A single exposure to cocaine triggers a week-long surge of activity in a brain region central to the development of addiction, according to new research on mice published this week in Nature. The changes may prime the brain for addiction, the researchers say.

A drug widely prescribed as the sole treatment for asthma has been found to be incapable by itself of preventing asthma attacks or controlling the airway inflammation thought to lead to deteriorated lung function and gradual worsening of asthma.

The Center for Mothers and Newborns and UCSF Children's Medical Center will star in a new documentary that features high-risk deliveries and natural childbirth, a "miracle" baby born after five miscarriages...

CHICAGO - Many frail elderly women who get routine mammography suffer significant burdens from the screening procedure with little chance to benefit from it, says a study from researchers at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Pediatricians know that most of the health damaging threats to children in their teenaged years can be prevented if teens avoid dangerous risks and habits. Training can increase the number of times that health providers will put that knowledge into practice.

HIV infection among injection drug users (IDUs) in San Francisco is strongly associated with sexual behavior, with men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who trade sex for money much more likely to become infected than other IDUs, according to a study by UCSF researchers.

African American and Hispanic senior citizens who lack prescription drug benefits are three times more likely than white seniors to cut back on taking their medications, according to a study from researchers at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The first patent for a method of delivering normal genes in a pill to induce the production of insulin in people with diabetes was issued May 1 to the University of California, San Francisco by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) who are victims of childhood sexual abuse are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior than other MSMs, say researchers from UCSF's Center for AIDS Prevention (CAPS).

Researchers led by UCSF scientists are reporting that a highly effective clot busting drug for stroke is significantly underutilized in all patient populations at U.S. academic medical centers, and is strikingly underutilized in African Americans.