Bullying among sixth graders a daily occurrence, UCLA study finds
Nearly half the sixth graders in two Los Angeles-area public schools say they were bullied by classmates during a five-day period, UCLA researchers report in the first study to examine daily school harassment and the first to examine the effects of witnessing other students being bullied....... The UCLA researchers studied 192 students in two ethnically diverse, urban schools. In one school, 47 p...UCLA Medical Center becomes first hospital to introduce remote presence robots in ICU
UCLA Medical Center has announced initial clinical tests of the RP-6 mobile robot system in its neurosurgery intensive care unit (ICU). The RP-6 robot, made by InTouch Health Inc. in Santa Barbara, Calif., allows doctors to "virtually" consult with patients, family members and health care staff at a moment's notice, even if miles away from the hospital. ......Intensivists -- the physicians who sp...UCLA study shows that people drink less alcohol as they age
A new UCLA study shows that people drink less alcohol as they age--but drinking among those who were born in earlier years showed a faster decline than among people born more recently....... For instance, people born in 1925 decreased their drinking an average of 11 percent for each decade of aging while those born in 1935 reduced their drinking about 9 percent each decade....... The study, "Long...UCLA neuroscientists pinpoint new function for mirror neurons
The road to interpreting intentions is paved with mirror neurons. ......A study by UCLA neuroscientists featuring functional magnetic resonance imaging and a well-stocked tea service suggests for the first time that mirror neurons help people understand the intentions of others -- a key component to social interaction. ......Reporting Feb. 22 in the online edition of PLoS Biology, the UCLA team f...UCLA scientists identify genetic link to migraine
UCLA geneticists have discovered the first evidence that migraine with aura is a hereditary condition. Reported in the March 1 edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics, the findings will enable researchers to isolate the gene that predisposes people to the painful disorder....... For the first time, we have proof of an isolated genetic link to migraine, said Dr. Aarno Palotie, principal...UCLA study: Nearly a third of drug ads in medical journals contain no references for medical claims
UCLA investigators reviewed pharmaceutical ads in American medical journals and found that nearly one-third contained no references for medical claims; while the majority of references to published material were available, only a minority of company data-on-file documents were provided upon request; and the majority of original research cited in the ads was funded by or had authors affiliated wit...UCLA brain scientists crack mystery of how alcohol causes intoxication
BACKGROUND: Alcohol interferes with how brain cells communicate with one another, coordination, grogginess, impaired memory and loss of inhibitions associated with drunkenness. Yet researchers have been unable to pinpoint how alcohol causes this disruption in the brain. ... ...FINDINGS: Now scientists at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have deciphered how a naturally occurring gene...UCLA-VA study names India dietary staple as potential Alzheimer's weapon
A dietary staple of India, where Alzheimer's disease rates are reportedly among the world's lowest, holds potential as a weapon in the fight against the disease. ...... The new UCLA-Veterans Affairs study involving genetically altered mice suggests that curcumin, the yellow pigment in curry spice, inhibits the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and al...New UCLA study develops links between socioeconomic status and poor health
Previous studies have shown a connection between health and socioeconomic status (SES), demonstrating higher instances of heart disease, cancer and other evidence of poor health in those lower in the economic scale. The question is why, and how early in life these effects begin taking shape....... ... Focusing on 18- to 30-year-old study participants, the researchers examined blood glucose, bl...UCLA/VA research explains Alzheimer's link to diabetes; shows protective effect of low-fat diet
Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) is a protein known to play a role in eliminating amyloid peptides that cause destructive plaques and tangles in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Until now, little has been known about the cellular and molecular regulation of IDE. ... ... Using animal models and human tissue, the research team 1) identified a shortfall of IDE protein in the brains of Alz...UCLA brain researchers uncover new clues to SIDS
Two new UCLA studies have identified brain irregularities in children who suffer from congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS), a disease in which children stop breathing during sleep, often resulting in their suffocation and death. The scientists tested how CCHS children's brains react to carbon dioxide and low oxygen levels in comparison to the brains of healthy children. ... ...UCLA medical student develops, markets communication board for intubated patients
Over the years, UCLA Medical Center nurse Lance Patak cared for too many critically ill patients who couldn't communicate their needs due to the endotracheal tubes that went through their vocal cords, making speech impossible. So he developed an easy-to-use augmentative communication board that intubated patients could use to make their needs known to their caregivers and family members with a...Left and right ears not created equal as newborns process sound, finds UCLA/UA research
Challenging decades of scientific belief that the decoding of sound originates from a preferred side of the brain, UCLA and University of Arizona scientists have demonstrated that right-left differences for the auditory processing of sound start at the ear. ... ...Reported in the Sept. 10 edition of Science, the new research could hold profound implications for rehabilitation of persons with hea...Seniors reduce or discontinue medications when faced with gap in drug coverage, UCLA study shows
Seniors who use up their yearly drug benefits before the end of the year often resort to reducing their recommended dosages, or even stop taking their medications altogether--a situation that could endanger their health, according to a new study co-authored by a UCLA researcher.... ... In a study of 1308 seniors with a yearly cap on drug benefits, 24 percent of seniors who used up their benefit t...UCLA study shows Medicaid costs can shrink
Medicaid costs can shrink significantly when Head Start parents are trained to handle common ailments ......Medicaid costs for a child's trip to an emergency room or clinic can be reduced annually by at least $198 per family when Head Start parents are provided with easy-to-understand health-care guidance, according to a first-of-its kind study by the UCLA/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Institute...UCLA yoga study seeks breast cancer survivors
Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center are recruiting volunteers who have completed treatment for breast cancer and are experiencing persistent fatigue to join a study to see if yoga can improve energy, mood and physical functioning. ......"We are interested in yoga because there are some compelling preliminary data that suggest the practice may be associated with improving mood and energy,"...UCLA research explores biology of fear
New findings at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute demonstrate the potential of a substance found in yohimbe tree bark to accelerate recovery from anxiety disorders suffered by millions of Americans....... In the latest in a series of studies of how mice acquire, express and extinguish conditioned fear, the UCLA team finds yohimbine helps mice learn to overcome the fear faster by enhancing the e...Bullying in schools pervasive, UCLA study finds
More than one in five 12-year-olds are repeatedly either bullies, victims or both, and bullies are often popular and viewed by classmates as the "coolest" in their classes, according to new UCLA research from the most comprehensive study on young adolescent bullying in an ethnically diverse, large urban setting.... ...Bullies, seven percent of the students, are psychologically strong.......Outstanding UCLA undergraduates present research
More than 30 UCLA undergraduates presented original research at the annual Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research at UC Irvine Nov. 22. The students represented many fields, including the sciences, humanities and the social sciences. Among them were:...... Omid Michael Foladi, a fourth-year history major with minors in public policy and education. Foladi is a Wasserman Undergr...UCLA studies experimental cancer drug
Men with high-risk prostate cancer who are candidates for surgery are being sought to test a molecularly targeted experimental drug that may interrupt the signal that is driving their cancer and keep the disease from recurring....... The early-phase clinical trial is based on basic research discoveries made in Jonsson Cancer Center laboratories. UCLA researchers have successfully tested the drug...UCLA teams with Drew to provide cancer care
Leading-edge experimental cancer treatments will be provided to an underserved, minority patient population in South Central Los Angeles under a new partnership between UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, cancer center officials announced Nov.19.... ...The partnership, funded in part by a two-year, $500,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute,...UCLA study looks at life after breast cancer
Very young women diagnosed with breast cancer may be more likely to have persisting physical and psychological problems years after cancer, according to a new study by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center.... ...In a survey of nearly 600 women who were all age 50 or younger when they first were diagnosed with breast cancer, researchers found that the majority of women report they have a go...UCLA researchers to test experimental pill
Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center are seeking volunteers with advanced colorectal cancer to participate in two final-phase studies that test the cancer-fighting powers of an experimental pill designed to cut off the blood supply that feeds oxygen and nutrients to cancer tumors.... ...The experimental drug, called PTK/ZK, is paired with what is considered the best chemotherapy combinatio...UCLA researchers find gingko biloba may help improve memory
Researchers at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute found significant improvement in verbal recall among a group of people with age-associated memory impairment who took the herbal supplement ginkgo biloba for six months when compared with a group that received a placebo. ......The UCLA study, released at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, held Nov. 812, in New Orleans, LA, used p...UCLA study examines health of California seniors
Health difficulties most frequently tarnish the golden years of California Latinos and seniors with limited-English proficiency, according to an extensive UCLA Center for Health Policy Research report on the well-being of the state's oldest residents. The study is the first comprehensive evaluation of the health of California seniors that includes county-level information.... ... About 44.7 perce...UCLA helping nurses quit smoking
A UCLA School of Nursing professor will launch a program to help nurses quit smoking. The first initiative of its kind in the United States, "Tobacco Free-Nurses" will be funded by a $1.8 million grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.... ...UCLA School of Nursing Professor Linda Sarna and Stella Aguinaga Bialous, a nurse who is a tobacco-control consultant in San Francisco, are spearheadi...Researcher at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center wins lifetime achievement award
Renowned cancer researcher Dr. Owen Witte, who pioneered the research linking a mutant gene to chronic myeloid leukemia, has won the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's prestigious de Villiers International Achievement Award.... ...The award, the highest scientific honor given by the society, lauds Witte for his lifetime achievement in cancer research and recognizes his significant contributions to und...Rejection really hurts, UCLA psychologists find
Two key areas of the brain appear to respond to the pain of rejection in the same way as physical pain, a UCLA-led team of psychologists reports in the Oct. 10 issue of Science.... ..."While everyone accepts that physical pain is real, people are tempted to think that social pain is just in their heads," said Matthew D. Lieberman, one of the paper's three authors and an assistant professor of psy...UCLA scientists invent search-and-destroy method to flush HIV out of hiding places in body
UCLA AIDS Institute scientists have devised a new technique to switch on and drive hibernating HIV from its hiding places in the body. Reported in the September issue of Immunity, the research suggests a possible therapeutic strategy to kill the hidden virus so people who are HIV-positive could eventually stop taking antiretroviral medications. ... ..."Our findings show potential for flushing H...UCLA study examines origins of fatigue in breast cancer survivors
Persistent fatigue in breast cancer survivors might be associated with a chronic inflammatory process involving T cells, according to a new UCLA study published Aug. 6 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute....... About 30 percent of women successfully treated for breast cancer suffer persistent fatigue of unknown origin. Earlier studies have found elevated levels of several inflammatory...UCLA study reveals surgeon shortage
When you need a qualified surgeon in the coming years, will there be one available? Maybe not, according to a new study by UCLA researchers.... ...Due to an aging population, demand for surgery will increase nearly 50 percent for some specialties by the year 2020. The new study, featured in the August 2003 issue of the Annals of Surgery, predicts shortages for most surgical specialties.... ...Re...HIV infection may bump up risk of heart disease in younger patients, UCLA study finds
HIV-positive adults ages 18 to 34 may be more likely to suffer coronary heart disease than HIV-negative persons their age, a new UCLA study suggests. Reported in the August issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, the findings emphasize the need for physicians to monitor HIV patients' cardiac health.... ..."Our study suggests that coronary heart disease may be accelerated in...UCLA researchers release profile of proposition 36-eligible drug offenders
In the first release of findings from an evaluation of California's Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA), UCLA researchers report that the law enacted by voters as Proposition 36 placed more than 30,000 drug offenders in treatment during its first year -- more than half in treatment for the first time.... ...About half of SACPA offenders in treatment identified methamphetamine as thei...UCLA report shows disparities in children's health
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research released a new study on young children July 10 based on data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001). The study, "The Health of Young Children in California: Findings From the 2001 California Health Interview Survey," found wide gaps in the health and access to care among California's children under 6 years of age....... CHIS 2001 is...UCLA, RAND researchers help men with prostate cancer
Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and RAND Health have developed a method to measure quality of care for patients with early-stage prostate cancer, providing for the first time a tool that can be used to help men decide where to go for the best medical care....... Researchers from UCLA and RAND created a comprehensive set of quality-of-care indicators during an 18-month study. The stu...New UCLA program to study the possible environmental causes of cancer
A new program at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and the School of Public Health will seek to discover subtle variations in the human genetic blueprint that predispose some individuals to develop cancer after contact with environmental pollutants....... The program will explore, for example, why some individuals exposed to second-hand cigarette smoke develop lung cancer, while others do not. Bringin...UCLA study finds surgeon experience level critical
A national study found that the number of surgical procedures a physician performs has a significant impact on in-hospital complications and length of hospital stay in older men receiving a radical prostatectomy a common procedure to remove the prostate gland in men with prostate cancer. The study, reported in the Feb. 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, focused on men 65 and older unde...UCLA professors James Heath, Gary Small named to Scientific Americans list of 50 visionaries
UCLA Chemistry Professor James R. Heath has been named by Scientific American magazine as one of the "Scientific American 50" -- the magazine's first "celebration of visionaries from the worlds of research, industry and politics whose recent accomplishments point toward a brighter technological future for everyone." ......UCLA and UC Berkeley, each with two professors selected, were the only univ...Prostate cancer program at UCLAs Jonsson Cancer Center designated a site of research excellence
The prostate cancer program at UCLAs Jonsson Cancer Center and the Department of Urology have been designated by the National Cancer Institute as a site of research excellence, making it one of a few institutions nationwide tapped to improve prevention, detection and treatment of a disease that will kill 30,000 American men this year. ......The designation as a Specialized Program of Research Exc...UCLA geneticists find location of major gene in ADHD; targeted region also linked to autism
UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute researchers have localized a region on chromosome 16 that is likely to contain a risk gene for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, the most prevalent childhood-onset psychiatric disorder. ......Their research, published in the October edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics, suggests that the suspected risk gene may contribute as much as 30 percent...