UTMB News Articles

Now is the perfect time of year to get your flu shot, experts agree. "The advice has been similar for many years, and really the best time to get the flu shot is before the end of October," Dr. Megan Berman tells TODAY. "It's corny, but I tell my patients, 'flu before boo,'" Berman added.

“Over the next two to three years, our organization is strategically focused on growth opportunities that reflect both the evolving needs of our patients and the rapid transformation of pharmacy practice,” UTMB’s Michael Eagon tells Becker’s for this article on growth opportunities.

Research by UTMB’s Dr. Isabella Faria and colleagues found that children with acute uncomplicated appendicitis (UA) treated with antibiotics alone faced significantly higher risks of treatment failure and serious complications within a year compared with those who underwent appendectomy. "What we're seeing now is that, as the volume and quality of evidence increase, a clearer signal is emerging: nonoperative management is associated with higher failure rates and more complications," Faria told MedPage Today.

“This updated recommendation means the Covid vaccine is available to everyone six months and older,” write Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp in their latest Vaccine Smarts column. While recent changes to Covid vaccine guidelines have caused some confusion, Berman and Rupp write that the good news is the vaccine is available for everyone six months and older and patients are encouraged to have a conversation with their health care provider about the vaccine.

UTMB is the recipient of a seven-year, $29 million Clinical and Translational Science Award from to establish and lead the new Greater Gulf Coast Translational Science Alliance. “This award allows us to bring together the unique strengths of four institutions to impact the Houston/Galveston biomedical ecosystem,” said Dr. Randall Urban.

Dr. Samuel Mathis takes some time in this week’s column to explore how over-the-counter pain relievers work. “Over-the-counter medications are generally safe when used appropriately according to their instructions,” Mathis writes.

Recent studies have focused on the consumption of meat, especially processed meats, as an important risk factor for colorectal cancer, write Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel in their latest Medical Discover News column. They write that according to a recent study, “Eating just 2.5 ounces a day of red and processed meats led to a 32 percent and 40 percent greater risk, respectively, for colorectal cancer.”

Medscape reports on a study published earlier this year that found that CT scans may be a major cause of cancer. Those results are disputed by many. Medscape quoted a letter penned by UTMB’s Chris Hsu, Alexander David and Dr. James Roberts that states the study doesn’t take recent innovations in medical imaging into account. “This leads to an overestimation of the projected risk of cancer alongside the upward trend of CT use,” Medscape quotes from the letter.

Dr. Jochen Reiser, president of UTMB and CEO of UTMB Health, spoke to Becker’s about rethinking what growth means and how organizations deliver care. “UTMB’s most unexpected growth has been in pharmacy, where retail and specialty services have delivered more than 30% compound annual growth rate over the past three years,” Reiser said.

Dr. Vineet Gupta joined KHOU to talk about a nasal spray treatment for Alzheimer’s developed at UTMB. “You are looking at six to eight years before all the testing is complete and this becomes a medicine that doctors are able to prescribe,” Gupta said.