Category Health & Wellness
Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t take a holiday
The bright lights, big crowds and bustle that make the holidays fun for most of us often do just the opposite for people with Alzheimer's and those who care for them.
UW-Madison study ties lower hormone use to fewer breast cancer cases
Decreased use of post-menopausal hormones likely accounts for more than 40 percent of a dramatic, one-year decline in breast cancer incidence, according to a new…
UW Hospital’s HIV clinic brings AIDS Memorial Quilt to Madison
Twenty-one panels, each one 144 feet square. Each of the 21 panels tells eight human stories, in colorful thread, of the lives of loved ones…
Curiosities: Is it true that laughing is good for your health?
Indeed, says Robert McGrath, a clinical psychologist specializing in mind/body wellness at University Health Services at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and for many reasons. “Humor…
UW-Madison launches H1N1 study with asthma sufferers
The School of Medicine and Public Health is one of just seven research centers conducting the first clinical trial in the nation to determine the dose of H1N1 vaccine necessary to give immunity to people with asthma.
UW-Madison’s ‘good ideas’ get lift from stimulus funds
The university has drawn more than $38 million in funding for more than 120 research projects and programs from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The work is spread across the range of academic disciplines, including public health, computer science, psychology, economics and engineering. Funding comes from agencies such as NSF, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Energy and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Doctor’s compassion may help cure colds faster
Some cold medicines will shave a day off your suffering from the common cold, but they often produce unpleasant side effects. A new study shows, for the first time, that the doctor's empathy may be an even better way to speed recovery.
Major study links malaria mosquitoes to Amazon deforestation
In one of the most field-intensive efforts to explore the connection between malaria and tropical deforestation, a team led by Jonathan Patz, a specialist in the link between environment and health at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW–Madison, has established a strong correlation between the extent of forest destruction and the incidence of the Amazon's most dangerous malaria vector, the mosquito Anopheles darlingi.
From the waiting room to the birthing room
Years ago, dads-to-be nervously paced the floor of hospital waiting rooms as they waited to hear that their child had been born. But during those countless hours of waiting, many wrote down their feelings in journals known as "father's books" or "stork room jottings." Frequently left in waiting rooms in the 1940s and '50s, the journals provided an outlet for the apprehensive, often exasperated men.
The healing game: How Nintendo’s Wii is making the hard work of physical therapy into child’s play
Pediatric physical therapists at American Family Children's Hospital have been introducing Wii video gaming techology into their patients' therapy programs with notable success.
Special protein helps maintain an efficient brain
The instruction manual for maintaining an efficient brain may soon include a section on synaptotagmin-IV (Syt-IV), a protein known to influence learning and memory, thanks to a study by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers.
Early Alzheimer’s diagnosis offers large social, fiscal benefits
Early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease could save millions or even billions of dollars while simultaneously improving care, according to new work by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers.
UW-Madison cancels early summer Mexico programs
Based on the recommendations of the university’s International Emergency Response Committee, Chancellor Biddy Martin is instructing campus units to cancel student programs in Mexico that are scheduled to depart before June 1.
Researchers explore the broad-reaching effects of a pandemic in Wisconsin
If a pandemic hit Madison, canceling a football game at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Camp Randall would protect thousands from exposure to illness. However, the economic cost would be substantial for stadium workers and employees at nearby restaurants and businesses if widespread, prolonged illness forced officials to call off an entire season of Badger football.