• share
• favorite_border

In a new study, UCLA researchers hypothesized that simple biomarkers — urinary stress hormones dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine, and cortisol — would be associated with more calcium buildup in the coronary arteries, which indicates the presence of coronary heart disease, and that this effect would be stronger in women than in men. However, the researchers found that this relationship was actually similar in women and men: Although women had higher average levels of urine stress hormones than men, the association between stress and having asymptomatic coronary heart disease as measured by coronary calcium was similar in both genders. In particular, urinary cortisol was a strong independent predictor of asymptomatic coronary heart disease.

• share
• favorite_border

Zika viral load and the degree of Zika symptoms during pregnancy are not necessarily associated with problems during pregnancy or fetal abnormalities at birth. The presence of antibodies to previously acquired dengue fever also is not necessarily linked to abnormalities during pregnancy or at birth.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at UCLA have developed a molecular compound that improves balance and coordination. The drug, called CLR01, also reduced the amount of a toxic protein in the brain thought to promote development of the disorder.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA scientists discovered that changes to the genes that shortened the Galapagos cormorant's wings are the same genes that go awry in a group of human bone disorders characterized by stunted arms and legs. The findings shed light on the genetic mechanisms underlying the evolution of limb size and could eventually lead to new treatments for people with skeletal ciliopathies.

• share
• favorite_border

Your long-awaited vacation is right around the corner. As the calendar days peel away and you compile your to-do checklist, the issue of jet lag looms if your getaway involves crossing multiple time zones. “Anyone who has ever suffered jet lag knows firsthand that our bodies are persistent in how they keep track of time,” says Dr. Alon Avidan, director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center. “During jet lag, a rapid shift in the light-dark cycle temporarily disrupts one’s normal sleep-wake pattern, and our bodies become desynchronized.”

• share
• favorite_border

A new study by UCLA scientists has found that the breakthrough immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab can be more effective in improving survival in people with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) if they have previously received radiation therapy, compared to those without a history of radiation treatment.

• share
• favorite_border

Deletions or duplications of DNA along 22nd chromosome create anatomical features, detected by MRI scans, and hint at biological underpinnings of these disorders

• share
• favorite_border

While many insects pose no threat to us, some are cause for concern.

• share
• favorite_border

A group of dermatologists and oncologists published an article in the March issue of the journal Future Medicine asking the preventive task force to revise its stance on full body skin inspections.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers from UCLA have developed a laboratory test that helps physicians determine which people with gonorrhea may be more treatable with an antibiotic that has not been recommended since 2007 because of concerns that the resistance to the drug was growing.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study of obese people suggests that changes in their brains’ reward regions make them more prone to overeating, and that women and men exhibit different brain activity related to overeating.

• share
• favorite_border

While “empty nest syndrome” is not a formal clinical diagnosis, most psychiatrists agree it’s a legitimate emotional moment when a young adult leaves home and the parents are faced with an empty bedroom—and silence.

• share
• favorite_border

Americans and Norwegians with systemic sclerosis had higher levels of bacteria that can cause inflammation and lower levels of bacteria that are believed to protect against inflammation compared with healthy people.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA scientists team found that a worm commonly used in lab research possesses a pair of genes that encode both a poison and its antidote. The genes represent one of the clearest examples to date of a “selfish genetic element” at the molecular level.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA scientists have discovered a dendritic cell vaccine that amplifies the response of the immune system in people with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common form of lung cancer. The study, which is the first to test the vaccine in humans, has important clinical implications as the method could boost the cancer-killing power of anti-PD-1 immunotherapies that are currently being evaluated in NSCLC and other advanced cancers, which are very difficult to treat successfully.

• share
• favorite_border

The issue of youth suicide is much in the news these days. Middle school students are just as likely to die from suicide as from traffic accidents, states the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• share
• favorite_border

Study shows that slow-moving meditation practice works just as well as talk therapy, and better than medication

• share
• favorite_border

A new study by scientists at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center could be a significant step toward understanding how certain cases of advanced melanoma shield themselves from pembrolizumab, the FDA-approved treatment that harnesses the immune system to attack the disease.

• share
• favorite_border

Mosquitoes can transmit West Nile virus, which is not dangerous to healthy people but can be more serious for the elderly or for those with weakened immune systems,

• share
• favorite_border

Nearly one-third of beneficial bacteria in baby’s intestinal tract comes directly from mother’s milk, according to study of 107 mother-baby pairs

• share
• favorite_border

Research shows for the first time an association between the gut microbiota and the brain regions involved in the processing of sensory information from their bodies. Also, the researchers gained insight into the connections among childhood trauma, brain development and gut microbiome composition.

• share
• favorite_border

To help women get an optimal ultrasound of the baby’s heart, one likely to be able to detect a heart defect, if present, a UCLA expert recommends they seek a provider that offers advanced technology and a thorough screening of the heart. Here are some questions patients should ask.

• share
• favorite_border

Less than half of individuals with peripheral artery disease, which is a narrowing of arteries to the limbs, stomach and head, are treated with appropriate medications and lifestyle counseling. These findings highlight the need to improve the quality of care for this high-risk group of individuals.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA scientists have discovered specific genetic changes in the placentas of women who gave birth to growth-restricted infants.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA study identifies a potential test that may help select patients for whom combination therapy could be most effective

• share
• favorite_border

An abundance of rain – especially in California this past winter – has helped insects to flourish. While many insects pose no threat to us, some are cause for concern.

• share
• favorite_border

Forty-four percent of people who held jobs before contracting a condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome were jobless one year after they were discharged from the hospital, costing them an average of about $27,000 in earnings.

• share
• favorite_border

As summer nears and more people prepare to go out in the sun, Dr. Philip Scumpia, a dermatologist and dermatopathologist at UCLA Health, can discuss the conflicting recommendations over full body skin inspections.

• share
• favorite_border

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration today approved a new drug to treat people with hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer. The drug, regorafenib, is the first and only therapy approved by the FDA in over a decade to show significant improvement in survival for patients with the disease after standard treatments have failed.

• share
• favorite_border

Dr. Richard Shemin, the Robert and Kelly Day Professor of Surgery at the David Geffen UCLA School of Medicine at UCLA and chief of cardiac surgery, has been named to the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons

• share
• favorite_border

Dr. Abbas Ardehali, a professor of surgery and medicine in the division of cardiothoracic surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been selected a 2017 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations.

• share
• favorite_border

While “empty nest syndrome” is not a formal clinical diagnosis or a confirmed mental health disorder listed in the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, most psychiatrists agree it’s a legitimate emotional moment when a young adult leaves home and the parents are faced with an empty bedroom—and silence.

• share
• favorite_border

More than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies – and the number is growing each year.

• share
• favorite_border

People who are addicted to opioids and receiving their medical care in a general health care setting were more than 10 times as likely to die during a four-year period than people without substance abuse problems, UCLA researchers have found.

• share
• favorite_border

New research by scientists at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA overturns a long-standing paradigm about how axons grow during embryonic development. The findings of the study, led by Samantha Butler, associate professor of neurobiology, could help scientists replicate or control the way axons grow, which may be applicable for diseases that affect the nervous system, such as diabetes, as well as injuries that sever nerves.

• share
• favorite_border

According to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 percent of new HIV diagnoses in the United States in 2014 occurred among young people ages 13 to 24, 80 percent of whom were gay and bisexual males.

• share
• favorite_border

For some baby boomers, getting ready for a routine visit with their doctor is like training for a marathon. Some patients want to be in the best shape possible before stepping on that scale and getting those lab results. Others are so anxious about their vital stats being below par that they consider postponing or even canceling their examinations, doctors report.

• share
• favorite_border

Physicians of low-income breast cancer survivors are more likely to implement recommended survivorship care if the survivors also receive counseling and a tailored survivorship care plan, a study led by UCLA researchers has found.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers predict that 13,500 new cases of colon and rectal cancers will be diagnosed in Americans under age 50 this year.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA scientists have unlocked an important mechanism that allows chemotherapy-carrying nanoparticles—extremely small objects between 1 and 100 nanometers (a billionth of a meter)—to directly access pancreatic cancer tumors, thereby improving the ability to kill cancer cells and hence leading to more effective treatment outcome of the disease. The researchers also confirmed the key role of a peptide (an extremely small protein) in regulating vascular access of the nanoparticle to the cancer site.

• share
• favorite_border

In October 2016, Jonathan Koch, a 51-year-old entertainment executive from Los Angeles, underwent a 17-hour procedure to replace the hand he lost to a mysterious, life-threatening illness. Six months after surgery by the UCLA hand transplant team and countless hours of physical therapy, Koch continues to make remarkable strides in his recovery.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA scientists have found that conscious sedation — a type of anesthesia in which patients remain awake but are sleepy and pain-free — is a safe and viable option to general anesthesia for people undergoing a minimally invasive heart procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

• share
• favorite_border

People with hypertriglyceridemia often are told to change their diet and lose weight. But a high-fat diet isn’t necessarily the cause for everyone with the condition. UCLA researchers have discovered a subset of people with hypertriglyceridemia whose bodies produce autoantibodies — immune-response molecules that attack their own proteins — causing high levels of triglycerides in the blood.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Statistical mapping technique shows widely dispersed population could pose challenges for initiative

• share
• favorite_border

According to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 percent of new HIV diagnoses in the United States in 2014 occurred among young people ages 13 to 24, 80 percent of whom were gay and bisexual males.

• share
• favorite_border

California experienced record rainfall this year, and may have even made headway against the state’s historic drought. Now that lush landscapes abound and spring is upon us, what does this mean for allergy sufferers? The wet weather can be a harbinger of intense allergy-related symptoms such as nasal drainage, sinus congestion, headaches and shortness of breath according to Dr. Maria Garcia-Lloret, an allergist with UCLA Health. It’s not the rain that causes the symptoms, according to Garcia-Lloret, but the rain’s effect on trees, grass and weed pollen.

• share
• favorite_border

Large, multi-site study sheds light and dispels misconceptions about drinking in people with serious mental illness.

• share
• favorite_border

Allergy expert Dr. Rita Kachru, assistant clinical professor, division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy at UCLA Health, can explain what it really means to be allergic.