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UC San Diego Health System January 2017
Focus on Health
 
 
  triplets

Premature Triplets Among First Patients at New Hospital

Meet the Kircher triplets, who recently made their premature introduction into the world at the same time the region’s newest hospital was making its debut. The triplets were born at UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest but were among the first patients to receive continued care at Jacobs Medical Center, a new 10-story, 245-bed specialty hospital providing patients from near and far with leading-edge cancer, stem cell and surgical therapies — and the highest level of neonatal care. The triplets, by the way, are healthy, happy and home.

 
 
 
Suraj

Disease in Disguise

A mother describes a nightmare year as her teenage son undergoes a heart transplant to survive a rare condition usually misdiagnosed as heart failure. Less than 500 Americans suffer from Danon disease, a genetic disorder that weakens heart and skeletal muscle, with the only effective treatment being a transplant. Learn how a UC San Diego researcher is turning patient skin cells into beating heart cells to find a less invasive therapy.

 
Drew Renick

In and Out, With a New Hip

For many patients, joint replacement surgery means a lengthy recovery — a couple of days in the hospital, then weeks at a rehab facility. But that wasn’t the case for Drew Renick, a triathlete who went home just a few hours after having his hip replaced and was biking up mountains a month later. His surgeon, Scott Ball, MD, explains how joint replacements are now often performed as outpatient procedures and who might be a good candidate.

 
 
 
Listicle

12 Common (and Commonly Broken) New Year’s Resolutions
You know you made them, even if you never did commit them to paper. New Year’s resolutions are a blight of passage. A new year means a new set of occasionally earnest attempts at self-improvement. Mostly, we fall short, but the glory is in the trying — and there’s always next year.

 
Question & Answer

Remember This
Forgetfulness is a part of life, a natural consequence of aging. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is not. Recognizing early signs of AD is important to treatment. On January 24, the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center will host a free memory screening event to learn more about community AD resources and research opportunities.

 
The Body Gaudy

Cold Phalanges
Raynaud disease is a rare disorder in which blood vessels, usually in the fingers and toes, narrow when cold or the sufferer is feeling stressed. As a result, blood doesn’t flow fully throughout the extremities, which turn white and blue. Warmed back up, the affected regions turn red, throb and tingle. In severe cases, loss of blood flow can cause sores and tissue death.

 
 
 
By the Numb3rs   Epilepsy is a neurological disorder caused by malfunctioning nerve cell activity in the brain, typically resulting in seizures. More than 150,000 Americans are diagnosed each year. Over a lifetime, 1 in 26 people will be diagnosed with epilepsy. Get an update on the latest research and treatments from experts at the region’s only Level 4 Epilepsy Center at a free public health seminar Jan 25. For more information and to register, click here.
 
 
 
Moving Pictures

Gift of Life

Stricken with leukemia, Joseph Darden wasn’t sure he’d live to see his kids graduate from school. But then he got a life-saving blood marrow transplant — from his son. Hear the emotional story and take a video tour of the new cancer care floors at Jacobs Medical Center, which offers patients access to leading-edge care.

 
Best Advice

A Site for Sore Eyes

The average American adult spends nearly 11 hours each day staring at a computer screen, TV, smartphone, video game or tablet. No wonder eye strain has become a nearly universal malady of modern life. Find out how to ease your eyes with David Granet, MD, of the Shiley Eye Institute.

 
 
 

Over the Counter

Taking the Pain Out of Choosing a Pain Reliever
Pain relief usually starts in the local drug store, where options range from the standard (Tylenol) to the seemingly bizarre (a device that shocks your skin). What will actually do the most good and the least harm? Joseph Ma, PharmD, associate professor of clinical pharmacy shares his thoughts.

 

Research roundup

Personality traits and psychiatric disorders are linked to specific genomic locations; older first-time mothers are more likely to live longer; molecules on your cell phone reveal your lifestyle; insulin resistance is reversed by removal of a protein; and a psoriasis drug may be effective in treating Crohn’s disease.

 

N Equals One Podcast

The Next BIG THING May Be very small
In this episode of our N Equals One podcast, we discuss nanomedicine — using tiny particles to deliver diagnostics and therapeutics — and how this approach helps overcome the biggest challenge to health care today: people.
Available on iTunes and SoundCloud.

 
 
 
Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are the last and most important step before scientific discoveries can be delivered to patients in the form of new medicines and therapies. Each year, UC San Diego Health researchers and doctors, including those at Moores Cancer Center, conduct hundreds of such trials involving a vast array of diseases, disorders and conditions. Among studies currently recruiting participants are:

Impact of Combined Behavioral Interventions on Cognitive Outcomes in Mild Cognitive Impairment

Studying the Effectiveness of Non-Invasive Glucose Sensors in Patients With Diabetes

Improving Negative Symptoms of Psychosis In Real-world Environments

Study of Personalized Cancer Therapy to Determine Response and Toxicity

Real-Time Mobile Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Serious Mental Illness

View additional trials, both at UC San Diego and across the nation.

  Corner Clinic: Answers from Our Experts

Corner Clinic
L-R: Maya M. Kumar, MD, Carla B. Marienfeld, MD, Garth Jacobsen, MD.

1. Should my son get the HPV vaccine?
2. What’s the most effective treatment for opioid addiction?
3. I have a hernia. Do I need immediate surgery?

 

Recipe

A Heart-Healthy Valentine’s Day

Rodney Fry, executive chef for UC San Diego Health, creates two decadently delicious but heart-healthy dishes to help you celebrate Valentine’s Day: his award-winning Fish en Papillote and a chocolate lava cake that is bound to dazzle. Both dishes are not only good for your heart, but are on the menu for patients at the newly opened Jacobs Medical Center at UC San Diego Health.

 
 
 
 
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