UTMB News

Safeguarding our health against common germs is crucial, especially for older adults who may be more vulnerable to severe respiratory infections, write UTMB’s Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp in their latest Vaccine Smarts column. Vaccination is a powerful tool in preventing illness, reducing the risk of complications and ultimately saving lives.

There are significant health benefits in providing and receiving hugs, writes Dr. Samuel Mathis in his latest column. Studies have found that receiving hugs helps to lower our cortisol levels and decrease the stress response, he writes.

UTMB’s Dr. Todd Masel was a guest speaker at the Gulf Coast Epilepsy Alliance third annual Butterfly Release in La Marque. The event helped raise awareness, unity and solidarity for epilepsy.

Health care leaders shouldn’t be afraid to make big changes when necessary UTMB President Dr. Jochen Reiser tells Chief Healthcare Executive. When an informed leader is willing to take bold steps, he says, “Great things can happen.” Reiser’s comments were also published in Express Healthcare Management.

Dr. Xavier Rice and colleagues evaluated the effectiveness of an educational intervention as a pilot for allyship between barbers and dermatologists to address gaps in pseudofolliculitis barbae care.

“Computers and texting encourage a forward head position and make it harder to maintain good posture,” UTMB’s Dr. Lynne Hughes tells The Washington Post. Hughes provided some tips, such as taking breaks and building up back and ab muscles, to help maintain a more upright posture.

The flu is primarily spread through respiratory droplets made when someone infected coughs, sneezes or talks, Dr. Megan Berman tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Berman says that it is possible to get the flu even if you’ve been vaccinated, but your symptoms will be much milder than if you didn’t get vaccinated.

The New York Times took a deep dive into what space does to the human body and what that means for future space tourists. UTMB’s Dr. Natacha Cough and Dr. Ronak Shah were quoted in the story. “If we go to Mars, you can’t pull a U-turn,” Cough said speaking to the Times about the need for flight health care providers to be ready to handle whatever may come up on a trip to space.

The NIH has granted $4 million to an area initiative to create a research and commercialization hub.

Have you ever considered how many people experience hearing loss, ask Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel in their Medical Discovery News column. There can be multiple reasons a person experiences hearing loss but, thanks to scientific research, there could also be ways to reverse it.

UTMB’s Dr. Hasan Yasin provides tips and techniques for buying healthy food on your next trip to the grocery story.

Naming a new vaccine isn’t an easy process, write Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp in their latest Vaccine Smarts column. Rupp and Berman walk readers through steps of naming the newest lifesaving shots.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, Dr. Samuel Mathis writes about the real health effects practicing gratitude can have. Studies have found that practicing gratitude for 15 minutes a day can have a profound and lasting impact on our lives and how we perceive the world, Mathis writes.

While it’s impossible to predict which pathogen will cause the next pandemic, swine flu is a likely candidate write Drs. Nobert Herzog and David Niesel in their latest Medical Discovery News column.

“It is very important that this drug was approved and reached the market,” UTMB’s Dr. Giulio Taglialatela tells the Daily News for a story on a study currently recruiting people for a clinic trail. “The ultimate goal is a cure, which I really hope we are on the right track to achieve,” Tagliatela said.

UTMB’s Dr. Peter Cram comments on a recent report that found Canada scores poorly when it comes to opioid deaths and access to care.

Visits to the ER for children are on the rise as candy-like medications become more common, according to this report from KTRE. Mark Winter, a specialist for the Southeast Texas Poison Control Center and UTMB professor, told KTRE that poison centers have been dealing with medications that look like candy for years.

The cost savings from blood management programs go beyond blood acquisition costs, UTMB’s Dr. Justin Halls tells Healthcare Brew.