Latest News

• share
• favorite_border

Motivated by a desire to understand why sudden cardiac death claims the lives of women under 60 at twice the rate of their male counterparts, Angela M. Taylor, M.D., an interventional cardiologist at the University of Virginia Health System, is launching a unique study that will color-code and measure plaque deposits inside the coronary arteries of male and female patients between the ages of 18 and 50.

• share
• favorite_border

UVA's Center for Research in Contraceptive and Reproductive Health is planning to fill three paid internships in contraceptive research and development with a high school student, a college undergraduate and a science educator, respectively.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study from the University of Virginia Health System has found that academic researchers who are highly reliant on industry support are most likely to have experienced questionable pressure from sponsors and to have first-hand knowledge of integrity breeches within their work environment.

• share
• favorite_border

The Pain Medicine Service, a division of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia Health System, has received the prestigious 2009 Clinical Center of Excellence Award from the American Pain Society (APS) for providing outstanding, exemplary patient care.

• share
• favorite_border

New research from the University of Virginia Health System shows that, when combined, two emerging medical technologies hold significant promise for treating the most deadly and devastating form of brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

• share
• favorite_border

New NIH-funded research from the University of Virginia Health System suggests that it is wise to be wary of the seed tick because its bite may set off a cascade of events that not only defy current thinking about food allergies, but also create serious health risks for people with certain blood types.

• share
• favorite_border

A medical home test kit based on a protein discovered at the University of Virginia Health System "“ SpermCheck Vasectomy "“ has begun shipping to zip codes across the U.S., marking the launch of a new product line that could revolutionize the way men around the world monitor their reproductive status.

• share
• favorite_border

David Schiff, M.D., and colleagues at the UVA Cancer Center were key researchers in a large national clinical trial that has resulted in FDA accelerated approval of the medication bevacizumab, or Avastin, to treat the recurrence of glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in adults and is nearly always fatal.

• share
• favorite_border

The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) program at the University of Virginia Health System has become the nation's second recipient of the Joint Commission's Certificate of Distinction for COPD. A widely-recognized symbol of quality, Joint Commission certification signifies that COPD care at UVA meets high national standards.

• share
• favorite_border

In a literature review, Fern Hauck, M.D., found that the highest level of evidence shows that giving an infant a pacifier does not interfere with breastfeeding success.

• share
• favorite_border

Hemodialysis (HD) patients who fall once or more have a higher risk of hospitalizations and mortality than their sure-footed counterparts, researchers at the University of Virginia Health System have reported.

• share
• favorite_border

A team of heart specialists at the University of Virginia Health System last week performed a leading-edge procedure in which an 74-year-old man, whose risk factors made him ineligible for traditional surgery, received a new aortic valve. Two days later, he was well enough to go home. The procedure is available at UVA as part of the PARTNER Trial, a large, randomized, controlled, multi-center study.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the University of Virginia Health System have found that one of the genes commonly thought to promote the growth and spread of some types of cancers is in fact beneficial in bladder cancer "“ a major discovery that could significantly alter the way bladder cancers are treated in the future.

• share
• favorite_border

In a Perspective published in the March 12, 2009 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, Richard L. Guerrant, M.D., and Eric D. Mintz, M.D., emphasize that cholera is easy to prevent and simple to treat, yet in Zimbabwe alone there have been an estimated 73,000 cases and 3,500 deaths since November 2008.

• share
• favorite_border

They are forty-something, overweight or obese, and suffer from arthritis, diabetes and/or hypertension. The overwhelming majority are either uninsured or covered by government programs such as Medicare or Medicaid. According to a new report from the University of Virginia Health System, these characteristics typify patients treated at the annual three-day Remote Area Medical clinic in Wise, VA.

• share
• favorite_border

Michael O. Thorner, M.D., a clinician and researcher at the University of Virginia Health System, is scheduled to discuss his latest anti-frailty research today at the Society for Endocrinology's annual meeting in Harrogate, England. Thorner will be presenting the 2009 Dale Medal lecture, given each year by the recipient of the society's highest honor.

• share
• favorite_border

For decades, finding clues to substance addiction has been much like searching for a needle in a haystack. But researchers may finally be honing in on specific genes tied to all types of addictions - and finding that some of the same genes associated with alcohol dependence are also closely linked with addictions to nicotine, cocaine, opoids, heroin and other substances.

• share
• favorite_border

A study in the February 28 issue of The Lancet describes a risk scoring process that researchers believe could help prevent atrial fibrillation, the most common type of abnormal heart rhythm in the United States that affects about 2.2 million people. Dr. J. Michael Mangrum, director of the UVA Health System's Atrial Fibrillation Center, is available to discuss this study.

• share
• favorite_border

Workers with diabetes and obesity improved their absenteeism and disability rate by as much as 87 percent with the help of a lifestyle intervention program administered by researchers at the University of Virginia Health System. The results appear in the February edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

• share
• favorite_border

An investigational protein that transformed normal laboratory mice into super-jocks holds great promise in developing new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), say researchers at the University of Virginia Health System.

• share
• favorite_border

Offered by the University of Virginia School of Medicine, the Intensive Scholars Institute in Leadership and Health Care Ethics is designed for individuals who intend to pursue careers in healthcare and are preparing to enter medical, law, nursing or graduate business school. Scheduled for June 1 to 27, this summer's Institute will be the first to admit students and recent graduates from outside UVA.

• share
• favorite_border

In a new study published in the February issue of Radiology, a research team from the University of Virginia Health System used a special MRI technique to determine that asthma patients can continue to have persistent narrowing of airways over a span of a month or more "“ even while taking medication.

• share
• favorite_border

New research from the University of Virginia Health System could help explain why some alcoholics are more severe drinkers than others. A UVA team has found strong evidence that the serotonin transporter gene, SLC6A4, plays a significant role in influencing drinking intensity among alcohol-dependent individuals.

• share
• favorite_border

The Heart and Vascular Center at the University of Virginia Health System, which treats patients from all regions of Virginia and from West Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina, has announced its top innovations of 2008.

• share
• favorite_border

Primary care physicians can perform life-saving colonoscopies safely and effectively, according to an analysis published in the journal of the Annals of Family Medicine.

• share
• favorite_border

When it comes to volunteers, patients, services and the financial value of its contribution, the University of Virginia Health System says it broke all previous records at the three-day 2008 Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinic in Wise, VA.

• share
• favorite_border

December 5 Mammography Clinic in Clinchco, Va., will be the latest step in the University of Virginia Health System's initiative to create sustainable health care solutions in far southwest Virginia. The UVA Health System, The Health Wagon and the Virginia Department of Health's Every Woman's Life program are teaming up to offer free mammograms and access to state-supported follow-up care for uninsured and underinsured women in the Coalfields region.

• share
• favorite_border

A new UVA Health System study, led by Fraydoon Rastinejad, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and director of the UVA Center for Molecular Design and published in the October 29 issue of Nature, reveals the first ever complete structure of a nuclear hormone receptor on human DNA "“ a discovery that now clears a new path for scientists to design more effective drugs with fewer associated health risks.

• share
• favorite_border

In a report now available online and scheduled to be the cover story of the December 2008 issue of the Journal of Urology, University of Virginia Health System researcher John C. Herr, PhD and his colleagues have confirmed the accuracy and reliability of SpermCheck Vasectomy, the first FDA approved at-home immunodiagnostic test for detecting low concentrations of sperm.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the University of Virginia Health System report that a daily single oral dose of an investigational drug, MK-677, increased muscle mass in the arms and legs of healthy older adults without serious side effects, suggesting that it may prove safe and effective in reducing age-related frailty.

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Virginia Health System has received a 2009 Stroke Care Excellence Award from HealthGrades, a provider of independent hospital ratings. The award, which UVA also received in 2008, is given annually for clinical excellence to the top ten percent of U.S. stroke care providers.

• share
• favorite_border

When it comes to primary care medicine, the U.S. is in both a quandary and a crisis, says a University of Virginia professor of medicine. On one hand, politicians are calling for measures to give more Americans access to essential healthcare services; on the other, the number of primary care doctors and dentists available to provide those services is dwindling.

• share
• favorite_border

UVA investigators have completed the first of several international artificial pancreas clinical trials to test an individually-tailored, computerized system which automatically regulates a Type 1 diabetic patient's blood glucose and insulin needs.

• share
• favorite_border

EMTs often remove helmets of injured young football players before transporting them to the hospital. UVA researchers found that when a young football player's helmet is removed, his spinal alignment changes, possibly increasing the risk of paralysis or neurological damage. The researchers recommend that EMTs always keep the helmets on when transporting young players.

• share
• favorite_border

University of Virginia Health System researchers found that two interacting genes related to bitter taste sensitivity play an important role in a person's development of nicotine dependence and smoking behavior. People with higher taste sensitivity aren't as likely to become dependant on nicotine as people with decreased taste sensitivity, the researchers discovered.

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Virginia Medical Center and University of Virginia School of Medicine have instituted a comprehensive policy which effectively bans all gifts, meals and promotional items given to employees by vendors and contractors associated with the health system.

• share
• favorite_border

Fourteen months ago, former marathon runner Anne Kirchmier received a heart transplant at the University of Virginia. The surgery was the culmination of an 11-year progressive illness that confounded doctors at leading institutions around the country and brought Kirchmier to the brink of death. Kirchmier has since resumed running and competed in the 2008 U.S. Transplant Games in Pittsburgh.

• share
• favorite_border

UVA researchers have established a novel technique to decode proteins in cells. Their findings provide physicians and patients a potential new approach toward the creation of less resistant and more effective antibiotics.

• share
• favorite_border

In a study published in the September 3, 2008 issue of Surgical Infections, UVA researchers report that switching between two antibiotics, linezolid and vancomycin, every three months in the surgical ICU decreased the MRSA infection rate from 1.9 to 1.4 patients per 100 admissions. In-hospital mortality from surgical ICU-acquired MRSA infections fell from 3.8 patients per year to none.

• share
• favorite_border

Getting pregnant with her first child was difficult, but when Rebecca Killmeyer of Charlottesville, Va. experienced a miscarriage during her second pregnancy, she wasn't sure if she would ever have another baby. When she decided to enter a study testing the impact of acupuncture on women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) at the University of Virginia Health System, she came out with a miracle.

• share
• favorite_border

The UVA Cancer Center is further strengthening its melanoma research program with the help of four separate investigator awards totaling $1.25 million from the Melanoma Research Alliance. The creation of the MRA sparked the genesis for a new UVA melanoma research group, comprised of University physicians and scientists who have an interest in the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of melanoma.

• share
• favorite_border

After contracting auto-immune hepatitis, Julieanne Carter received a liver transplant that saved her life. She and her husband wanted to start a family, but the immunosuppressant drugs transplant recipients take are not safe for pregnancy. Through careful medication management and close monitoring, Julieanne has had two children and named her second baby after her transplant surgeon and nurse.

• share
• favorite_border

A record 200 volunteers from the University of Virginia will travel to the Kentucky-Virginia Fairgrounds to work at the ninth annual Remote Area Medical (RAM) Clinic in Wise, VA from July 25-27. During its thirty hours of operation, the clinic will provide dental, eye, hearing and other medical care on a first come, first served basis to people who are uninsured, underinsured, unemployed or cannot afford to pay.

• share
• favorite_border

A researcher at the University of Virginia Health System has received the prestigious W.S. Moore Young Investigator Award for Clinical Science from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM). Chengbo Wang was chosen for his research in developing a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that "“ for the first time ever "“identified microscopic structural damages deep in the lungs of patients with asthma.

• share
• favorite_border

Addiction experts led by a University of Virginia Health System team have found that topiramate, an effective therapeutic medication, not only decreases heavy drinking, but it also lowers all liver enzymes, plasma cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), and systolic and diastolic blood pressure "“ all of which tend to increase with heavy drinking and pose such serious health risks as heart disease and cirrhosis.

• share
• favorite_border

A scientist in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia Health System has deciphered the metabolic properties of two dangerous pathogens"”discovering how they thrive and which genes, when knocked out, cause them to weaken.

• share
• favorite_border

When a loved one is having surgery, the hours of waiting for news can be agonizing for family members. A University of Virginia Medical Center nursing research group has found that during this anxious time, a simple one-minute phone call can make a difference in decreasing anxiety for family members and increasing family and patient satisfaction.

• share
• favorite_border

Dr. Adam Katz, plastic surgeon and researcher at the University of Virginia Health System, will conduct research in fat grafting under the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM). White House officials will announce the formation of AFIRM, which has received more than $80 million for research, on Thursday, April 17 at 1:30 p.m. EST.

• share
• favorite_border

By combining the use of stents and photodynamic therapy, also called SpyGlass, physicians at the University of Virginia have been able to significantly increase survival rates for patients suffering from advanced cholangiocarcinoma, cancer of the liver bile duct.

• share
• favorite_border

An increasing number of doctors are encouraging patients to undergo a non-invasive imaging procedure called coronary computed tomography angiography to see if plaque deposits are accumulating in their arteries. According to Dr. Christopher M. Kramer, a professor of Radiology and Medicine at the University of Virginia Health System, widespread use of CTA for screening purposes may be inappropriate.