FYI…UCSF in the News is a daily summary of news stories published worldwide that highlight UCSF, its affiliated programs, and issues that affect the University.  To read the full news story, click the individual headlines listed below.

On the second Wednesday of each month, FYI…UCSF in the News includes an additional "Research Roundup" section that lists research papers authored by UCSF faculty and published in the journals Cell, Health Services Research, JAMA, Lancet, Nature, NEJM, Nursing Research, and Science.

UCSF PRINT AND ONLINE COVERAGE

  • Dental Erosion on Rise in U.S. (AOL (America Online) - AOL Television)
    Researchers from the University of Texas, Indiana University and the University of California, San Francisco report in the current issue of Dental Tribune that dental erosion is on the increase in the United States.
  • Doctor's legacy is medicine at its best (MSNBC.com)
    NBC News reports: "What makes an excellent physician? I have been thinking a lot about it since the death of a dear friend, Dr. Sam Hughes, professor of anesthesia and perioperative care at the University of California, San Francisco, and an attending physician at San Francisco General Hospital. He died at age 61 on Jan. 20, after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer."
  • The rich get too many mammograms; the poor too few (National Post - Online)
    Dr. Brie Williams and colleagues from the University of California at San Francisco, report in the Archives of Internal Medicine, that older, wealthy women in poor health are more likely to get mammograms even when they are unlikely to benefit from the test, while poor women in good health are less likely to receive the test even when they are likely to benefit.
  • The Claim: Identical twins have identical DNA (New York Times)
    Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and universities in Sweden and the Netherlands, report in The American Journal of Human Genetics that identical twins do not share identical genetic profiles. The New York Times reports: "John Witte, a professor of genetic epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco, said the findings were part of a growing focus on genetic changes after the parents’ template had been laid."
  • Technology the latest tool in Dr. James Gude's crusade to keep health care personal (Press Democrat)
    The Press Democrat reports: "Using a laptop computer to guide a robot at Healdsburg District Hospital, Dr. James Gude talks with patients and nurses from his office at Palm Drive Hospital in Sebastopol. ... Gude believes such technological innovation will enhance patient care and shape the future of medicine around the world. He's working with a hospital in India to hook up a robot that will consult with HIV specialists at San Francisco General Hospital."
  • S.F. supes require posting of nutrition info (San Francisco Chronicle)
    The Chronicle reports: "The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a law Tuesday that requires chain restaurants to post nutrition information on their menus -- but whether that will turn diners off of Big Macs remains to be seen, nutritionists say. ... Dr. Robert Lustig, a UCSF pediatrician and obesity expert, said he favors the menu labeling but is disappointed that the labels don't go far enough."
  • FDA names drug research chief (United Press International)
    UPI reports: "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has selected Dr. Janet Woodcock to become the agency's director of drug evaluation and research. ... An internist and rheumatologist, Woodcock received her doctor of medicine degree from Northwestern Medical School and completed further training and had teaching appointments at Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, San Francisco."

UCSF TELEVISION COVERAGE

  • Motherhood and memory lapse (ABC National -- World News Now and Good Morning America)
    Dr. Louann Brizendine, neuropsychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, was interviewed by ABC about 'momnesia,' or post-partum forgetfulness that scientists are saying is a medical condition. --- The interview aired on ABC World News Now yesterday at 3:30 AM, and on Good Morning America on 3/8 at 8 AM.

UCSF HEADLINES

  • Wealthier women get more breast cancer screenings, regardless of benefit (UCSF News Office)
    Among women 65 and older, wealthy women in poor health are more likely to receive screening mammography for breast cancer even when they are unlikely to benefit from the test, while poor women in good health are less likely to receive screening mammography even when they are likely to benefit. The results are in a study led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
  • Giudice Receives 2008 Woman in Science Award (UCSF Today)
    Linda C. Giudice, MD, PhD, Robert B. Jaffe M.D. Endowed Chair in Reproductive Sciences, is the recipient of the 2008 Woman in Science Award from the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA).
  • Mount Zion Invites Community to Health Fair on March 13 (UCSF Today)
    The Mount Zion Health Information Alliance and UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion present, Your Health Matters, an information and resource fair. The event takes place on Thursday, March 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Mount Zion cafeteria, located on the lower level of 1600 Divisadero St., San Francisco. The event is open to the public.

RESEARCH ROUNDUP

  • The Future of General Surgery (JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association)
    To the Editor: In his Commentary about the imminent disappearance of the general surgeon, Dr Fischer1 notes several causes and implications of the general surgeon shortage. We believe that a surgical hospitalist program may be an important remedy. John Maa, MD, maaj@surgery.ucsf.edu, Department of Surgery; Robert M. Wachter, MD, Department of Medicine; Jessica E. Gosnell, MD Department of Surgery; Hobart W. Harris, MD, MPH, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco
  • Africa's neglected surgical workforce crisis (Lancet, The)
    Doruk Ozgediz,a, Stephen Kijjambu,c, Moses Galukande,c, Gerald Dubowitz,b, Jackie Mabweijano,c, Cephas Mijumbi,d, Meena Cherian,e Sam Kaggwa,c and Sam Luboga,c --- aDepartment of Surgery and Global Health Sciences, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. dozgediz@hotmail.com bDepartment of Anesthesia, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA cDepartment of Surgery, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda dDepartment of Anaesthesia, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda eWHO Department of Essential Health Technologies, Clinical Procedures Unit, Emergency Essential Surgical Care Project, Geneva, Switzerland
  • The developmental genetics of congenital heart disease (Nature)
    Benoit G. Bruneau1 --- 1. Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, and Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, 1650 Owens Street, San Francisco, California 94158, USA.
  • B-cell depletion with rituximab in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (New England Journal of Medicine, The)
    Hauser SL, Waubant E, Arnold DL, Vollmer T, Antel J, Fox RJ, Bar-Or A, Panzara M, Sarkar N, Agarwal S, Langer-Gould A, Smith CH; HERMES Trial Group --- Department of Neurology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0114, USA. hausers@neurology.ucsf.edu
  • Retrospective: Judah Folkman (1933-2008) (Science)
    Hanahan D, Weinberg RA. --- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. dh@biochem.ucsf.edu

MORE RESEARCH NEWS

Science Café
http://www.ucsf.edu/sciencecafe/index.html#conversations

Visit the “Research News” monthly newsletter from the UCSF Office of Research:
http://www.research.ucsf.edu/RschNews/RschNews.asp

Upcoming lectures and seminars:
http://calendar.ucsf.edu/