Happiness in Early Adulthood May Protect Against Dementia
Research has shown that poor heart health can increase the risk for dementia, but a new study shows that poor mental health in early adulthood may increase odds by 73%.
University of California San Francisco
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Struggling to Learn a New Language? Blame It on Your Stable Brain
A study in patients with epilepsy is helping researchers understand how the brain manages the task of learning a new language while retaining our mother tongue.
Q&A: Building a Speech Prosthetic for a Paralyzed Man
Following groundbreaking work on a “speech neuroprosthesis” that enabled a paralyzed man to communicate using his brain signals, the lab team answered public questions about brain-computer interfaces and the limitations of translating brain signals into code.
3-D ‘Heat Map’ Animation Shows How Seizures Spread in the Brains of Patients with Epilepsy
UCSF researchers developed a program that translates the hundreds of EEG traces into a 3-D movie showing activity in all recorded locations in the brain. The result is a multicolored 3-D heat map that looks very much like a meteorologist’s hurricane weather map.
Long-Term Prognosis for Some Patients With Severe Brain Injury Better Than Expected, Study Shows
Researchers found that among the patients in a vegetative state, 1 in 4 “regained orientation” – meaning they knew who they were, their location and the date – within 12 months of their injury.
For Concussion Patients, CTs Offer Window into Recovery
CT scans for patients with concussion provide critical information about their risk for long-term impairment and potential to make a complete recovery – findings that underscore the need for physician follow-up.
“Neuroprosthesis” Restores Words to Man with Paralysis
Researchers at UC San Francisco have successfully developed a “speech neuroprosthesis” that has enabled a man with severe paralysis to communicate in sentences, translating signals from his brain to the vocal tract directly into words that appear as text on a screen.
Gene Therapy Offers Long-Awaited Hope for Children with Rare, Incurable Disorder
Children with a devastating genetic disorder characterized by severe motor disability and developmental delay have experienced sometimes dramatic improvements in a gene therapy trial launched at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals.
Cellular Transplant Therapy Pioneered by UCSF Reverses Sea Lion’s Epilepsy
Cronutt was one sick sea lion before undergoing a groundbreaking surgery last fall. Today he's seizure-free and doing well.
Your Immune System Could Turn COVID-19 Deadly
Hidden autoimmunity may explain how the coronavirus wreaks such widespread and unpredictable harm.
The Best Treatment for Insomnia Usually Isn’t a Pill
Cognitive behaviorial therapy for insomnia, the gold-standard intervention, also suggests benefits for well-being.
Why Can’t I Sleep?
Insomnia is miserable, and lost sleep can harm our health. Now, researchers are seeing the promise of solutions in our genes.
Space Travel Weakens Our Immune Systems – Now Scientists May Know Why
Scientists now have shown that the weakening of an astronaut’s immune system during space travel is likely due in part to abnormal activation of immune cells called T regulator cells.
What’s Wrong (and Right) With Race in Medicine
Six health care experts grapple with how to address race without being racist.
