Lupus is a scary disease, and it can be common. Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, causing inflammation and damage to various organs. Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel discuss research about a connection to kidney damage.

“The primary reason hobbies are good is because they force you to take time for yourself,” writes Dr. Samuel Mathis. “Hobbies count as part of the 10 in the 0-5-10-20-30 of the formula for healthy living (0 cigarettes, 5 servings of veggies and fruits a day, 10 minutes of daily mindfulness, 20 minutes of exercise a day, and a body mass index less than 30).”

Thanks to a $56 million grant, the University of Texas Medical Branch and global health care company Novartis will enhance their work together to discover drugs to fight off the next pandemic. The grant comes from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and is one of nine such grants awarded by NIAID to establish Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Centers for Pathogens of Pandemic Concern. “We must prepare for the next pandemic by working together across governmental, non-governmental, academic and private sectors to develop an arsenal of countermeasures,” said Dr. Pei-Yong Shi, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and VP for Research Innovation at UTMB and one of the leaders of the partnership. Many national and international sites also posted this news, including Pharmabiz, Medical News and Study Finds.

Haley Hernandez discovered that Dr. Trine Engebretsen, a transplant surgeon at UTMB, is also a liver recipient. “This whole miracle of transplant is made possible because of donor families and the decisions they make in a very tragic time,” Engebretsen said. She suggests having the conversation about organ donation with your family now instead of leaving them with that decision in the event of an untimely death.

Dr. Jeff Temple, psychologist and director of the Center for Violence Prevention at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, discussed the recent mass shooting on the Houston Public Media program.

To coincide with National Nurses Week, the medical branch’s League City campus opened a “Zen room” Thursday to allow employees to unwind and unload their burnout and stress. “The overall goal of the Zen den was to create a dedicated space for clinical staff to go relax, recharge and to help reduce symptoms of burnout that are caused by the daily work they do,” said Christine Wade, hospital administrator.

International news outlets, including this one in Nigeria, continue to report on a comparative study published May 4 in The BMJ. Dr. Peter Cram, professor and chair of internal medicine at the University of Texas Medical Center at Galveston, is one of the authors. Infectious Disease Advisor also reported on this study.

Dr. Elena Volpi, director of the UTMB Sealy Center on Aging, wrote about researchers seeking volunteers who are women, 65 years and older and who recently have broken a hip and had surgical repair.

This feeling often is attributed to the release of endorphins, natural painkillers released by the body that are thought to create a general feeling of well-being. This is probably a myth though because endorphins cannot cross into the brain. Read more about it in Medical Discovery News.

Drs. Victor S. Sierpina and Michelle Sierpina encourage us to get our toes in the sand soon. “It should be no surprise that we benefit cognitively and psychologically from time away from daily stress,” they wrote in their column. See you on the beach.