August
Molecular bandit keeps pain at bay
UNC researchers have identified an enzyme that blocks chronic pain by robbing a major pain pathway of a key ingredient. The enzyme could prevent lasting pain after surgery.
UNC eating-disorders expert: The 'freshman 15' is only a 'freshman five'
First-year college students are at risk for gaining weight and developing eating disorders. Two University of North Carolina Health Care experts weigh in on how to develop healthy eating habits on campus.
UNC Hospitals qualifies for American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Recognition for heart attack care
The award recognizes UNC Hospitals’ commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients that effectively improves the survival and care of STEMI (ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction) patients.
Corporal punishment of children remains common worldwide, UNC studies find
Three studies led by UNC researchers find that spanking and other forms of corporal punishment of children are still common in the U.S. and worldwide, despite bans in 24 countries.
Protecting your back, neck and arms from 'laptop-itis'
Purchasing a laptop computer has become a ritual for many new college students. But using a laptop often leads to posture problems, which can have serious long-term health consequences. UNC expert Dr. Kevin Carneiro explains how students can guard themselves from “laptop-itis” from orientation to final exams.
A healthy school lunch for your child, tater-tot free
Childhood diets have been blamed for everything from the obesity epidemic to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Liz Watt, a registered dietitian at the UNC Wellness Center at Meadowmont, explains how to make packing a healthy school lunch easy.
real doctors, real people - Dr. James Yankaskas
Dr. James Yankaskas began his career designing planes. Really? The guy who helps countless cystic fibrosis patients is into aeronautics? Yep. That’s where it all began for him.
AIDS virus changes in semen make it different than in blood
The new findings are significant because the nature of the virus in the male genital tract is of central importance to understanding the transmission process and the selective pressures that may impact the transmitted virus.
Family House Diaries: Dana DiPerna Pillsbury
A breast cancer recurrence yields a serendipitous journey for a high school English teacher from Davidson, N.C., and leaves her with far more than the disease has taken away.
Consumers need protection from unrealistic claims of home genetic tests, new report states
In a perspective in the New England Journal of Medicine, UNC medical geneticist James P. Evans, MD, PhD and co-authors write that medical professionals “must ensure that rapidly evolving and multiplying genomic technologies are responsibly harnessed and that their promise is not oversold to the public.”
Whooping cough on the rise: Add vaccine to your back-to-school checklist
California declared a whooping cough epidemic this summer when more than 2,700 cases were reported in the state by mid-August and seven infants had died. Prevent an outbreak in North Carolina by immunizing your family before school starts.
UNC physician receives $8 million from NIH to extend kidney disease project
This award allows a team led by Dr. Ronald Falk to continue their work on glomerulonephritis and vasculitis caused by anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), which is the most common form of rapidly progressing glomerular disease.
Genetics underlie the formation of the body’s back-up bypass vessels
The new knowledge could help inform the current development of what are called collaterogenic therapies – drugs or procedures that can cause new collaterals to form and enlarge before or after a person suffers tissue damage from a blocked artery in the heart, brain, or peripheral tissues.
Government urges universal flu vaccinations
The flu kills more than 35,000 people in the United States in an average year—and most of those deaths could be prevented with a simple vaccine. After last year’s H1N1 outbreak, the government says everyone over the age of 6 months needs a flu shot this year.
UNC Hospitals receives performance achievement award from American College of Cardiology Foundation
UNC Hospitals is one of only 26 hospitals nationwide to receive this award, which recognizes our commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients.
UNC Hospitals reduces central-line associated bloodstream infections by 85 percent
A new study shows that several interventions implemented over a 10-year period prevented an estimated 887 infections and 244 deaths and saved UNC Hospitals more than $20 million in treatment costs.
