• share
• favorite_border

Pembrolizumab, a drug that has effectively extended the lives of countless people with many types of cancer, has now been approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to treat people with metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma, the most common form of stomach cancer. The research that led to the approval was conducted at UCLA and 67 other sites in the U.S., Europe, South America and Asia.

• share
• favorite_border

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has awarded $5 million to researchers at UCLA to develop a resource and data center for millions of pieces of research, lab samples, statistics and other data aimed at boosting research into the effects of substance abuse on HIV/AIDS.

• share
• favorite_border

While children with type 1 and 2 diabetes may not be able to splurge on Halloween candy like most others, they don’t have to miss out entirely.

• share
• favorite_border

Elementary school children with craniofacial anomalies show the highest levels of anxiety, depression and difficulties in peer interactions when compared to youths with craniofacial defects in middle and high schools. The findings suggest that keeping a close watch for these signs and educating the child’s peers about their condition may be necessary for this age group.

• share
• favorite_border

Open-access device -- which can be built from instructions posted online -- has opened a new universe to brain scientists, allowing them to observe neurons firing, and even the creation of memories.

• share
• favorite_border

There is no “one size fits all approach” when it comes to treating breast cancer. The disease is made up of several subtypes, and ideally each type should be treated with therapies that target the unique underlying biological problems.

• share
• favorite_border

There’s no right age to switch to a geriatric specialist, but there are guidelines that can help determine whether a geriatrician – a physician who specializes in the healthcare needs of people who are aging – is the right choice for you or your loved one.

• share
• favorite_border

A new UCLA study found that healthy nonsmokers experienced increased adrenaline levels in their heart after one electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) with nicotine. The findings are published in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

• share
• favorite_border

A new UCLA-led study published in the September issue of the peer-reviewed journal Transplantation traces how the first three “kidney voucher” cases led to 25 lifesaving kidney transplants across the United States.

• share
• favorite_border

The brain cancer program at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCLA Brain Tumor Center has been designated a Specialized Program of Research Excellence, or SPORE by the National Cancer Institute, making it one of only five brain cancer programs nationwide to receive this national recognition and substantial research funding.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA study reveals enhanced connections between brain regions that may compensate for underlying dysfunction

• share
• favorite_border

A UCLA study has uncovered the mechanisms by which treatment-resistant melanoma become vulnerable to cessation of a class of drugs called MAP kinase (MAPK)-targeted inhibitors. By identifying these mechanisms, the scientists discovered that therapeutic benefits for patients could derive from a one-two punch of a drug holiday of MAPK inhibitors followed by a class of drugs called DNA repair inhibitors.

• share
• favorite_border

For young women heading off to college, it can be a time filled with the excitement of living away from home. This new sense of independence should also include taking charge of one’s own health.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have initiated a phase 1 clinical trial to test a novel cancer treatment for certain kinds of cancers that have a specific tumor marker called NY-ESO-1.

• share
• favorite_border

A UCLA-led study of changes in gene activity in BRAF-mutated melanoma suggests these epigenomic alterations are not random but can explain how tumors are already developing resistance as they shrink in response to treatment with a powerful class of drugs called MAP kinase (MAPK)-targeted inhibitors.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA has received an $8.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to research ways to help donated livers last longer and improve outcomes for transplant recipients.

• share
• favorite_border

In a two-year study at UCLA, nearly two-thirds of people with advanced melanoma responded positively to a treatment that combines the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab with a herpes virus called talimogene laherpareovec, or T-VEC. Researchers led by Dr. Antoni Ribas found that the treatment's side effects were manageable, and comparable to side effects for people who took either pembrolizumab or T-VEC as a standalone treatment.

• share
• favorite_border

Females tend to report more symptoms—and more severe ones--and may also take longer to recover from brain injuries than their male counterparts.

• share
• favorite_border

Each fall, parents pack their college freshmen off to school, fingers crossed for a solid start on the road to adulthood. But some students don’t find their footing and return home after a semester or two to regroup.

• share
• favorite_border

Brief interventions in a primary care clinic can reduce patients’ risky substance use by 4.5 days per month — a 40 percent decline among the Latino patients surveyed — compared with people who did not receive the brief intervention.

• share
• favorite_border

Study finds no one does well with less than seven hours of sleep; more than 11 hours suboptimal, too

• share
• favorite_border

For young women heading off to college, it can be a time filled with the excitement of living away from home. This new sense of independence should also include taking charge of one’s own health.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers successfully used a gene that suppresses cholesterol levels as part of a treatment to reduce plaque in mice with a disorder called familial hypercholesterolemia. In a preclinical study, researchers found that the gene, LeXis, lowered cholesterol and blockages in the arteries, and the treatment appeared to reduce the build-up of fat in liver cells.

• share
• favorite_border

Cancer treatments have many effects on patients – some apparent and some less so. One of the most noticeable changes is a change in taste.

• share
• favorite_border

More than 80 percent of women living with a history of breast or ovarian cancer at high-risk of having a gene mutation have never taken the test that can detect it.

• share
• favorite_border

Women who have gone through menopause and who have been using a vaginal form of estrogen therapy do not have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer than women who have not been using any type of estrogen.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA researchers have developed a new approach that could eventually help young people respond better to treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The scientists discovered in mice that when the production of nucleotides -- also known as the building blocks of life -- is stopped, a "DNA replication stress response" is activated. The replication stress response is a cellular monitoring system that usually senses and resolves DNA damage, but instead allows cancer cells to survive. The team, led by Dr. Caius Radu, a member of UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, used results of the study to devise a three-drug combination treatment regimen, which has proven to kill cancer cells and eradicate acute lymphoblastic leukemia in mouse models.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA researchers have discovered a new way to activate the stem cells in the hair follicle to make hair grow. The research, led by scientists Heather Christofk and William Lowry, may lead to new drugs that could promote hair growth for people with baldness or alopecia, which is hair loss associated with such factors as hormonal imbalance, stress, aging or chemotherapy treatment.

• share
• favorite_border

It is that time of year for kids returning to school to get vaccinated before the school year starts. But the controversy over the HPV vaccine continues to rage as it has since its introduction in the U.S. in 2014.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA Health hospitals in Westwood and Santa Monica placed No. 1 in Los Angeles, No. 2 in California and No. 7 in the nation in the 2017–18 U.S. News and World Report rankings. “UCLA Health is proud to be recognized for providing world-class treatment to patients from greater Los Angeles, across the state and around the globe,” said Johnese Spisso, president of UCLA Health, CEO of UCLA Hospital System and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences.

• share
• favorite_border

Sarcoma is a rare and deadly form of cancer occurring in the bones and connective tissue that affects individuals of all ages. Its aggressiveness, rarity and diversity continue to hinder efforts to identify effective therapies for people with this malignancy. Patient-derived orthotopic xenografts (PDOX) are unique models where a patient’s individual tumor is grown in mice. Such xenografts have long shown great promise in modeling how sarcoma and other cancers can respond to and resist therapies, but their feasibility for use in individual patients in clinical settings remains unknown.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA-led research finds that the way estrogen therapy for menopause is delivered doesn’t affect risk or benefit. What DOES make a difference with the commonly used conjugated equine estrogen, plus progestogen, is dosage.

• share
• favorite_border

The UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind program, which fights childhood obesity by installing comprehensive fitness programs in middle and high schools, has formed an academic advisory council of leading experts in physical education, fitness and wellness.

• share
• favorite_border

Children with autism have a tell-tale difference on brain tests compared with other children

• share
• favorite_border

Fifty years ago, this summer, a social phenomenon emerged in California and swept the nation. Called the “Summer of Love,” it began with tens of thousands of “hippies” converging in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district during the summer of 1967. Many were against the Vietnam War and consumerism, and passionate about music and meditation. There was widespread use of illicit drugs such as LSD and cannabis, as well as legal substances including alcohol, tobacco and tranquilizers. Fast forward to 2017. The bohemian “flower children” of the 1960’s are now a formidable segment of the nation’s baby boomer generation. Not surprisingly, many in this age group, now largely in their 50s and 60s, have continued to struggle with drug and alcohol abuse. And it is changing the face of addiction in America.

• share
• favorite_border

Episodic memory is the way we remember life events, big and small. Poor episodic memory, a common feature of schizophrenia, limits the ability to form relationships with others.

• share
• favorite_border

Summer colds might seem rare, but you’re actually just as likely to catch one in the summer as in the winter. Why?

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA Health dietitians Erin Morse and Dana Hunnes share their tips for hosting a healthy but festive Fourth of July party.

• share
• favorite_border

Symptoms of PTSD can include irritability, isolation, agitation, jumpiness, nightmares, sleep disturbances and substance abuse. All of these can take a toll not just on the person with PTSD, but on their loved ones as well.

• share
• favorite_border

Two dietitians -- Erin Morse and Dana Hunnes -- share tips on how to have a festive Fourth of July party while keeping it healthy.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have identified gut microbiota that interact with brain regions associated with mood and behavior. This may be the first time that behavioral and neurobiological differences associated with microbial composition in healthy humans have been identified.

• share
• favorite_border

The impact of excessive smartphone use isn't permanent; used in bed, they may disrupt circadian clocks; researchers explore apps to improve ADHD treatment

• share
• favorite_border

A streamlined and integrated method of tracking medical records called a laboratory health information exchange narrowed the gap in anti-retroviral therapy and viral suppression between HIV-positive blacks and whites.

• share
• favorite_border

For college students, summer can be the time for a new lesson: how to take charge of their health.

• share
• favorite_border

HIV-positive women with CMV in their urine at the time of labor and delivery are more than five times likelier than HIV-positive women without CMV to transmit HIV to their infants. The research also found that they are nearly 30 times likelier to transmit CMV to their infants.

• share
• favorite_border

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA awards 2017 Swtizer Prize to Dr. Huda Zoghbi, a neurologist who revealed the molecular basis of neurological disorders.

• share
• favorite_border

Physician shares advice on how families can talk to dad and encourage him to take care of himself.

• share
• favorite_border

The UC Blum Federation has released a compendium of research working toward reducing poverty and improving health for all populations.

• share
• favorite_border

Parents don’t need to talk about their trauma to share their struggles, Instead, they should explain the PTSD-related behavior their children might be witnessing.