Health Sciences In The Media

Black in Microbiology Week is the latest in a series of virtual events highlighting Black scientists in a variety of disciplines. “This is really a chance to welcome new voices and amplify those that have not been heard,” said Michael D. L. Johnson, a microbiologist and immunologist at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, who will take part in Friday’s Black in Bacteriology panel.

In an article published in Nature Genetics, researchers confirm that about 14% of all cases of cerebral palsy may be linked to a patient’s genes and suggest that many of those genes control how brain circuits become wired during early development. This conclusion is based on the largest genetic study of cerebral palsy ever conducted. Michael Kruer, M.D., a neurogeneticist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the University of Arizona College of Medicine — Phoenix is a senior author of the article.

Researchers from the University of Arizona are studying front-line workers who have been infected with COVID-19 and those workers who are at increased risk of getting infected with the coronavirus. The goal is to understand immunity after exposure. Dr. Jeff Burgess, Associate Dean of Research at the UA College of Public Health discusses the Arizona HEROES project.

“Arizona has been hit particularly hard for adults,” said Joe Gerald, an associate professor at the University of Arizona’s College of Public Health who creates COVID-19 forecast models. “It’s not surprising that children have also been hit hard.” That higher infection rate, combined with the state’s relatively young population, means more young people are getting the virus, Gerald said. About a quarter of Arizonans are 19 or younger – about 59% of them Hispanic.

Dr. Shad Marvasti, Director of Public Health at the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix says Labor Day weekend did not lead to a big case spike and numbers appear to show safety protocols and restrictions are working.

Researchers at the University of Arizona are preparing to make history. Dr. Meredith Hay is leading a team at the UA College of Medicine preparing the first potential drug to treat vascular dementia the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's.

Rajesh Khanna, a professor of anesthesiology and pharmacology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, writes that his research group uncovered a link between a particular cellular protein and pain – an interaction that is disrupted by the coronavirus.

With a number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized with respiratory problems and dying from heart failure, it became obvious early on that SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus behind the pandemic, also can damage the heart. "We don't do MRIs on everyone who has the flu, so we don't know how many have inflammation or what their long-term outcomes are," said Dr. Martha Gulati, the division chief of cardiology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.

An article looks into the challenges of widely distributing a COVID-19 vaccine in Arizona. "The FDA has promised that it is not going to approve a vaccine until it has found to be safe," said Dr. Elizabeth Connick, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.

Continuing coverage: Investigators have determined that treating patients with an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration with levodopa, a safe and readily available drug commonly used to treat Parkinson's disease, stabilized and improved their vision. It reduced the number of treatments necessary to maintain vision, and as such, will potentially reduce the burden of treating the disease, financially and otherwise. Dr. Robert W. Snyder, head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of the Arizona, is the study's lead investigator.