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.

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.

A focus on computing technology is positioning the University of Arizona Health Sciences to take advantage of the ever-increasing research opportunities afforded by big data.

A $2.2 million federal grant will allow Dr. Eugene Chang, a sinus surgeon at the UArizona College of Medicine - Tucson, to investigate human genetic viral interactions in the development of sinus disease.

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.