschaine, a Senior Applications Manager. She plays an important role in operations of the Health System’s electronic health records, EPIC, but I was there to see the epic performance by her therapy dog Robert in brightening the days of patients at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

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The program's approach can also serve as a guide to ongoing and future control efforts of other emerging mosquito-borne illnesses globally.

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New research has identified a previously unknown mechanism involved in the immune response of lupus patients that could provide an alternative therapy target for the estimated 1.5 million Americans and five million-plus people worldwide suffering from this disease.

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A bladder cancer drug discovered and developed at The University of Kansas Cancer Center is set to become its first cancer drug to go from bench to bedside.

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Currently, more than 34 million people in the U.S. care for terminally ill love ones, but few resources are available to help them navigate the challenges they encounter. A study at the University of Missouri School of Medicine found that nearly one-quarter of caregivers were moderately or severely depressed and nearly one-third had moderate or severe anxiety. The researchers recommend that health providers remember to treat the whole family, providing ongoing screening to family caregivers to identify early signs of depression and anxiety.

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If the last blast of winter has you longing for sun-soaked beaches in tropical locales, be sure to stop at the drug store for sunscreen and insect repellant before leaving for spring vacation.

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Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. What can you do to gain the benefits of prevention?

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Recognizing a critical need to address disparities in cancer care, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has been designated as an ECHO superhub for oncology by the ECHO Institute at the University of New Mexico Health Science Center (UNMHSC). MD Anderson is one of just nine ECHO superhub sites in the world and the first focused on oncology.

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Think you have an idea that will change health care but need the means to bring your innovation to fruition? Register for UC Health Hack, a two-day interdisciplinary hackathon that will bring students, physicians, researchers, industry professionals and community members together to grapple with integrative medicine and global health issues in a fast-paced competition.

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Studies abound that point to a role for plain old aspirin in keeping deadly cancers at bay. While aspirin is not yet part of mainstream treatment for any cancer, it is recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for certain adults to help prevent colorectal cancer.

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A Penn State expert says a new report on cancer disparities invites a deeper examination by local health care organizations about the work that needs to be done.

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Experts from the Stony Brook University Trauma Center share some tips that go beyond the usual winter safety driving advice and touch upon those often overlooked inconveniences that winter storms leave behind in order to decrease injuries and major accidents.

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues at Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine and in London and Singapore, have conducted novel whole genome sequencing of a family in which two of four children were affected by Kawasaki disease. They have identified plausible gene variants that predispose some children to developing the disease.

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A major grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been made for a research programme to develop novel test protocols to accelerate development and bring to market, the next generation of vector control products.

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The University of Louisville School of Dentistry will collaborate with the Red Bird Clinic, Inc., to offer comprehensive, general dentistry.