Health Sciences In The Media

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not include vertigo or dizziness as symptoms of COVID-19. But some doctors believe there could be a link. COVID has caused "a range of neurological symptoms, including dizziness" in patients, according to Natasha Bhuyan, MD, One Medical provider and clinical assistant professor of family, community and preventive medicine at the College of Medicine – Phoenix.

The University of Arizona is planning for in-person classes starting on Aug. 24. While face coverings are required in all indoor spaces where social distancing can't be maintained, the university is encouraging but is not mandating getting the COVID vaccine. "Delta is not done with us yet. It really changed the ballgame," said Joe Gerald, MD, PhD, an associate professor of public health policy at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and the co-chair of the university's Public Health Advisory COVID Team. “The things that we might have considered to be sufficient to work a year ago, when we’re talking about coronavirus classic, just don’t make the same sense anymore because this is several times more transmissible, and it just changes the rules of the game.”

Through a webinar organized by the National Hispanic Medical Association, a group of medical experts explained one by one the doubts and myths that many people expressed regarding vaccines against COVID-19. Ricardo Correa, MD, from the Phoenix Allies Community-Health Clinic and UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, said that although the doses were emergency approved by the FDA, they can be trusted, as they have proven to be one of the best ways to avoid serious consequences of the virus and explained that the vaccine was not created as quickly as the general public believes.

Indigenous communities in the U.S. experience a disproportionately higher burden of disease and lower life expectancy than most Americans. Studies cite higher poverty rates, challenging social conditions, mistrust in the delivery of health services and a history of exclusion from clinical research as factors that contribute to these disparities. At the University of Arizona Health Sciences, educators and researchers are working to change this legacy and decrease health disparities within Native American communities by introducing Native students to biomedical research.

“After a mild traumatic brain injury, there is usually a headache that occurs, and that is called a post traumatic headache,” said Frank Porreca, PhD, a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Anesthesiology in at the College of Medicine – Tucson. “It can persist continuously or intermittently for up to three months, which is called acute post traumatic headache. If the headache persists for longer than three months, then it is called persistent post traumatic headache.”

University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers recently completed a study that has the potential to improve cancer treatment for colorectal cancer and melanoma by using nanotechnology to deliver chemotherapy in a way that makes it more effective against aggressive tumors. The findings were published today in Nature Nanotechnology.

A new CDC study looked at 2,500 pregnant women who got the mRNA vaccine and found no increased risk of miscarriage. Now, the CDC is strengthening its recommendation and urging all pregnant women to get protected as the delta variant surges. Debra Guinn, MD, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and vice chair of research at the College of Medicine – Tucson, studies the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women. Dr. Guinn said her research backs up the CDC's findings. "There is no evidence it causes infertility or miscarriage. The vaccine is safe. There are no apparent negative impacts on pregnancy," Dr. Guinn said.

Christina Bergin, MD, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the College of Medicine – Phoenix, is urging the governor to require masks in schools after her child was exposed to COVID-19.

Are you more likely to get long-haul COVID-19 from the original strain of the coronavirus or from the delta variant? Janko Nikolich-Zugich, MD, PhD, Department Head of Immunobiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson, says that’s still something they are researching. Most of the long-haul cases that have been diagnosed so far come from the original strain or early variants like Alpha.

Murtaza Akhter, MD, emergency physician at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, discusses the CDC's announcement that fully vaccinated students do not need to wear masks in schools.