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Health


H&S

Health System pursues environmental sustainability

Recent University initiatives to increase environmentally-friendly practices have led to changes in campus operations, construction and even the University Health System. The Health System has adopted a telemedicine program, which allows patients to virtually visit clinicians without adding to their commute.


News

Study links dental x-rays, brain tumors

Many who await dentist appointments with a feeling of trepidation may do so with good reason. A study published yesterday in American Cancer Society found frequent dental X-rays may be linked to meningioma, an often benign but sometimes harmful brain tumor. Study participants who remembered having bitewing X-rays before age 10, a procedure used to reveal tooth decay in the upper and lower teeth by determining bone density changes caused by gum disease, were twice as likely to have meningioma, according to the study.


News

National Donate Life Month

April is National Donate Life Month, which seeks to shed light on the more than 100,000 Americans waiting for organ and tissue transplants. In 2011, 28,535 transplants were performed in the United States, with more than 6,000 of them as living donations.


News

Taller women risk ovarian cancer

Taller women may be at a slightly higher risk of ovarian cancer, according to a report published in the British Medical Journal this month. Valerie Beral, University of Oxford professor and director of its Cancer Epidemiology Unit, reviewed and compiled findings from 47 epidemiological studies which examined more than 25,000 cases of women with ovarian cancer and more than 80,000 women who did not have ovarian cancer. The report found a 7 percent increase in ovarian cancer risk for every 5-centimeter increase in height.


News

Study finds melanoma rates rise

With summer just around the corner and everyone anxious to jump into bathing suits and sundresses, a recent Mayo Clinic population-based study which found a rise in melanoma cases in young adults, especially in women, is concerning. "Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, develops in the cells that produce melanin - the pigment that gives your skin its color," according to the Mayo Clinic website.


News

Website to help poor bowel control

The University Health System launched a new website, UCanPoopToo.com, last month which aims to help children who suffer from encopresis - a lack of control of bowel movements. UCanPoopToo.com offers a customized program which allows paying users to type in their symptoms and bowel movements to obtain specific advice about how to best handle their encopresis. The website also contains success stories, explanations about the causes of encopresis and core lessons about how children can learn to manage the disease. The program is designed for a young audience, and includes animations, color and cartoons. -compiled by Michelle Lim


News

Study offers apnea info

When their breathing matches their heartbeat, babies suffering from apnea brought on by prematurity can be released from the neonatal intensive care unit, according to a study published last Monday. Apnea of prematurity is a condition in which premature babies' nervous systems are not developed enough for them to unconsciously regulate their breathing patterns. Researchers from the University Medical School and the College of William & Mary found a high correlation between breathing and heartbeat indicates breathing patterns have become more normal and the baby has developed a more robust nervous system. The University and William & Mary study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, explored a new way to measure infants' breathing patterns and heartbeats during an extended period of time.


News

University studies autism

A University research team, led by Assoc. Neuroscience Prof. Jonathan Kipnis, this month published its findings, which identified a potentially relevant clinical treatment for Rett syndrome, a severe autism spectrum disorder. Rett syndrome is primarily caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene, which is located on the X chromosome. Mutations in the MECP2 gene lead to symptoms such as abnormal breathing, developmental and intellectual disabilities, loss of speech and seizures.


News

Take deep breath, smile

The Guatemalan morning was particularly warm and humid. The air smelled thick. We peeled back our patient's eye patch in the Clinica Ezell's post-operative room and wiped away the ointment. This was the first time our patient could see in ten years.


News

Researchers discover microDNA

Contrary to popular belief, recent research conducted by University Medical School researchers found DNA can exist outside of cell chromosomes.


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Latest Podcast

Indieheads is one of many Contracted Independent Organizations at the University dedicated to music, though it stands out to students for many reasons. Indieheads President Brian Tafazoli describes his experience and involvement in Indieheads over the years, as well as the impact that the organization has had on his personal and musical development.