Pharmather Seeks FDA Orphan Drug Status for Ketamine for Parkinson's Oct. 26, 2020 Scott Sherman, MD, PhD, and Torsten Falk, PhD, both associate professors at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and authors of the previous studies, are currently working with the university’s Tech Launch Arizona to patent the findings. Parkinson's News Today
‘Nerdy Girl’ Is Star in Family Medicine Oct. 26, 2020 Sarah Coles, MD, is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix Family Medicine Residency was recently named chair of the AAFP’s Commission on Health of the Public and Science. She also has joined the collection of researchers and clinicians dubbed the “Nerdy Girls,” who provide the public with evidence-based information about COVID-19 through the Dear Pandemic website and social media. American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
'What Will Happen?' Among an Anxious Electorate, Some Plan to Move, Others Buy Guns Oct. 26, 2020 While the days leading up to most presidential elections carry a certain frenzied, exhausted energy fueled by attack ads and nonstop robocalls, this election cycle has felt abnormally anxiety-inducing for many Americans. “We’re certainly in the middle of a perfect storm,” said Dr. Esther Sternberg, research director at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. Humans respond physiologically to stress — we sweat, our hearts race — and those responses, Sternberg said, are essential for our survival. Los Angeles Times
From Over-Sleeping to COVID-Somnia, How the Pandemic Is Affecting Sleep Cycles, and What to Do About It Oct. 26, 2020 As people have adjusted their daytime rhythms to the pandemic, experts say they have also experienced changes in their sleep patterns. "People are having to find new rhythms in their life, and sometimes it's throwing their sleep off," said Michael Grandner, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson. INSIDER
COVID-19 'Second Wave' Could Overwhelm AZ Rural Hospitals Oct. 26, 2020 While Arizona isn't seeing the surge or "second wave" of COVID-19 cases occurring in other states, public-health officials here are concerned cases could rise again. Epidemiologists say some rural regions of the state haven't fully recovered from the first wave and could be hit much harder a second time around. Dr. Daniel Derksen, director of the Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona, said four rural Arizona counties have had double the per-capita number of coronavirus infections and deaths of the state's urban areas. Public News Service
COVID-19 Pandemic Beckons the Soft Skills of Mentorship, Leadership Roles to Manage Challenges Oct. 26, 2020 During the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacists have been forced to face challenges to their practice that have required not only adaptation and flexibility, but also moments of empathy and vulnerability. Nancy A. Alvarez, associate dean for academic and professional affairs at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy – Phoenix, recently discussed how approaches to mentorship and leadership have been affected by the chaos and change that has become endemic during this time. Pharmacy Times
Coronavirus May Dull the Body's Pain Receptors, Helping the Unsuspecting Spread It, Study Says Oct. 26, 2020 A new study from University of Arizona Health Sciences found that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus which causes COVID-19) may actually have a pain-diminishing effect on those it infects, particularly in the initial phase of infection. Dr. Rajesh Khanna, lead author and professor of pharmacology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, talks about his research recently published in the journal PAIN. Salon
How to Stay Safe for Halloween During COVID-19 Pandemic Oct. 26, 2020 Here is what you can do to make sure you and other trick-or-treaters stay safe from COVID-19 this Halloween. Like all things in 2020, Halloween festivities may be a little different this year. To help keep you safe on the spookiest of holidays, 12 News spoke to University of Arizona’s College of Medicine Associate Professor Dr. Shad Marvasti. KPNX-TV (NBC) Phoenix
UArizona Researchers Have Breakthrough Related to Stomach Cancer Oct. 25, 2020 Researchers at the University of Arizona have found a promising new biomarker that may help with early detection of stomach cancer. Published in Gut, the journal of the British Society of Gastroenterology, the study was led by Juanita L. Merchant, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson. Eastern Arizona Courier
Ann Fish: This Journalist Remembers Documenting Mammogram Testing in 1970s Oct. 24, 2020 Journalist Ann Fish writes about her experience getting a mammography screening for breast cancer at the University of Arizona Medical Center in the early 1970s. She was part of a national program to screen 270,000 women for the early detection of breast cancer. Greensboro News & Record (North Carolina)