Helmet technology is similar among all brands, and a helmet’s brand, age and reconditioned status has no impact on how many concussions a football player sustains, say UW-Madison researchers who have studied Wisconsin high school football players.
Category: Health
UW Foundation fees could explain medical school fund’s low value
A public fund at UW School of Medicine and Public Health is worth $47 million less than a similar fund at Medical College of Wisconsin, largely because UW Foundation has taken some $40 million out of the fund in extra management fees, critics say.
UW Health at the American Center focuses on healthcare for the future
A decade’s worth of creating will come to life Monday at UW Health at the American Center, when the first patients visit. Before that happens, developers wanted to make sure their hospital would be one that would last for years to come.
Chef: Find a fresh spin on gazpacho, hummus & succotash
(Video) Chef Julie Andrews from UW Health at the American Center shares a fresh twist on three summer recipes: hummus with beets, watermelon gazpacho and grilled corn succotash.
Soda companies change sweeteners to win customers
(Video) UW Health Nutritionist Amy Mihm talks to News 3 This Morning about the differences between old and new sweeteners soda companies are using in their products.
Doctor approved, low calorie diet has potential of big success
A weight loss program at UW Health known as the Very Low Calorie Diet has a simple name, but potentially huge results.
The framework of it may sound like a fad diet. For about six months, dieters consume four shakes, one nutrition bar, lots of water and minimal food each day. Healthcare professionals say the total amount of calories equals out to about 800.
New UW Health Study: High-dose vitamin D does not support bone density
A new UW Health study shows older women do not need to take high levels of vitamin D to increase their bone density. Lead Study Investigator Dr. Karen Hansen, associate professor of medicine, says up until now guidelines for Vitamin D usage were all over the map.
New UW Health Study: Possible link between Alzheimer’s & high blood sugar
A new UW Health study suggests a possible link between high blood sugar and Alzheimer’s. The study published late last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology, is giving scientists a better understanding of how insulin resistance or per-diabetes changes the way the brain uses sugar.
“People who have more insulin resistance, the brain does not use as much sugar,” Lead Investigator, Dr. Barbara Bendlin, associate professor of medicine, said of the study’s findings.
A touchy topic: Talking to your child about making good choices as they head off to college
Featured: Jeanette Kowalik of UHS. Alcohol, drugs, and sex. It can be an uncomfortable conversation, but it’s part of today’s college culture.”The transition between high school and college is always tricky depending on the experience in high school. If they’re from an urban community, rural community, there’s a difference.”
Shortage of psychiatrists compounds states mental health care problems
Noted: The two medical schools in the state — the Medical College of Wisconsin and University of Wisconsin-Madison — take in about 17 new psychiatry residents each year. Residents have already completed four years of medical school education.
Middleton medical start-up raises $1.6 million from investors
Noted: The start-up, which formed in 2013, according to state records, raised the money from 21 investors, the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said. Among the investors is Jim Berbee, a medical doctor and assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who founded Berbee Information Networks Corp., which was acquired in 2006 by CDW for $175 million.
Grand opening of UW Health’s east Madison hospital
In just a few weeks, a new hospital and health care center will open on Madison’s east side.
UW Health held a grand opening and ribbon pulling celebration on Friday at UW Health at the American Center. UW officials gathered to dedicate the building and give us a look at the facility that is both a traditional hospital with operating rooms and a clinic, but also a place that encourages healthy living.
New UW hospital holds open house
A new hospital to serve those who live on the east side of Madison and Dane County opened its doors to the public on Sunday.
Officials say the new UW Health at the American Center off Highway 151 is more than just a hospital. Staff will do cooking demonstrations and provide other activities for families to stay healthy. Plus, the building has a rooftop garden to supplement hospital foods.
Smart strategy to fight smoking, other habits
Quoted: “Self-control is a muscle that gets strong(er) when you exercise it,” says Christine Whelan, who teaches and leads research in the Consumer Science faculty at the School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. “When we try to stop ourselves from eating overly caloric foods or smoking, we might be successful all day long.”
More women now take aggressive measures to fight breast cancer
Quoted: Doctors say it is a more common decision by women to remove both breasts. They actually call this trend the Angelina Jolie effect.
“It’s because a very prominent, very stunning woman went through this operation and came out on the other side and was able to talk about it,” says Dr. Lee Wilke, director of the UW Health Breast Center. “We are very clear in our discussions with patients that sometimes it won’t improve their survival but if they’re choosing to remove it for the right reasons, it’s the right reason for them.”
UW Health offers free sports physicals for uninsured high school students
Of the approximate 85,000 students in Wisconsin involved in high school athletics, it’s estimated that two to five percent don’t have health insurance to pay for the sports physicals required by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. To help those athletes out, the Dane County Sports Medicine Council is partnering with the UW Health Sports Medicine and UW School of Medicine and Public Health to offer free sports physicals from 6-9pm on Wednesday, Aug. 12.
High Blood Sugar May Boost Alzheimer’s Risk
High blood sugar associated with prediabetes may increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests.
New UW-Health Hospital Opens on Madison’s east side
The first and only hospital on Madison’s east side will open August 17. UW Health at the American Center spans 500,000 square feet and is split into three main sections: hospital, clinics, and sports performance and wellness facility.
GOP lawmakers make move to ban sale of fetal body parts
Quoted: Tim Kamp, a medical doctor and researcher and co-director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, said the proposal could affect research on the campus and in private biotechnology companies.
UW Health brings hospital to Madison’s Far East Side
The $235 million complex includes a 56-bed hospital, a clinic and a wellness center. It’s the first hospital on the East Side and the first new general hospital in Madison since 1979, when UW Hospital opened on the West Side.
Pixar’s ‘Inside Out’ Reminds Us to Manage Emotions by Training Our Brain
By Richard J. Davidson: If you could look at your own personality, which emotion leads others in managing your mind’s control room? Joy? Fear? Disgust? Anger? Sadness?Through the lens of the new Pixar movie “Inside Out”, Joy calls the shots in the mind of the 11-year-old protagonist named Riley. In fact, this positive emotion — personified by actress Amy Poehler — finds it hard to step aside when other emotions are in many ways more appropriate for the situations Riley finds herself in, including moving to a new city and navigating school and friends.
Cancer Patient Gets Marching Band Fanfare for Final Chemotherapy Treatment –
When Ann Trachtenberg started chemotherapy at the University of Wisconsin’s Carbone Cancer Center about five months ago, she jokingly said a marching band should be on hand when she got through her final treatment.
UW Hospital and Clinics move up in 2015 U.S. News rankings
The U.S. News & World Report ranked UW Hospital and Clinics as the best hospital in the state of Wisconsin in the 2015-16 Best Hospitals edition. It was also ranked among the nation’s top 50 hospitals for 10 specialties.
UW Hospital and Clinics among top 50 in U.S. News rankings
University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics is ranked among the nation’s top 50 hospitals in 10 medical specialties, one more than last year in the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report. UW also retained its position as the best hospital in Wisconsin.
UW med students offer free care to children at new monthly clinic
A group of students at UW School of Medicine and Public Health are taking some time out of the classroom to help kids in the greater Madison area. Their seventh student-run pro clinic offers pediatric care. UW students from the medicine, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy and physician assistant programs man the clinic, as well as social workers from the CFF and UW medical faculty.
Dr. Jeffrey Grossman named interim head of UW Health
Dr. Jeffrey Grossman has been named interim CEO of UW Health. The UW Hospital board approved the appointment this week, UW Health announced Thursday. Grossman has been president of CEO of UW Medical Foundation, UW-Madison’s doctor group, since 2001.
Grossman named interim CEO of UW Health
Dr. Jeffrey Grossman has been named interim CEO of UW Health. As CEO, Grossman will lead UW Hospital and Clinics, the UW Medical Foundation, American Family Children’s Hospital and UW Health at The American Center.
Women live longer, but research suggests men can catch up if they eat fewer burgers
Women live longer than men. We all know that. It’s “a given,” acknowledges Hiram Beltran-Sanchez.
Anxious Brains Are Inherited, Study Finds
The brain function that underlies anxiety and depression is inherited, a new study finds — but there is still plenty of space for experience and environment to reduce the risk of a full-blown mental disorder.
UAB names new chairman for Department of Surgery
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine today announced the hiring of acclaimed surgeon, researcher and educator Dr. Herbert Chen of The University of Wisconsin as the new chairman for the school’s Department of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief of UAB Hospital.
New organ preservation technique could replace UW Solution
For decades, surgeons around the country have preserved organs in a cold solution as the organs are shipped in coolers to transplant recipients hundreds of miles away. Developed at UW Hospital, the fluid is known simply as “UW Solution.” Now, UW Hospital and other transplant centers are looking at a different way to keep organs healthy outside of the body: pumping them with blood at or just below body temperature.
Brain Scans Suggest Anxiety Is Hereditary
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This axiom has been used to describe nearly any trait that a child has in common with their parents. Recently, Dr. Ned Kalin’s research group at the University of Wisconsin – Madison reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), that the risk of developing anxiety may also fall into this age-old saying.
Consent for organ donation strengthened through registries
Noted: Two years ago, as a 21-year-old UW-Madison student, Mackaman died from meningitis. His family supported the recovery of his organs, knowing he had authorized donation, said Meredith Leigh, Mackaman’s mother. Seven organs went to five recipients, including Walter Goodman, a UW-Madison professor, who received his heart … First-person consent makes donation easier on families because they can honor a choice the deceased person made instead of having to decide themselves, said Mike Anderson, executive director of UW Organ and Tissue Donation, the Madison-based organ procurement organization for most of Wisconsin. “It has been the best thing that’s happened for donation,” Anderson said.
UW Hospital a leader in alternative to brain death organ donation
UW Hospital is a leader in donation after circulatory death, an alternative to donation after brain death. The procedure, which is somewhat controversial, allows people with severe, irreversible brain injuries or in late stages of terminal illnesses to donate organs after a controlled death.
Wausau study reflects UW community focus
WAUSAU – A Wausau physician’s in-depth study of Hmong health issues is one example of why a University of Wisconsin medical unit is changing its name this week.
Out Running Asthma
Noted: Q&A with Mandy Hyde, clinical research coordinator for the Asthma, Allergy, and Pulmonary Research Group, about the group’s work and the upcoming “Out Run Asthma” 5K scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15.
Madison’s finance committee endorses urban forestry special charge
The initial phases of the Union Corners project includes a $20 million, two-story, 60,000-square-foot UW Health clinic at East Washington Avenue and Sixth Street.
Art pieces give hope at area hospital
(Video) The items you put out on the curb each week come trash day are one man’s source of inspiration. Photojournalist Jeremy Nichols shares how the artists pieces are giving hope at [the new UW Health at American Center].
UW political scientist on SCOTUS’ Affordable Care Act decision
(Video) The United States Supreme Court saved President Obama’s controversial health care law Thursday. Ryan Owens, an assistant professor of political science at UW-Madison and an expert on the Supreme Court, weighs in on how the decision will affect Wisconsin residents.
High court protects health insurance subsidies for 166,000 Wisconsin residents : Wsj
More than 166,000 Wisconsin residents can keep getting government help to pay for health insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s federal exchange, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Thursday upholding subsidies. But experts say the ruling likely won’t end controversy over the health care law.“It’s a critical turning point for the law,” said Donna Friedsam, health policy programs director for the UW Population Health Institute. “But people will continue to nitpick at the ACA at least until the next presidential election is history.”
Obamacare decision ‘ideal course of events’ for Scott Walker : Ct
Gov. Scott Walker may have dodged a bullet with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Obamacare in states that, like Wisconsin, use the federal health care insurance exchange. …
“It is a nearly ideal course of events for Walker,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Barry Burden. “He can continue to complain about the law without suffering much in the way of effects.”
High court protects health insurance subsidies for 166,000 Wisconsin residents
Quoted: “It’s a critical turning point for the law,” said Donna Friedsam, health policy programs director for the UW Population Health Institute. “But people will continue to nitpick at the ACA at least until the next presidential election is history.”
Men’s healthcare to take center stage as part of new UW Health at American Center
A new clinic coming later this summer to UW Health at the American Center is placing special emphasis on men’s health. “A lot the problems unique to men are very personal,” UW Health Urologist David R. Paolone says while walking the halls of the new facility.
Doctors tackle geographic disparities in liver transplants
Noted: Dixon Kaufman, transplant chairman at UW Hospital, one of the nation’s largest transplant centers, opposes the liver redistricting proposals, which could force Madison to export more livers and do fewer transplants.
Warning signs of skin cancer from UW Health dermatologist
The largest organ in your body is one that needs extra protection as we approach the official start of summer. UW Health dermatologist Apple Bodemer was a guest on Wake Up Wisconsin Weekend to talk about how to keep your skin safe and looking young.
Fitbit use tied to increase in activity
Postmenopausal women who are given an activity level goal for the week end up getting more activity when using a Fitbit than a traditional pedometer, according to a new study.
UW-Madison biochemistry fellow seeks solutions to problems of infertility, preterm babies
Profile of Katie Brenner, a post-doctoral biochemistry fellow at UW-Madison, who along with Doug Weibel, an associate professor of biochemistry at UW-Madison, is developing a urine test to monitor the health of preterm babies.
‘Green Space’ at School May Help Kids Learn, Study Suggests
Quoted: “We know that living in neighborhoods with more green space has been associated with improved mental health in adults and kids,” said Kristen Malecki, assistant professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “It also is associated with many positive health behaviors, such as physical activity.”
UW researchers find mood improvement in menopausal hormone therapy
Women seeking relief from menopause with hormone replacement can breathe a sigh of relief — and perhaps wear a bigger smile, too.
Deer tick population 10 times higher than last year in parts of Madison
Quoted: Susan Paskewitz, professor of entomology.
Are allergy problems worse this year? No — but yes
Quoted: “This year has really been an average year, meaning that it’s been very robust but not particularly worse or better than an average year,” said Mark Moss, an allergist at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
UW-Madison team develops award-winning device, app for women trying to get pregnant
Story about Katie Brenner, a postdoctoral researcher in the department of biochemistry, and her invention of an app-based device that would help women track their day-to-day fertility levels, helping them hone in on when they would be most likely to conceive, and alerting them early on when they become pregnant.
Mineral Point artist’s paintings commissioned to UW Health’s new facility
UW Health’s American Center is about two months away from its grand opening. The new facility is striving to promote sustainability in Wisconsin’s environment. In order to do that, they’ve handpicked artists to make special pieces for the center, reflecting that mission.
Walk raises money, awareness for Crohn’s, colitis
(Video) Quoted: Mark Reichelderfer, professor of gastroenterology and hepatology.
UW researchers hope genetic discovery leads to autism treatment
A University of Wisconsin-Madison genetic discovery, looking at two key brain proteins in mice with the developmental disorder fragile X, has researchers hoping they could one day develop treatments for other neurological disorders, such as autism.
Conditions are right for blue-green algae
The DNR took of blue-green algae on Lake Monona last week. It can irritate skin if touched, but can do even more damage if ingested. Quoted: Professor Jake Vander Zanden, from the UW-Madison Center for Limnology, says, “Some of the main symptoms are vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, some pretty severe reactions can be seen.”
UW study links poor sleep to potential for Alzheimer’s
A study by University of Wisconsin researchers suggests that poor sleep in middle age could be one of the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Senior author Dr. Ruth Benca said in a release that despite correlation, the study doesn’t show whether poor sleep causes amyloid plaques to develop in the brain or whether amyloid plagues prevent quality sleep.
Holistic medicine goes to the dogs — and cats, horses, birds
Noted: “We see pets that the owners thought would never walk again,” said Kluslow, a 2001 University of Wisconsin-Madison Veterinary School graduate.
More reason for calm than panic in South Koreas MERS scare
Quoted: Viruses like MERS “remind us all that the globe is indeed a small place when it comes to the rapidity with which infected people can move over large geographic distances, bringing viruses they may be incubating with them,” Christopher Olsen, a virus expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in an email.
Medical emergency exception in Wisconsin’s 20-week abortion ban leaves room for confusion
Noted: In a conference call with reporters in May, Dr. Doug Laube, a University of Wisconsin-Madison physician and past president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said all pregnancies at all stages require physicians to monitor and balance the welfare of a mother with the welfare of her developing fetus.