University of Virginia Cancer Center has earned recognition as a national center of excellence for its care of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a cancer of the bone marrow that often leads to leukemia.
Expanding Medicaid coverage is associated with better outcomes for heart surgery patients, according to a study led by University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers.
Building on its pioneering work to better control type 1 diabetes, the University of Virginia Center for Diabetes Technology is using new UVA investment and four new team members to seek better treatments.
A new discovery may be the key to stopping shortages of vital blood-clotting cells that can represent the difference between life and death. The finding also could offer big benefits for premature babies.
The Inova Health System (Inova) and the University of Virginia (UVA) announced today that they have awarded $450,000 to nine UVA-Inova joint research teams for projects focused on how to better predict, prevent and treat disease.
A pilot study among young children with Type 1 diabetes found that a University of Virginia-developed artificial pancreas helped study participants better control their condition.
A new technique will let a single cancer research lab do the work of dozens, dramatically accelerating the search for cures. The technique will benefit every disease driven by gene mutations, from cystic fibrosis to Alzheimer’s.
University of Virginia Cancer Center has again been honored as one of just 69 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers for its work researching new and better cancer treatments.
The University of Virginia Health System is conducting a research study to determine if exercise and reduced-nicotine cigarettes can ease the withdrawal symptoms associated with reducing nicotine dependence.
Researchers at the School of Medicine are hoping that the power of the internet – and compelling personal experiences – will help reach people with HIV who are neglecting their health because of fear, stigma or substance abuse. The researchers are testing an online program they have developed to address the problems they see most commonly among people who are failing to take their HIV medications.
An online calculator predicts people's risk for heart disease and diabetes more accurately than traditional methods, a large study has found. Creators hope it will prompt patients to make lifestyle changes that would spare them the suffering and expense of avoidable illnesses.
Researchers have identified a hormone that helps prevent the spread of bacterial pneumonia through the body, and that discovery may offer a simple way to help vulnerable patients.
In 2015, nearly 57 percent of all poison exposure cases nationwide involved prescription or over-the-counter medicines. So during National Poisoning Prevention Week, the Blue Ridge Poison Center at University of Virginia Health System is encouraging people to keep all medicines stored out of the sight and reach of children, read labels carefully before giving or taking any medicine, and to check their home for expired or unused medicines and dispose of them properly.
UVA researchers have again shown that a part of the body thought to be disconnected from the immune system actually interacts with it, and that discovery helps explain cases of male infertility, certain autoimmune diseases and even the failure of cancer vaccines.
Researchers have reversed depression symptoms in mice simply by feeding them a probiotic bacteria found in yogurt. They also discovered a specific mechanism for how the bacteria affect mood, providing a direct link between gut health and mental health.
A sweeping international effort is connecting the dots between genes in our fat cells and our risk for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The researchers have identified approximately 90 genes found in fat that could play important roles in such diseases – and could be targeted to develop new treatments or cures.
A host of studies have demonstrated that unconscious bias – attitudes that affect our decisions and actions without us realizing it – can impact patients’ health and wellness. But what can be done to address it? A symposium at the University of Virginia is bringing together national experts, UVA faculty and community members to discuss solutions that can apply not only to healthcare, but universally. The symposium will cover a range of topics, including the role of the media in unconscious bias.
The University of Virginia Health System is teaming up with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute to study novice drivers with autism to determine if they would benefit from specialized training to help them become better, safer drivers and feel more comfortable behind the wheel. Researchers will use a high-tech driving simulator and on-road driving to compare the driving performance of novice drivers with autism with those of novice drivers without autism.
Two drugs used to treat asthma and allergies may offer a way to prevent a form of pneumonia that can kill up to 40 percent of people who contract it, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have found.
University of Virginia Health System has named Jose Oberholzer, MD, a researcher and surgeon who has performed more than 1,000 transplant-related surgeries, as the new director of the Charles O. Strickler Transplant Center. Oberholzer, 49, comes to UVA from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he has served as Chief of the Division of Transplantation and Director of the Islet and Pancreas Transplant Program since 2007.
A blood test used to determine the health and well-being of dialysis patients produces worryingly inconsistent results depending on which testing method is used, new research reveals.
Clinical trials are now enrolling to provide the final tests for a University of Virginia-developed artificial pancreas to automatically monitor and regulate blood-sugar levels in people with Type 1 diabetes. Participants in the trials will live at home and follow their regular routines to examine how well the device works in real-life settings.
University of Virginia Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters have appointed Dr. Jay Gangemi as surgical director of the new regional collaborative for cardiac care at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. The UVA/CHKD collaboration, which has been in development over the past year, combines the efforts of pediatric cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, cardiac anesthesiologists, intensive care physicians and cardiac support professionals from both institutions with the goal of improving outcomes for children with complex congenital heart defects.
Nurse practitioners are increasingly providing house calls for frail and elderly patients, eclipsing any other specialties in number of home visits in 2013, new research reveals.
The Affordable Care Act helped make recommended cancer screening more affordable and accessible for millions of Americans, according to new University of Virginia research.
A study of more than 100,000 surgical cases at University of Virginia Health System found patients’ pain scores improved even as doctors gave fewer opioids. As health officials across the U.S. look for ways to combat a opioid addiction crisis, UVA researchers believe their findings highlight one way to address the problem.
Together with the other 68 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers, University of Virginia Cancer Center supports the latest human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination recommendations to help prevent HPV-related cancers. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends two doses of the HPV vaccine at least six months apart for 11- to 12-year-old boys and girls.
University of Virginia Medical Center’s bariatric surgery and cancer care programs have earned 2017 national Women’s Choice Awards from WomenCertified Inc. The UVA Cancer Center earned its America’s Best Hospitals for Cancer Care award based on criteria that include the availability of comprehensive patient care and research, as well as patient satisfaction.
University of Virginia Health System researchers have developed a potential therapeutic treatment for dry eye, with human testing to start in March. The drug differs from other treatments of dry eye in that it aims to treat the cause of dry eye instead of masking the symptoms. About the drug The drug, Lacripep (TM), is a topical eye drop that functions differently from conventional approaches.
A rare and potent type of immune cell has been discovered around the brain, suggesting the cells may play a critical role in battling Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. By harnessing the cells' power, doctors may be able to develop new treatments for disease, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries – even migraines.
In an important step in the battle against osteoporosis, a serious brittle bone disease that affects millions, researchers have identified more than a dozen genes amid the vast human genome likely responsible for bone density and strength. The crafty approach the researchers used to find these genes – essentially identifying needles in a haystack – could speed the development of new and better treatments for osteoporosis and many other diseases.
An online program designed to help people overcome insomnia significantly improves both the amount and quality of sleep, a new study has found. The study is the first to look closely at the effects of the Sleep Healthy Using the Internet (SHUTi) program on people with health conditions that could be affecting their sleep.
University of Virginia Health System has named Jeffrey Keller, PhD, as its first Chief Innovation Officer to help turn scientific discoveries into new and better treatments to serve patients at UVA and beyond. With his wide-ranging work and educational history, Keller’s aim is to serve as a facilitator between clinicians faced with challenges to improving patient care and researchers who may have found a solution in their labs.
Most women don’t know that having dense breasts increases their risk for breast cancer and reduces a mammogram’s ability to detect cancer, according to a University of Virginia School of Medicine study. A random phone survey of 1,024 Virginia women ages 35 to 70, conducted by the UVA Center for Survey Research, found that just 1 in 8 women were aware that breast density is a risk factor for breast cancer, while just 1 in 5 women knew that dense breasts reduced the sensitivity of mammograms to find tumors.
Zinc is essential for wound healing, for vision, for DNA creation, for our senses of taste and smell, even for sexual health. But despite its importance, scientists have never fully understood the mechanism that moves the mineral through the body – until now. Researchers have, for the first time, created detailed blueprints of the molecular moving vans that ferry this important mineral everywhere it’s needed through the blood.
Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have developed an experimental vaccine to battle melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. It’s an example of cutting-edge immunotherapy, the harnessing of the immune system’s power to battle disease. But it also represents a fulfillment of potential UVA recognized 25 years ago. In 1991, with financial support from businessman Beirne B.
Rural Appalachia has gone from having the lowest cancer death rate in the country to the highest – and that’s just part of a growing cancer crisis in the region, new research from the School of Medicine suggests. Rural Appalachia has seen disturbing trends across the continuum of cancer care, from screening to diagnosis to treatment, survival and mortality, even as the rest of the country makes major strides in the battle against the disease.
The human genome is far more complex than thought, with genes functioning in an unexpected fashion that scientists have wrongly assumed must indicate cancer, research indicates.
New research offers unprecedented insights into the causes of childhood diarrhea, the second-leading cause of death of children worldwide, and suggests that the role of pathogens has been vastly underestimated.
To harness the power of technology to help children live healthier lives, the Karen S. Rheuban Center for Telehealth at University of Virginia Health System is helping create four school-based telehealth centers in Bland County and Martinsville. The project aims to provide children with conditions from autism to asthma better access to specialists and coordinated care in a region with a shortage of healthcare providers.
A study published today in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine offers the most in-depth assessment yet of the safety and effectiveness of a high-tech alternative to brain surgery to treat the uncontrollable shaking caused by the most common movement disorder. And the news is very good.
For the fourth consecutive year, the University of Virginia Cancer Center at UVA Medical Center has been honored among 100 hospitals and health systems with great oncology programs by Becker’s Hospital Review, a national healthcare publication. UVA is the only health system in Virginia named to this year’s list.
Researchers have found a flaw in the armor of the most aggressive form of lung cancer, a weakness doctors may be able to exploit to stop the disease. This vulnerability stems from the very aggressiveness that makes the cancer so deadly.
U.S. News and World Report’s 2016-2017 “Best Hospitals” guide has recognized eight University of Virginia Health System specialties and ranked UVA as the No. 1 hospital in Virginia.
A new, epidemic strain of C. difficile is proving alarmingly deadly, and new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine not only explains why but also suggests a way to stop it.
A new smartphone app is helping University of Virginia Health System surgery patients follow a treatment program to better prepare them for surgery and speed their recovery.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first focused ultrasound device to treat essential tremor, the most common movement disorder, in patients who do not respond to medication. The scalpel-free approach has been pioneered by Jeff Elias, MD, at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, who led an international clinical trial that demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of the device.