Telehealth follow-ups associated with more hospitalizations after emergency room visits
Telehealth follow-up consultations following an emergency department visit were associated with 28 more return trips to the emergency room, and nearly 11 more return hospital admissions per 1,000 patients, compared with in-person follow-up appointments, UCLA research has found.The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, held true even when the researchers controlled for the seriousness of patients’ conditions, their other medical conditions and sociodemographic factors.One of the first studies to link telemedicine with these negative results, the research is particularly timely because of ongoing discussions among po...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - October 27, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

With $7M grant from NIH, UCLA scientists to study if brain stimulation during sleep can bolster memory
Key takeaways:A UCLA neurosurgeon and artificial intelligence expert will collaborate to study how the brain forms lasting memories.After identifying a memory ’s electrical signals, researchers will test whether they can improve that memory using electrical stimulation.Scientists hope the technique colud one day potentially help people with memory disorders.Sleep plays an important role in how the brain consolidates short-term memories from the previous day into enduring ones. But exactly how that process occurs remains a mystery.   A new study led by UCLA scientists could help answer that question. Their research will...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - October 27, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

For older breast cancer survivors, cognitive problems may be linked to inflammation, study shows
Key takeaways:Women over 60 make up the majority of the nearly 4 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.Previous studies of cognition have focused largely on younger survivors in the short term.Self-reports of cognitive issues among older survivors were related to higher levels of an inflammatory marker in the body called CRP.Scientists are still trying to understand why many breast cancer survivors experience troubling cognitive problems for years after treatment. Inflammation is one possible culprit. A long-term study of older breast cancer survivorsrecently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and co-led by...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - October 27, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

Space medicine: Future interplanetary travel will depend on it
When William Shatner found himself 65.8 miles above a Texas desert in a hydrogen-fueled rocket last year, he didn ’t have to worry about blinding flattening in the back of his eyes, fluid shifting from his abdomen to his face or the chance that his heart might change shape.However, had his stint in weightlessness been seven months long, like future missions to Mars would be, instead of just three or four minutes, he may have wanted a UCLA ’s Dr. Haig Aintablian next to him. Aintablian isn't just a doctor, he is UCLA’s inaugural fellow in space medicine. “When this opportunity came up to build a fellowship with ou...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - October 26, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

UCLA researchers identify gene as potential target in treatment-resistant brain cancer
Doctors and scientists at  UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCLA Jane and  Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior have identified a gene that may provide a therapeutic target for the deadly, treatment-resistant brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme.The gene, P300, enables cancer cells that have been damaged by radiation therapy to recover by rearranging DNA and initiating a molecular mechanism that refortifies tumor cells for growth and survival.In studies using mice and in human glioblastoma multiforme cells, the scientists discovered that blocking P300 disrupted its ability to set ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - October 20, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

Professor elected to National Academy of Medicine
Dr. Arleen Brown, professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.Brown, who is also co-director of the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute and chief of the division of general internal medicine and health services research at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, was one of 100 new members announced today during the academy ’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.She was recognized as “a pioneer in understanding how community, policy, health system, and individual fa...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - October 18, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

There ’s a lot of hate in the world. UCLA’s scholars are asking why and what can be done
  Key takeaways:The three-year pilot program brings together fellows from 20 disciplines across the UCLA campus.The first year focuses on research into myriad topics related to hate — how it manifests in the brain, online and in communities, and who is most affected.Findings will support new interventions in education, health care,  public policy and other fields.UCLA is launching theInitiative to Study Hate, an ambitious social impact project that brings together a broad consortium of scholars to understand and ultimately mitigate hate in its multiple forms.  Supported by a $3 million gift from an anonymous donor, ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - October 12, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

Immigrants living in California are less likely to have a gun at home, more likely to fear gun violence
Key takeaways:17.6% of the state ’s adults kept a firearm at home in 2021; of them, 7.7% said the weapons were loaded and unlocked.California has the nation ’s seventh-lowest gun death rate, but some segments of the population are particularly concerned about the dangers of gun violence.An author of the report says the findings suggest the  need to improve the state ’s gun laws.Findings from a new UCLA report reveal that immigrants living in California are much less likely than others to have a gun in their home — just 7.7% of immigrants had a firearm in 2021 versus 22.3% of all California adults. But 24.0% of imm...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - October 5, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

Pandemic-related disparities persist, California Health Interview Survey finds
Key takeaways:The percentage of California young adults who say they have thought about comitting suicide is 30.5%, a significant increase over last year, and more than double the proportion from five years ago.Principal investigator Ninez Ponce says the findings reveal a major unmet need for mental health resources, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.Nearly half of adult respondents  said they had experienced an extreme weather–related event in the prior two years.The number of 18-to-24-year-olds in California who reported having thought about committing suicide at some point in their lives increased to ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - October 5, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

How the secrets of the ‘water bear’ could improve lifesaving drugs like insulin
UCLA chemist Heather Maynard had to wonder: How do organisms like the tardigrade do it?This stocky microscopic animal, also known as a water bear, can survive in environments where survival seems impossible. Tardigrades have been shown to endure extremes of heat, cold and pressure — and even the vacuum of space — by entering a state of suspended animation and revitalizing, sometimes decades later, under more hospitable conditions. If she could understand the mechanism behind this extraordinary preservation, Maynard reckoned, she might be able to use the knowledge to improve medicines so that they remain potent longer ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - October 4, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

Kindness is contagious and these videos can help kids catch the altruism bug
Key Takeaways:UCLA researchers creatd a  video playlist that aims to get kids to spread kindness.The videos are based on Bedari Kindness Institute research that shows kindness is contagious.Some UCLA researchers think a simple, two-word message can help kids knock bullying off its feet: Be kind. The Center for Scholars& Storytellers, the Bedari Kindness Institute and the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television are partnering with YouTube Kids ona series of videos that promote kind, caring behavior in everyday situations. The series is part of YouTube Kids anti-bullying programming scheduled for October, which is N...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - September 29, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

Making lab-grown brain organoids ‘brainier’
Key takeaways:In recent years, mini –brain organoids have been used in the lab to model a variety of diseases, from Alzheimer’s to COVID-19.With no standard process for creating these organoids, some more accurately mimic thebrain ’s structurethan others, which can lead to inconsistent scientific findings.A new studyoffers guidelines and methods for consistently generating high-quality, well-structured organoids.By using stem cells to grow miniature brain-like organs in the lab, scientists have opened a new avenue for studies of neurological development, disease and therapies that can ’t be conducted in living peop...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - September 29, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

Screening for pregnancy anxiety in the first and third trimesters can help reduce early births
Key takeawaysPregnancy anxiety  is associated with shorter gestation times and earlier births.Screening during the first and third trimesters could help reduce early births.Latina women may experience higher levels of pregnancy anxiety than other groups.A new UCLA study has found anxiety specific to pregnancy and childbirth is associated with shorter gestation times and earlier births. One screening tool administered in the first trimester could reliably predict early birth. Screening for depression in pregnancy and postpartum is now a common part of maternal care; the authors suggest that adding an evaluation for anxiet...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - September 26, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

COVID-related hate incidents targeting Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders continued to rise
Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States has seen an alarming rise in hate incidents targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, prompting the passing of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which was signed by President Joe Biden in May 2021.Preliminary data released today by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research ’s California Health Interview Survey  found that more than 1 in 12, or 8%, of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults in California experienced a hate incident due to COVID-19. Of those who experienced a hate incident, 84% said they sustained verbal abuse or ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - September 22, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

UCLA survey finds most teens reject glamorized lifestyles in entertainment media
Key takeaways:Changing aspirations. Few Gen Zers want to watch shows about glamorized lifestyles.Real-world issues matter. Teens prefer content that deals with family dynamics or social justice.Postive storytelling, please. They want to see more hopeful, uplifting stories about people.Not that long ago, teens binged on aspirational content, where the kinds of lives portrayed in “Gossip Girl” were what they wanted on their screens. But according to a recent study conducted by UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers, teens today resoundingly reject those kinds of stories. Only 4.4% in a survey of 662 diverse...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - September 20, 2022 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news