Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system, which is designed to protect the body from infections and other harmful agents, begins attacking the body’s own cells, writes Dr. Hasan Yasin. Recent research, he writes, has highlighted the growing connection between environmental toxins and the rise of autoimmune diseases.

UTMB’s Dr. Jochen Reiser was featured on Becker’s Healthcare podcast. Reiser discussed cybersecurity, advancements in AI for clinical and operational use, and fostering partnerships to enhance cancer care in Southeast Texas.

Healio reports on a UTMB study that found that hypothyroidism may be associated with increased perioperative and implant complications after shoulder arthroplasty. “This is a valuable finding which holds significant importance for both surgeons and hypothyroid patients, influencing their choices between shoulder arthroplasty and non-surgical options,” Jad J. Lawand, medical student at UTMB, and colleagues wrote in the study.

Recently more than 20 cases of Oropouche virus infections were identified in the U.S. in people who traveled to Cuba write Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel in their weekly Medical Discovery News column. Oropouche virus causes a disease that resembles Zika virus disease.

“We're not proposing that semaglutide causes erectile dysfunction or that it causes low testosterone, but there's an association between the two,” UTMB’s Dr. Joseph Sonsteintells Men’s Health in this story about how semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular weight loss drugs such as Ozempic, may come with a side of erectile dysfunction. This story was also published in Yahoo!life.