Study Uncovers New Link Between Long-term Arsenic Exposure and Type 2 Diabetes Sept. 15, 2021 Research led by the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy shows how chronic arsenic exposure disrupts the body’s natural antioxidant defenses, which may contribute to the development of diseases such as Type 2 diabetes. Read more Image
A Deadly Fungal Disease on the Rise in the West Has Experts Worried Sept. 15, 2021 Out of all the states in the U.S. that are endemic to Valley fever, Arizona is best equipped to handle the rise in cases of Coccidioides, cocci for short. The Valley Fever Center for Excellence, housed within the University of Arizona, helps facilitate collaboration between doctors and researchers across multiple counties within Arizona and develops strategies for diagnosing and treating Valley fever. Grist
Ivermectin Misuse in Arizona Is Leading to Hospitalizations, Clinical Leader Warns Sept. 15, 2021 The Arizona's Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center has had 19 reports related to ivermectin so far this year, including eight who were hospitalized, said Steven Dudley, PharmD, DABAT, director of the UArizona Poison and Drug Information Center, in an email. "People tend to be using ivermectin in doses much higher than what it has been approved for," Dudley wrote in an email. "Another point is ivermectin can interact with other medications and make your potential for toxicity worse than someone else's." Arizona Republic
UArizona Health Sciences Announces Newest Primary Care Physician Scholars Sept. 14, 2021 A new class of 23 medical students received full-tuition scholarships to the UArizona Colleges of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix. Read more Image
COM-P Research to Monitor Health of SpaceX Astronauts Sept. 14, 2021 Novel molecular diagnostics technology to monitor four crew members during first all-civilian mission to orbit Earth. Read more Image
Improving Health Equity for the Aging LGBTQ+ Community Sept. 14, 2021 For health care providers, increasing awareness and sensitivity to individual needs is key, say two Health Sciences aging experts. Read more Image
COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots Are Coming. Here’s What to Know Sept. 14, 2021 As interest grows around COVID-19 booster shots, there is still a lot of uncertainty around getting a third dose. People with weakened immune systems can already get a booster, but the benefit to everyone else is unclear. Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, a professor of immunobiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson, said that it's clear a booster could be beneficial. A booster, he said, might reduce the chance that a person would get infected and develop symptoms. What's less clear is how much a national booster strategy would help control the spread of the coronavirus. "It just doesn't seem like vaccinated breakthrough infections are the major source of transmission," he said. Dallas Morning News
Does Everyone Need a Covid-19 Booster Shot? Here’s What Scientists Say Sept. 14, 2021 The complexity of the body’s immune system makes the impact of a booster shot difficult to assess. Antibody levels from any vaccine or natural infection will decline over time, says Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, an immunologist at the College of Medicine – Tucson. Yet “the ones that are left tend to be of higher quality, so it takes far fewer of them to protect against disease,” Bhattacharya says, adding that it is difficult to tell exactly how much additional protection a booster shot would provide. This article was originally published in The Wall Street Journal. Mint (India)
Dr. Andrew Weil Shares His Personal Secrets for Staying Mentally Sharp and Aging in Reverse Sept. 14, 2021 Andrew Weil, MD, founder and director of the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, discusses his early life and career in integrative medicine. The Ultimate Health Podcast