UTMB News

“Our concept of metastasis has changed over the years,” wrote Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel in their Medical Discovery News column. “Not long ago, doctors and scientists thought metastasis was a natural stage of the cancer that happened as tumors grew. Treatment relied on removing the primary tumor by surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy.”

“As adults, if we allow ourselves, we might also wish to recapture such light joy to balance the heaviness of our daily stress and gloomy news reports,” wrote Dr. Victor S. Sierpina. Meditate this weekend by blowing bubbles.

As we age, we could benefit from adding more protein in our diet. It's also one of the slowest macronutrients to digest, a 2008 study by the University of Texas Medical Branch explains, which means as well as helping to improve your metabolism, you'll also stay fuller for longer and gradually learn how to eat less.

In 5- to 11-year-olds, the booster more than doubles the antibody levels found after the second dose. Additionally, boosting has been shown in other age groups to further improve the antibodies so that they better bind the virus and provide more protection against variants. Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp discuss this in the latest Vaccine Smarts column.

Dr. Victor S. Sierpina sees patients who are using this centuries-old remedy for a broad variety of conditions, despite Texas’ prohibition against its use. “Like our endogenous endorphin system of opiate receptors, the endocannabinoid system is a network throughout our body in multiple organs and cells, which accounts for why cannabinoids impact so many conditions from pain, mood, insomnia, cancer, nausea, appetite and others.,” he writes. “Endocannabinoid deficiency is being considered as the cause for a range of poorly characterized and challenging diseases such depression, migraine, ADHD and irritable bowel syndrome.”

“Mental health problems have nothing to do with being lazy or weak,” writes Dr. Sally Robinson in her column. “Many people need help to get better. Treatment varies depending on the individual and could include medication, therapy or both. Studies show that people do get better and many recover completely.”

Two and a half years and billions of estimated infections into this pandemic, SARS-CoV-2’s visit has clearly turned into a permanent stay. Experts knew from early on that, for almost everyone, infection with this coronavirus would be inevitable. You’re not just likely to get the coronavirus. You’re likely to get it again and again and again. “Will reinfection be really bad, or not a big deal? I think you could fall down on either side,” said Vineet Menachery, a coronavirologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch. “There’s still a lot of gray.”

Dr. Neil K. Mehta of The University of Texas Medical Branch is a guest editor of “Why Does Health in the U.S. Continue to Lag Behind,” a special supplemental issue of The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. “There’s no simple answer,” Mehta said. “The issue touches on the many complicated factors with a focus on social and behavioral factors. The U.S. has lagged behind for some time, but over the last decade it’s gotten a lot worse. Even though the U.S. has fared poorly compared to other countries, we are falling even further behind.” Medical Xpress, News Medical and other websites also posted the release of the supplemental issue.

The care closet houses clothing and hygiene essentials, such as toothpaste, donated by medical branch employees. The items are available to patients and their friends and family members at the hospital who might not be able to afford them. “If they don’t have transportation or want to leave their loved one’s bedside, all of those items are here in the care closet to provide to them,” medical branch social worker and patient resource specialist Savannah Parks said. “They can just focus on their loved ones and not have to stress or go without taking care of themselves.” I45now also reported on the opening.

Efforts to decrease hospital readmissions may have been misguided because the United States already does better than other high-income nations in this area, according to researchers including Dr. Peter Cram of the University of Texas Medical Branch. The highest risk of death within one year of hospitalization was seen in the United States for the most serious type of heart attack, despite high scores in the use of effective interventions encouraged by evidence-based guidelines, such as revascularization. The United States also leads in low hospital readmission rates for patients treated for heart attacks.

“The Daily News is proud to have named Dr. Pei-Yong Shi as its 35th annual Citizen of the Year,” wrote Michael Smith, editor. “Naming the one from among that group of worthy citizens always is a hard decision for the panel of judges who reviewed and ranked each of the 20 applications. Ultimately, however, no other nominee contributed more to the public good over the preceding year than Shi, whose study of, and contribution to our understanding of, COVID delivered global benefit.”

Unfortunately, sports are all too often seen as the prime demonstration of intense competition. Children can be involved in sports activities of all levels and have successful and gratifying experiences and not have the pressures of intense win-loss events, writes Dr. Sally Robinson.

In Medical Discovery News, Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel report on an mRNA vaccine that might open new avenues for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. “While this treatment is extremely promising, keep in mind there’s a long road and a lot of research that will be required before this becomes a treatment for humans,” they advise.

“If your doctor offers telehealth visits for you, there are a few things you can do to better prepare for these visits to ensure you get the most of your virtual time together,” advises Drs. Victor Sierpina and Michelle Sierpina. “First, write it down. Write down whatever issues or concerns you want to speak about.” Sharpen your pencils.

As more facts in the Uvalde shooting come to light, Republican lawmakers continue to point to mental illness as the underlying cause of gun violence. But that is a “politically expedient” excuse that does not bear out with existing research, said Dr. Jeff Temple, director of the Center for Violence Prevention at the University of Texas Medical Branch. “We do need resources for mental health, but the fact is less than 5 percent of all gun violence is traced back to someone with a diagnosed mental illness.” Temple published a study in 2019 that found “individuals who had access to guns, compared to those with no such access, were over 18 times more likely to have threatened someone with a gun, even after controlling for a number of demographic and mental health variables.” Temple also discussed how people cope with these tragedies on KCBS Radio and Town Square on Houston Public Media. “The very best thing you could do is talk with your kids and start that conversation,” Temple said on Texas Standard. “Silence actually tells the kids that what happened is so horrible that you can’t even speak of it or that you’re scared that it’s going to happen again.”

The University of Texas Medical Branch’s World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses has samples of monkeypox from past outbreaks and has started to grow more samples of the virus to distribute to other research labs working on diagnostic tools and treatments. The medical branch is home to one of the leading viral research programs in the world and has grown and distributed other viral samples to researchers in past outbreaks, including early on during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re gearing up to produce large amounts of those viruses to distribute to scientists who need them,” said Scott Weaver, the director of the Institute for Human Infections & Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch.

At the University of Texas Medical Branch, different departments have different virtual work policies, said Philesha Evans, associate vice president of human resources operations and employee health. Health-care workers have to show up, but the medical branch has many office workers. “A more commonly asked question during the interview process now on the part of the candidate is ‘Am I able to work some or all of this job from home?’” Evans said.