Health Sciences In The Media

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can relieve pain, according to a new study by University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers. The finding may explain why nearly half of people who get COVID-19 experience few or no symptoms, even though they are able to spread the disease, according to the study's senior author Rajesh Khanna, PhD, a professor in the College of Medicine -- Tucson's Department of Pharmacology.

Joe Gerald, a researcher at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health who tracks the coronavirus in Arizona, said it is too early to detect spread from campus outbreaks in the state, but it may be that the overlap between students and locals is minimal enough to prevent that.

Concerns over the spread of the coronavirus as the U.S. enters its ninth month of the pandemic has prompted one city to ban Halloween trick-or-treating. Leila Barraza, an associate professor at University of Arizona in the College of Public Health and a Senior Consultant at the Network for Public Health Law says that recommendations, not outright bans, is likely the preferred approach by health officials. “There is always a balance of constitutional protections and potential for infringement on an individuals’ right versus protection of a community, just like with isolation and quarantine or vaccination laws,” she told McClatchy News. “That’s what some of these local jurisdictions are trying to do by giving these recommendations — giving people safer, lower risk options to follow.”

The causes of cerebral palsy have long been debated and often are attributed to in utero infections, premature birth, or brain injury to the baby near or during delivery, usually from a lack of oxygen. But many young children diagnosed with cerebral palsy have not experienced such events. New research, the largest genetic study of cerebral palsy, supports previous findings and provides "the strongest evidence to date that a significant portion of cerebral palsy cases can be linked to rare genetic mutations, and in doing so identified several key genetic pathways involved," said co-senior author Dr. Michael Kruer, a neurogeneticist at Phoenix Children's Hospital and the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Members of the MJH Life Sciences COVID-19 Coalition weighed in on the latest pandemic information in a recent survey. Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist and adjunct professor at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, is one of the 10 coalition experts.

University of Arizona College of Nursing Assistant Professor Jessica Rainbow and Chloe Littzen, a nursing PhD candidate, are seeking ways to mitigate nurse burnout which has intensified during the coronavirus pandemic. They are conducting research that will describe the experiences of frontline nurses prior to, and during, the COVID-19 pandemic.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month — a time to share resources and stories that shed light on a stigmatized topic. In Gila County alone, veterans are nearly twice as likely than the general population to die by suicide. In an effort to prevent suicide and support veterans, their families and the community at large, the University of Arizona’s Center for Rural Health partnered with the Arizona Coalition for Military Families to expand the Be Connected veteran support program in rural southern Arizona counties, including Gila.

Interview with Dr. Murtaza Akhter, an emergency physician at Valleywise Health Medical Center and assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix.

Most public health experts agree that herd immunity is not really a wise approach to defeat COVID-19. “We don't have anywhere near the percentage of the population exposed, infected and recovered or somehow immunized to COVID-19 yet. We're not going to get to herd immunity until much more people are exposed to the virus or if we have a vaccine which will enable people to get immunity,” said Dr. Shad Marvasti, a public health expert with the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix.

Ben Conner, a third-year MD/PhD student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, is studying a robotic walking therapy for children with cerebral palsy.