There is no connection between rising COVID-19 cases and the electoral process. The U.S. has seen rises in COVID-19 cases that coincide with election seasons in November — but they have also occurred during the summer, according to UTMB’s Dr. Janak Patel.

Many patients with mild traumatic brain injury have central sensitization, a pain that requires a different therapeutic approach than nociceptic pain, according to a study by UTMB student Christopher File, BSA, and colleagues.

“Part of the story about the Hispanic Paradox,” said Kyriakos S. Markides, a professor of aging at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, “is that the non-Hispanic white population is not doing as well as it should.” Markides coined the term “Hispanic Epidemiological Paradox” in a 1986 paper showing Hispanics in the American Southwest lived as long, or longer, than white people.

The number of West Nile virus cases will vary greatly from year to year. “The effect of climate on vector-borne diseases is very complicated,” said Scott Weaver, PhD, director of the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Warmer temperatures are extending the geographic distribution of mosquitoes and ticks in the US. But rates of human disease also depend on the habitats and migratory patterns of animal hosts that harbor the pathogens that infect mosquitoes and ticks. “These are all being affected by climate change,” Weaver said.

“The medical establishment, even within the field of OB-GYN, does not have a good understanding of pseudocyesis,” UTMB’s Dr. Shannon M. Clark tells National Geographic. Understanding what’s happening in the body of a woman with pseudocyesis would help treat the condition and reduce the stigma, Clark says.

In their latest column, Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel write about scientists have been studying members of a large extended family in Colombia who develop early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in their 40s or earlier.

The people of Galveston County should support Dr. Jochen Reiser and hope he succeeds, writes Dolph Tillotson in the Galveston County Daily News. Reiser met with the newspaper’s editorial board this week to discuss the newspaper’s concerns and Reiser’s views for the future of UTMB.

Harris County leads the state in overall illicit fentanyl-related deaths, with 93 through the end of June, according to preliminary state data. UTMB’s Dr. Kathryn Cunningham said Region 6, which includes Harris, Galveston and surrounding counties, had the highest number of drug-related deaths in Texas in 2020.

“Bullied kids flat out don’t feel comfortable at school, so all the benefits of being there – from socializing to learning – are not realized,” UTMB’s Dr. Jeff Temple tells Care. “Bullying has been linked to numerous mental, social, behavioral and physical health complaints. Perhaps most concerning, these consequences are long-lasting and can influence our health and relationships over our lifetime.”

Dancing has been shown to improve flexibility, increase energy. Levels and improve coordination, strength and balance, among other things, says UTMB’s Dr. Samuel Mathis in his latest health column.