Tag Health & medicine
UW to test ‘breakthrough’ pediatric leukemia treatment
A promising method of immunotherapy to treat children with relapsed acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is opening at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center and American Family Children's Hospital. The trial is open to relapsed/refractory pediatric ALL patients who have limited treatment options. Read More
Zoo’s mother-to-be receives prenatal care from UW-affiliated health professionals
While many in Madison were surprised and delighted on Feb. 10 to learn that Henry Vilas Zoo’s Bornean orangutan, Kawan, was expecting the zoo’s first baby primate in 14 years, it was old news to Barb Trampe, chief sonographer at the UW/Meriter Center for Perinatal Care. She had already seen the first baby pictures. Read More
Innovative teaching practices encourage students in STEM
Like many seniors majoring in biology, Christian Hernandez is pursuing the pre-med track. However, he nearly didn’t make it past his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin–Madison As a Latino first-generation college student, Hernandez says he had no role models to help him achieve his career goal: to change the face of medicine in the United States. But then he took Physiology 335. Read More
Laying a foundation for treating ALS, spinal cord injury
Su-Chun Zhang, a professor of neuroscience and neurology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Waisman Center, and his research team have published a unique model for learning more about the role of human astrocytes today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation today. The findings may lay a foundation for the treatment of a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and debilitating spinal cord injuries. Read More
‘Kindness curriculum’ boosts school success in preschoolers
Watch Richard Davidson discuss this project at the 2015 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Over the course of 12 weeks, twice… Read More
Rare neurological disease shines light on health of essential nerve cells
Ian Duncan is a Scotsman with the iron discipline and stamina of a competitive marathoner, triathlete and cross-country skier. As a neuroscientist at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he's applied his tenacity to a rare genetic disorder. Read More
Will they be back? Predicting readmissions for elderly patients
Seniors living in the most disadvantaged 15 percent of U.S. neighborhoods are much more likely to make repeat trips to the hospital, according to a study by Amy Kind, a University of Wisconsin–Madison assistant professor of medicine. Read More
Wisconsin’s health: Significant gaps by race, income, geography
A new report by researchers at the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute reveals that while some trends in the health of Wisconsin residents are positive, this progress is not shared by all residents of the state. Read More
Halting the hijacker: Cellular targets to thwart influenza virus infection
The influenza virus, like all viruses, is a hijacker. It quietly slips its way inside cells, steals the machinery inside to make more copies of itself, and then - having multiplied - bursts out of the cell to find others to infect. Read More
Religious denominations friendly to same-sex marriage may protect gay youth from depression
Religious affiliation is generally a source of support, fostering resilience during difficult times. But religion doesn’t exactly have a reputation as a refuge for young gay people. That reputation may change for the better with new findings from researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, and Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South Korea. Read More
Imagination, reality flow in opposite directions in the brain
As real as that daydream may seem, its path through your brain runs opposite reality. Aiming to discern discrete neural circuits, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have tracked electrical activity in the brains of people who alternately imagined scenes or watched videos. Read More
Grad program honored for closing science-society gap
The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Neuroscience and Public Policy Program was honored by the Society for Neuroscience with the Neuroscience Graduate Program Achievement Award. Read More
Study shows possible link between asthma, cardiovascular disease
Asthma that requires daily medication is associated with a significantly higher risk of heart attack or stroke, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH). Read More
‘Flight simulator’ for surgeons: Project joins computer science with medicine
University of Wisconsin–Madison computer science and medical researchers have teamed up to create a sophisticated new simulator to help surgical students practice detailed procedures before operating on live patients. Read More
Largest grant ever awarded to UW School of Medicine and Public Health will continue inner-city asthma research
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) a seven-year, $70 million grant for its continuing work on the Inner-City Asthma Consortium (ICAC) - a nationwide clinical research network to evaluate and develop promising new immune-based treatments. The goal of the work is to reduce the severity of asthma in inner-city children, and to lead research efforts into preventing this disease. Read More
UW-Madison scientist receives award to save babies, a diaper at a time
She woke up in her hospital room feeling nothing short of desperation. Katie Brenner remembered giving birth to a tiny daughter hours earlier but the doctors and nurses had whisked the preterm infant away for care. She hadn’t seen little Ruthie since. “I want to meet my daughter,” the normally polite Brenner demanded of the hospital staff. Her little girl is now a healthy 6-year-old and for that, Brenner is thankful. But she knows the story ends much differently for too many families. Doing something about it has inspired her scientific career. Read More
UW sleep scientists win $7.7 million grant to study “local” sleep
The mystery of how some parts of some animals’ brains can sleep while they are awake – and whether the phenomenon occurs in humans -- will be studied in depth thanks to a large center grant from the National Institutes of Health. Read More
UW-Madison awarded $8.3 million for new urological research center
The University of Wisconsin–Madison has been awarded an $8.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create a research center focused on urological health. The George O’Brien Center at UW–Madison is a collaboration with the University of Massachusetts-Boston to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of male urinary symptoms associated with hormones, aging, obesity and benign prostate enlargement. Read More