ALS affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord responsible for movement. The disease causes a loss of muscle function, including the muscles used for speech, swallowing and breathing, and paralysis that eventually leads to death. The mind and senses mostly remain unaffected. Some patients may have cognitive changes, including depression and problems with decision-making and memory.
Seed Funding Leads to Major UA Grants When Tucson judge Jim Himelic died in 2000, his family and friends established a foundation in his honor to raise funds to support ALS research at the UA and elsewhere. UA researchers studying ALS have greatly benefited from the seed money, in some cases subsequently gaining larger grants, and the foundation's major fundraiser this month intends to ensure that such opportunities continue.
Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1353 at the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix.
Governor Signs Telemedicine Bill at UA College of Medicine-Phoenix Gov. Jan Brewer participated in a ceremonial signing of Senate Bill 1353, also known as the Telemedicine Reimbursement Parity Act, requiring telemedicine services be covered by health insurance in rural areas of Arizona. The signing took place in the T-Health Institute on the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix campus. The institute is part of the award-winning Arizona Telemedicine Program based at the UA College of Medicine-Tucson.
Professor Linda Powers, shown here with one of her instruments in the Arctic, is taking her portable technology to a new level: diagnostics, checking blood for disease. Powers credits UA College of Engineering Dean Goldberg with making the research contract happen. "What an incredible extension of a hand of friendship to small businesses in the Valley," she said.
UA Professor Developing Rapid, Disposable Tests for Blood-Borne Disease Building on research that sent her biking across Tanzania a couple of summers ago to test remote water sources on the spot for bacteria, the UA's Linda Powers is moving into the diagnostic realm: developing fast, disposable blood tests for pathogens that cause diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.
Covering an area the size of New England with only 200,000 people spread across it, Arizona’s Four Corners region offers austere, beautiful landscapes but can be daunting because of poor roads for physicians and patients alike to navigate to provide or receive medical care. (Photo courtesy of UA Native American Cardiology & Medical Service Program)
Bringing Neurology Care to Arizona’s Four Corners Region The UA's Dr. David Labiner has offered quarterly neurology clinics at Indian Health Service and health-care facilities on the Navajo and Hopi reservations for about 15 years and bimonthly ones in Flagstaff for 20 years. Common consultations include treating patients for epilepsy, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease, stroke recovery, headaches and neuropathy.
UA College of Medicine-Phoenix
UA Study Finds Improved CPR Quality Saves Lives Life-saving CPR has been a foundation of emergency medicine for more than a half-century. But UA researchers are continuing to refine the procedure, with a new study concluding that improving the quality and effectiveness of CPR can have a dramatic impact on survival from a cardiac arrest.
ALS affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord responsible for movement. The disease causes a loss of muscle function, including the muscles used for speech, swallowing and breathing, and paralysis that eventually leads to death. The mind and senses mostly remain unaffected. Some patients may have cognitive changes, including depression and problems with decision-making and memory.
Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1353 at the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix.
Professor Linda Powers, shown here with one of her instruments in the Arctic, is taking her portable technology to a new level: diagnostics, checking blood for disease. Powers credits UA College of Engineering Dean Goldberg with making the research contract happen. "What an incredible extension of a hand of friendship to small businesses in the Valley," she said.
Covering an area the size of New England with only 200,000 people spread across it, Arizona’s Four Corners region offers austere, beautiful landscapes but can be daunting because of poor roads for physicians and patients alike to navigate to provide or receive medical care. (Photo courtesy of UA Native American Cardiology & Medical Service Program)
UA College of Medicine-Phoenix

Just What We Needed: A New Scorpion

  • The Arizona Republic
  • March 19, 2013
As soon as Rich Ayrey saw the 2-inch-long scorpion, he knew it was something new. He also knew there could be great public interest in a new creature found near a major metropolitan area, not in a remote wilderness. "It's a minority sport," Dawn Gouge of the UA department of entomology says about hunting for new scorpion species. "There's lots out there if somebody wants to take the time."

UA-Developed App Warns Drivers of Dust Storm Danger

  • UANews
  • March 18, 2013
A UA-developed mobile app provides dust storm alerts and tips for staying safe in a dust storm. Arizona sees some of the worst dust storms in the country during the spring and summer months. Blowing dust can lead to poor visibility and dangerous driving conditions on the state's highways.

Places Have the Power to Heal

  • Arizona Public Media
  • March 15, 2013
Evidence is mounting that places have the power to heal, UA researchers are finding. "There are physiological, emotional and immune responses that are occurring in every location that you are in, in every moment of the day," says Dr. Esther Sternberg, director of research for the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine.

How Quickly Do Germs Spread in the Office?

  • PBS NewsHour
  • March 14, 2013
We've all done it: gone to work when we're sick. Now there is research to back up what common sense has told us all along: It's a bad idea. The UA's Kelly Reynolds discusses her recent study, which found that when a colleague comes to work sick, about half of the commonly touched surfaces in the office can become infected by lunchtime.

UA Med Students to Meet Their 'Match'

  • UANews
  • March 14, 2013
Students in the UA College of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix will learn where they will do their residencies during Match Day on March 15. Most of the graduates are expected to remain in Arizona as resident-physicians. Residency programs vary in length from three years for general medicine/family practice specialties to eight years for the most specialized of surgeons.

Study Sheds Light on Role of Climate in Flu Transmission

  • UANews
  • March 13, 2013
Historically, flu seasonality is associated with cold winter conditions in temperate latitudes. A team including UA researchers found evidence that there are two types of environmental conditions associated with seasonal influenza epidemics: cold-dry and humid-rainy. The findings could help improve flu transmission models, surveillance efforts and the timing of vaccine distribution.

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