In the latest Vaccine Smarts column, Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp discussed the odds of getting shingles after having a chickenpox vaccination. “You cannot catch shingles from people with shingles,” they wrote. “Rather, unvaccinated people who have never had chickenpox can develop chickenpox when they come in contact with a shingles rash. Your vaccination should keep you from catching chickenpox.”

“If you have some time this week, find some butterflies, or better yet, let them find you,” wrote Dr. Victor S. Sierpina in his column. “Enjoy watching them do their cosmic dance. You will feel lighter yet more centered, knowing that small things can make big differences.”

Because Sudan ebolavirus outbreaks have been rare, researchers have not been able to test vaccine candidates thoroughly. Three vaccines have undergone early tests to ensure that they are safe in humans, but larger trials needed to confirm efficacy haven’t been possible. These should be prioritized for hospital workers, including health-care personnel who are interacting with people who have been infected and their direct contacts, and the contacts of those contacts, said Dr. Gary Kobinger, a virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston who specializes in Ebola. Still, vaccines and antivirals, even if proved to be effective, will not stop the outbreak just because they exist, Kobinger said. To achieve that, enough doses need to be produced quickly and then distributed widely, which will pose a challenge, he said. Becker’s Hospital Review reported on the Nature article, including Dr. Kobinger’s comment that he hopes containment measures will be successful but fears that the outbreak could "really get out of hand."

The University of Texas Medical Branch conducted a study recently that found brain development in grandchildren could be affected by what their grandmother eats. It builds on findings from a previous study done by Shelly A. Buffington, assistant professor in the Department of Neurobiology and faculty in the Sealy Center for Microbiome Research at UTMB, demonstrating the effects of maternal high-fat diet on offspring brain plasticity and social behavior. “Our study focused on the impact of high-fat diet exposure in the maternal lineage on behavioral outcomes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in descendant generations,” Buffington said. “Remarkably, we found that a high fat grandmaternal diet has the potential to impact neurodevelopment and long-term behavioral outcomes across multiple descendant generations.” The Galveston County Daily News also shared this news.

Dr. Jeff Temple, director of the Center for Violence Prevention at UTMB, joined Town Square to discuss the consumption of true crime as entertainment.

​To make a main-floor bedroom as comfortable and safe as possible, Elena Volpi, M.D., director of the Sealy Center on Aging at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, suggests removing area rugs to prevent tripping and adding night-lights for middle-of-the-night bathroom trips. Make sure furniture including side tables, footstools, benches and storage items are removed from the path to the bathroom, for example.​

Medical students who like to fish—Blake Northrop, Vishaal Sakthivelnathan and Dylan Weaver—wrote an op-ed about avoiding flesh-eating bacteria while enjoying their favorite saltwater sport.

Drs. Victor Sierpina and Michelle Sierpina wrote about UTMB’s Willed Body program. “At UTMB, students and faculty begin each dissection session with a moment of silence to honor the donor. Students learn the sacred trust of donors and the beginnings of respect, ethics, and patient-centered care.”

A new blood test developed by the biomedical technology company SomaLogic in Boulder, Colorado, focuses on proteins in the blood that could provide an early warning for heart disease and stroke patients. Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel discuss the research in Medical Discovery News.

Dr. Peter Cram, chair of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, is one of three prominent physician health care policy leaders calling for the phasing out of the readmissions reduction program. The team’s position appeared Oct. 6 in an op-ed in Jama Network.