University of California San Francisco
Give to UCSF<p>As we mark World AIDS Day this week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention reports that more than a million Americans now live with the disease, and every year some 50,000 people in the United States alone are newly infected.</p>
<p>A National Academy of Sciences committee co-chaired by UCSF Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH, recommends the creation of a Google maps-like data network that could transform the future of medical discovery, diagnosis and treatment.</p>
An experimental drug called Ocrelizumab has shown promise in a Phase 2 clinical trial involving 220 people with multiple sclerosis (MS), an often debilitating, chronic autoimmune disease that affects an increasing number of people in North America.
<p>Aging of individual cells in the body leads to aging of the whole person, according to new evidence from studies of very rare children born with a genetic mutation that wrinkles, ages and kills them before they reach adulthood.</p>
During a decade of receiving mammograms, more than half of cancer-free women will be among those summoned back for more testing because of false-positive results, and about one in 12 will be referred for a biopsy.
<p>African American women have lower breast cancer survival rates than white women and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) scientists are studying why – as well as how to increase their life spans.</p>
<p>A type of fat known as brown fat combined with a stimulating environment appears to help burn calories, at least in a mouse, and maybe even in humans. The findings further fuel enthusiasm for research aimed at converting white fat to brown fat.</p>
<p>Malaria is an infectious disease caused by a parasite transmitted from person to person by the bite of a mosquito. In the past two centuries, numerous research and public health efforts worldwide have sought to combat this ancient scourge as this timeline shows.</p>
UCSF researchers say their analysis of the age-specific, long-term effects of chemotherapy on women provides new insights that will help patients and clinicians make more informed decisions about future reproductive options, such as egg harvesting.
A UCSF-led pilot study in San Francisco has found the highest levels ever reported among pregnant women worldwide of banned chemicals used in flame retardants, a likely result, they believe, of California’s strict flammability regulations.
Scientists have known for years that when vampire bats tear through an animal’s skin with their razor-sharp teeth, their noses guide them to the best spots – where a precise bite will strike a vein and spill forth nourishing blood. But nobody knew exactly how bats knew where to bite – until now.
Patients diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) had over twice the risk of developing dementia within seven years after diagnosis compared to those without TBI, in a study of more than 280,000 older veterans conducted by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and UCSF.
<p>Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), describes the scientific goals and functions of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), a proposed new entity of the NIH that will strive to reengineer the process of developing drugs, diagnostics, and devices. </p>
<p>UCSF cognitive neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley has used functional brain imaging and EEG studies to discover that older adults fare worse than younger adults at remembering following distractions. He hopes to improve their performance with cognitive training, using a newly developed video game.</p>
Researchers at UCSF and in Michigan, North Carolina and Spain have discovered how genetic mutations cause a number of rare human diseases, which include Meckel syndrome, Joubert syndrome and several other disorders.
<p>By mapping neurons and neuron circuitry during movement, Sabes’ lab hopes to one day to be able to print this information back into the brain. If feasible, such therapy could offer new hope to stroke victims whose brains are unable to recover on their own.</p>
<p>Many researchers are finding that by the time a patient seeks treatment for symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, it’s often too late for the available drugs to have an effect. Boxer’s lab is studying very precise eye tracking methods to gauge mental fitness and identify cognitive decline decades before the first symptoms appear.</p>
<p>With years of sleep research under her belt, Lee has recently focused on helping parents — especially new and expecting mothers — get enough sleep. From these studies, Lee has found worrisome correlations between sleep deprivation during pregnancy and increased instances of Cesarean operations and length of labor. By educating families about proper sleep hygiene, she hopes to promote healthier home environments for mothers and babies.</p>
<p>Swallowing pills means medication must face the challenge of surviving the harsh environment of the digestive tract. As a result, people must take larger doses than they need. Using micro and nano-fabrication techniques developed by the computer chip industry, Desai’s lab is creating tiny devices that take multiple drugs directly to where they are needed, using less medication, minimizing side effects and making the process safer for the patient. </p>
<p>Each year, scores of soldiers wounded by explosives suffer from debilitating nerve injuries that render their arms and legs useless. Kim’s research, performed at the UCSF-affiliated San Francisco Veterans Affairs hospital, has led to development of artificial nerve grafts to accelerate healing of these injuries.</p>