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Public Health
U-M professor testifies to Congress on health trends among former NFL players
The author of a U-M study on the needs of retired NFL players testified before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday on the role of his research in the debate over how to best address dementia in former pro athletes. David Weir, associate director of the Survey Research Center at the Institute for Social Research, told the panel that “faced with the aging of the U.S. population, we are all looking for policies and programs to serve the needs of people after a lifetime of hard work. This unique population of retired football players is an intriguing place to look for challenges and solutions.” [Read more...]
A Very Loud Number
In this blog post, U-M Vice President for Research discusses the broader meaning of the $1B milestone in research spending: "By now, many have heard that the University of Michigan broke the $1,000,000,000 threshold for research expenditures in Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09). Indeed, by National Science Foundation accounting, U-M has moved into third place for research expenditures by U.S. universities in 2008 (the latest year for which such numbers are available). Only the University of California at San Francisco and the University of Wisconsin rank higher." [Read more...]
U-M researcher part of effort to reform federal rules to improve accuracy of nursing home payments
Federal Medicare payments to the nation’s nursing homes will more accurately match the different levels of care that elderly patients require, under rule changes that have just been announced for implementation in 2010. “We know that the characteristics of nursing home residents have changed in the last decade, for example with more individuals who have severe mental illness and serious disabilities. But we were surprised that the old system, with only a bit of modification, is still very effective in predicting the cost of care,” says Brant Fries, research professor in the U-M Institute of Gerontology and professor of health management and policy at the U-M School of Public Health. [Read more...]
Getting an edge on a very common youth sport injury
Research at the Bone & Joint Injury Prevention & Rehabilitation Center is moving a step closer to solving a problem that affects at least 400,000 young athletes every year and causes them to sit on the sideline for months. Injuries to the knee anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most common youth sport injuries, and the injury frequency has been steadily climbing over the last decade. The new study, led by Center members and Kinesiology Professors Riann Palmieri-Smith and Scott McLean, will determine which components of current ACL prevention training programs work best to reduce injuries. [Watch video...]
U-M researchers find those with severe H1N1 at risk for blockage of lung artery
University of Michigan researchers have found that patients with severe cases of the H1N1 virus are at risk for developing severe complications, including pulmonary emboli, according to a study published Oct. 14, 2009 in the American Journal of Roentgenology. A pulmonary embolism occurs when one or more arteries in the lungs become blocked. The condition can be life-threatening. However, if treated aggressively, blood thinners can reduce the risk of death. “The high incidence of pulmonary embolism is important. Radiologists have to be aware to look closely for the risks of pulmonary embolism in severely sick patients,” said Prachi P. Agarwal, assistant professor of radiology at the U-M Medical School and lead author of the study. [Read more...]
Two U-M faculty elected to prestigious Institute of Medicine
Ana V. Diez Roux, professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health in the School of Public Health, and Arul M. Chinnaiyan, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, S.P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology, and director of the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology in the Medical School, have been elected to the Institute of Medicine. Being selected for membership in the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. [Read more...]
$9.3 million grant to boost nanotech vaccine research
University of Michigan efforts to develop new nanoemulsion-based vaccines for a variety of diseases will move forward much more quickly thanks to a large federal award. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded U-M a contract for $9,340,522 over five years for work to be conducted at the Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences at U-M (MNIMBS) and Ann Arbor-based NanoBio Corporation, the institute’s research partner for the project. "This contract allows us to develop the process to apply our nanoemulsion technology to almost any form of antigen. We believe this will facilitate a number of new vaccines as well as improve existing vaccines," says James R. Baker Jr., director of the Michigan Nanotechnology Institute, Ruth Dow Doan Professor of Internal Medicine, and founder and CEO of NanoBio Corporation, in which he holds a financial interest. [Read more...]
Wanted: Mammologists (NYTimes op-ed)
Ann Bell, U-M graduate student in sociology, Mark Pearlman, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and the director of the U-M Breast Fellowship Program, and Raymond De Vries, U-M professor of obstetrics and gynecology and bioethics, argue in a New York Times Op-ed published Oct. 9, 2009 for changing the way the medical profession approaches breast cancer diagnosis and therapy. [Read more...]
Radiation costs vary widely by delivery, U-M study finds
When cancer spreads to the bone, radiation treatments can help relieve the pain caused by the tumor. But how best to deliver the radiation may vary widely from one oncologist to the next. A new analysis from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center shows cost also varies widely from one delivery method to the next. Costs can range from around $1,700 for a single treatment with conventional radiation techniques to more than $16,000 for four treatments using a system of radiation delivery called Cyberknife. [Read more...]
Patients who received donated pacemakers survived without complications
Patients who received refurbished pacemakers donated from Detroit area funeral homes survived without complications from the devices, according to a case series reported by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center. The pacemakers were implanted in 12 patients at the University of Philippines- Philippine General Hospital who could not afford advanced cardiac care and were confined to their beds as they waited for a permanent pacemaker. [Read more...]