UTMB News

Scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch have developed a vaccine showing promising protection against Nipah, a zoonotic virus with a mortality rate as high as 70 percent. “Our data suggest that this vaccine can help rapidly generate protective immunity in humans against the virus,” said Dr. Courtney Woolsey, co-lead author of the researchers’ study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The CDC said that you “could” receive a second booster shot but stopped short of saying that one “should.” They previously recommended that everyone 12 and older should receive the first booster for optimal protection. The benefit of a second booster isn’t as extreme, but it’s still there. Drs. Meagan Berman and Richard Rupp explore the issue in their Vaccine Smarts column.

“My Tuesday morning acupuncture clinic is busier than ever,” writes Dr. Victor S. Sierpina in his column. “Medicare started paying for this effective, safe therapy for the specific diagnosis codes of chronic low back pain a couple of years ago. This was done after a review of evidence-based sources that showed positive, non-placebo effect of acupuncture on low back pain.”

According to American Academy of Pediatrics, “climate change poses threat to human health, safety and security. Children are uniquely vulnerable to these threats. Given this knowledge failure to take prompt, substantive action would be an act of injustice to all children.” Dr. Sally Robinson discusses the health risk to children in her column.

A variety of theories have been proposed to explain Washington’s death. Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel cover these in their recent Medical Discovery News column. Washington’s physicians at the time thought it was croup, an infection of the upper airway. Later, physicians have guessed that Washington died of diphtheria, strep throat, quinsy, Ludwig’s angina, Vincent’s angina or pneumonia, but none of these explained all the symptoms. What is your diagnosis?

The effects of traumatic brain injuries are difficult to predict, especially for children, said Dr. Aaron Mohanty, pediatric neurosurgeon at the University of Texas Medical Branch. In general, babies who suffer such injuries have a better chance of recovery than adults, because they are still in the early developmental stages. But the degree to which they regain their motor skills varies widely. “One thing we are taught as a pediatric neurosurgeon is never give up,” Mohanty said. “Ultimately, it may not work out, but you’ll be surprised most of the time what functions you get back.”

The University of Texas Medical Branch plans to make room for mental-health treatment as part of a multimillion-dollar renovation of John Sealy Hospital. “We want to do the best job we can of addressing serious mental health disorders, but in the least restrictive environment for that patient,” medical branch President Dr. Ben Raimer said. “We want them to learn to deal with the mental health stressors that are facing them in the environments that are contributing to some of those stressors. You can’t learn to swim unless you’re in the water.”

Starting this fall, the next generation of students will take part in the public health workforce and improving the overall health and well-being of residents at the new School of Public and Population Health at UTMB. “The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the urgent need for more public health professionals trained in epidemiology, disease surveillance, as well as the need for expanded public health resources,” said Dr. Kristen Peek, dean of the new school. “A school dedicated to public and population health will build upon our strength in science and research, healthcare policy and delivery to prepare the next generation of public health leaders.” The Galveston County Daily News also reported this news.

UTMB’s Paula Summerly is featured in the latest episode of the podcast. Summerly, who manages the Old Red Medical Museum, shared stories of the 1920 Bubonic Plague outbreak in Galveston and highlighted some of UTMB’s trailblazing women in the medical field.

Dr. Heidi Luft, a professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch, highlighted the importance of teamwork plus the need for training and investment in mental health research during a recent webinar, the Dominican Republic news outlet reported. "Most people need more training to be able to do this teamwork effectively," Luft said.

Recently, two older drugs, gemfibrozil and retinoic acid, have been combined to produce an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Gemfibrozil was used as a cholesterol-lowering drug before statins became the drugs of choice. Retinoic acid is related to vitamin A and has wide use for cancer and skin conditions. Recent studies have shown that combining these two drugs can have profound effects on brain cells called astrocytes, Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel write in their Medical Discovery News column.

Children who grew up in more polluted areas had an increased risk of having reduced lung growth which may never be recovered, writes Dr. Sally Robinson in her column. The average drop in lung function is similar to the impact of growing up in a home with parents who smoke.

A growing body of evidence shows that spending time outdoors can improve overall health and even prolong your life, Dr. Samuel Mathis writes in his column. One study found that spending 20 minutes outside can lower the stress hormone cortisol by 20 percent from baseline. The activity didn’t matter; rather, just the act of being outside improved people’s stress levels.

University of Texas Medical Branch Professor Dr. Peter Cram is featured on the latest episode of the podcast, Freakonomics, M.D. Cram, who is chair of Internal Medicine at UTMB, did the math on how Katie Couric influenced people to get colonoscopies. But were they the people who needed cancer screening?

An implant little bigger than a grain of rice, put gently in place alongside a strategically placed blood vessel, could replace much bulkier devices that stimulate nerves. A collaboration of Texas Medical Center institutions published the first proof-of-concept results from a years-long program to develop tiny, wireless devices that can treat neurological diseases or block pain. Dr. Peter Kan, a professor and chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, is a co-lead author of the paper.

The subvariant known as BA.2 accounted for 55.4% of new COVID-19 cases in New England during the week of March 13-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Clearly, this BA.2 is really increasing,” said Pei-Yong Shi, Ph.D., vice president for research innovation at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. The new subvariant already has taken center stage in Europe, and if past surge trends continue, will come to dominate new cases across the U.S., Shi said.

About 90 percent of the older people with mild cognitive impairment showed higher levels of certain microRNAs in their blood, Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel explain in their recent Medical Discovery News column. In mice, the levels of these microRNAs began to increase even before the mice showed any signs of mental impairment. Scientists determined that the levels of these molecules were predictive of dementia two to five years into the future. These could be the first blood-based biomarkers that we could use for early diagnosis of dementia.