UTMB News

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.

It has been reported that a single infant’s intake of microplastics from feeding bottles ranged from 14,600 to 4,500,000 particles. This enormous range of the number of particles shows the difficulty of measuring during early life and the difficulty of measuring such small particles, writes Dr. Sally Robinson in her regular column.

For those planning to safari in Sub-Saharan Africa or cruise the Amazon River, the yellow fever vaccine is a must. Drs. Megan Berman and Richard Rupp explain why in the latest Vaccine Smarts column.

Chronic pain, chronic fatigue syndromes, sleep disorders like sleep apnea and restless legs, anxiety, medications, organ problems like a bladder issue — all these and more must be considered as part of assessing the cause of sleep problems and treating them. Dr. Victor S. Sierpina offers tips to help you get the sleep you need. One is to reduce screen time before bedtime, so go ahead and put your cell phone down now.

Galveston’s St. Vincent’s House, working with the University of Texas Medical Branch, has opened this clinic for the most underserved on the island at Central Methodist Church, 3308 Ave. O 1/2. “Here, they are in a safe, trusted environment,” said Dr. Miles Farr. “Working alongside the church leadership is a key element to the success of this collaboration.”

More than 200 fourth-year medical students learned March 18 where they will serve as residents during the annual Match Day event at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Match Day is a national event in which medical students find where they will do their postgraduate residency programs.

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is receiving an endowment of $250,000 toward a Doctor of Clinical Nutrition program from Sodexo, a health care food service and facilities management company, officials with Sodexo said Monday. Pending approval, the program will begin in the spring semester of 2023.

The University of Texas Medical Branch plans to provide a physician to help care for the thousands of patients Dr. Nancy Hughes treated at her medical practice. Hughes, 67, died March 18 after she was struck by a vehicle on the far east end of Seawall Boulevard. “Nancy Hughes has been a very valued member of our medical staff since she first opened her practice in the 1990s. We wanted to be sure to offer her patients that continuity of care,” President Ben Raimer said. Before opening her own practice, she worked at the medical branch and continued to have admission privileges there.

Attorneys for Melissa Lucio, a Harlingen mother of 14 who is on death row for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, are calling on Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant her a stay of execution in a new clemency application. A slew of supporters and medical and forensic experts from across the state have joined in seeking clemency for her. One of those experts, Dr. Michael Laposata, chairman of the Department of Pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, believes there is evidence to support Mariah had been a victim of Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation, a disorder that causes extensive bruising following a head trauma, which her lawyers say occurred after her fall down the stairs. Texas Public Radio also reported Laposata’s expertise.

The Deer Park Community Advisory Council Program Planning Committee undertook a census review after a 2019 University of Texas Medical Branch study noted a correlation between cancer rates and residents’ proximity to refineries.

The U.K. news outlet talked to nutritionists and referenced a UTMB study in this feature. “Powders have a high concentration of protein and research conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch found that a person can consume around 25g to 30g of protein per meal.”

Because of the rising number of cases of drug-resistant epilepsy, new and innovative interventions based on brain neuromodulation are needed to treat this life-altering disease. Dr. Prashant Rai explains how electrical brain stimulation is one of those innovations.

“Confronting grief is a daily event in medical practice,” writes Dr. Victor S. Sierpina in his column. “Be there for those who grieve. You might not know what to say. That’s not important. Don’t run away because of your awkwardness or fear of saying something wrong or of your own pain. Be there for them. Healing grief is a group process and joined journey.”