Do doctors treat pain differently based on their patients ’ race?
Physicians prescribed opioids more often to their white patients who complained of new-onset low back pain than to their Black, Asian and Hispanic patients during the early days of the national opioid crisis, when prescriptions for these powerful painkillers were surging but their dangers were not fully apparent,according to a UCLA study.The findings suggest that doctors may have commonly dispensed pain treatments unequally based on race and ethnicity. The study shows that physicians were more likely to prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs — a less-powerful alternative — to their patients of color...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - September 10, 2021 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
Scientists develop brain organoids with complex neural activity
Researchers at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have developed brain organoids — 3D brain-like structures grown from human stem cells — that show organized waves of activity similar to those found in living human brains.Then, while studying organoids grown from stem cells derived from patients with the neurological disorder Rett syndrome, the scientists were able to observe patterns of electrical activity resembling seizures, a hallmark of the condition.The study, published today in the journal Nature Neuroscience, broadens the list of brain conditions that can...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - August 23, 2021 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
Vaping just once raises oxidative stress levels in nonsmokers, increasing disease risk
The risk that both tobacco and electronic cigarettes can pose to regular smokers ’ health has been well documented, but a new UCLA study illustrates just how quickly vaping can affect the cells of even healthy younger nonsmokers.The findings,published today in JAMA Pediatrics, show that a single 30-minute vaping session can significantly increase cellular oxidative stress, which occurs when the body has an imbalance between free radicals — molecules that can cause damage to cells — and antioxidants, which fight free radicals.“Over time,this imbalance can play a significant role in causing certain illnesses, inc...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - August 9, 2021 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
New metric shows COVID cut average lifespan by nearly a decade in parts of U.S.
At its peak, COVID-19 drastically reduced the average human lifespan — by as much as 9 years in one U.S. state — according to a new longevity metric developed at UCLA.Sociology professor Patrick Heuveline devised the metric, called the mean unfulfilled lifespan, to assess the impact of temporary “shocks” like the novel coronavirus on average length of life. To date, the pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 4.2 million people worldwide. The tool allows demographers to conduct fine-grained analyses in specific regions over various periods of time, offering a new and more dynamic way of gauging how differ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - August 6, 2021 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
UCLA establishes endowed chair in honor of longtime faculty member Dr. Marjorie Fine
Dr. Catherine Juillard, who studies ways to improve surgical care in underresourced countries, has been named UCLA ’s first Marjorie Fine, M.D., Professor of Clinical General Surgery.Juillard, an associate professor in residence in the UCLA Department of Surgery, is co-director of theProgram for the Advancement of Surgical Equity.“An endowed chair is one of the greatest honors a faculty member can receive,” Juillard said. “It is so much more meaningful to me and my colleagues that the chair also honors the career of a trailblazer, Dr. Marjorie Fine.”Juillard has been a member of the UCLA faculty since 2018, and s...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - August 5, 2021 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
