Nose-colored glasses
Each day, your body produces 1.5 quarts of mucus, much of which drains down your throat unseen and unnoticed. When it doesn’t (you nose what I’m talking about), nasal discharge is a marvel of variegated viscosity. What does the color of your snot say about your health?

Back to School
It’s back to school time, though for some children, it’s really going to school for the first time. We asked O. Douglas Wilson, MD, clinical professor of pediatrics, to answer some of the most common queries, from how much sleep children need to do well in school to the weighty topic of backpacks.

Retched in Excess - And Not
Helicobacter pylori (those little yellow things that look like upchucked Cheetos) are a species of stomach-dwelling bacteria with a decidedly mixed reputation, kind of like a certain cheese-flavored, puffed cornmeal snack. These bacteria (or microbes) are linked to an increased risk in stomach cancer, but may reduce the risk of esophageal cancer.

Time to Get a Flu Shot
San Diego may enjoy a year-round mild climate, but that doesn’t mean we escape flu season. In fact, people living in the tropics get the flu at similar rates as elsewhere; it’s just spread out over the year. Our fair weather is no excuse not to roll up a shirt sleeve and get a flu shot.

Plant compounds could treat “brain-eating” amoeba infections; moderate drinking linked to cognitive health in some older adults; e-cigarettes may help some smokers quit; brain responds differently to food rewards in bulimia nervosa; new stem cell-derived model of inflammatory neurological disorder.

Quantified Surgery
Before operating on him, Larry Smarr’s surgeon walked inside his colon. In this episode of our N Equals One podcast, we discuss Smarr’s story and how “Big Data,” sophisticated computer modeling and 3D imaging are increasingly being used to personalize surgery.

Clinical trials are the last and most important step before scientific discoveries can be delivered to patients in the form of new diagnostics 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:

Delivering Health Information via Mail to Increase Physical Activity in Latino Women

Effect of Ventilation Therapy Mode on Respiratory Parameters after Cardiac Surgery

Lazanda in Cancer Patients Receiving Palliative Radiation

Naloxegol in Cancer Opioid-Induced Constipation

Early Use of HIV Treatment to Reduce Number of New Infections

Looking at Tumor Biomarkers in Bladder Cancer to Predict Response to Chemotherapy before Surgery

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

L-R: Alison Moore, MD, MPH, primary care physician, Heather L. Hofflich, DO, endocrinologist and internist, Kenneth Vitale, MD, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist.

1. What are safe limits on alcohol consumption for seniors?
2. What are symptoms of a thyroid problem?
3. Is too much exercise dangerous?

Night Sweats, Hot Flashes ... and Weight Gain?

Is weight gain during menopause inevitable? We asked Kathryn Macaulay, MD, an obstetrician and gynecologist with UC San Diego Health for clarification and to shed some light on what (and why) women should be eating to stay healthy through menopause and beyond. Plus, we offer up a few nutritious recipes for inspiration.