FYI…UCSF in the News is a daily summary of news stories published worldwide that highlight UCSF, its affiliated programs, and issues that affect the University.  To read the full news story, click the individual headlines listed below.

On the second Wednesday of each month, FYI…UCSF in the News includes an additional "Research Roundup" section that lists research papers authored by UCSF faculty and published in the journals Cell, Health Services Research, JAMA, Lancet, Nature, NEJM, Nursing Research, and Science.

UCSF PRINT AND ONLINE COVERAGE

  • Don't kid yourself about that fruit drink (U.S. News & World Report - New York Bureau)
    Ask any nutritionist for some tips on a healthful diet, and the first or second thing out of her mouth will be "Eat more fruits and vegetables." Beverage manufacturers know that to consumers, fruit connotes health, which is why there are shelves and shelves of fruity drinks in your grocery store, deli, and even gym. But as Consumer Reports writes in its May issue, the word fruit can be awfully misleading. The magazine goes through what you're likely to see on the label of fruit drinks, and some of it may be surprising. Robert Lustig, director of the Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health Clinic at the University of California-San Francisco Children's Hospital, is quoted.
  • A sign of hope with rare cancer (San Francisco Chronicle)
    Profile of Evanthia Pappas, who was diagnosed with a rare, late-stage form of breast cancer. After a stem-cell transplant and other treatments, Pappas received promising results last month: Her first post-transplant scans were clear. She is undergoing radiation treatment at UCSF.
  • Tips for advocates in the hospital (San Francisco Chronicle)
    Nanette Gartrell, MD, a psychiatrist affiliated with UCSF's Center of Excellence in Women's Health and the author of "My Answer Is No ... If That's Okay With You: How Women Can Say No and (Still) Feel Good About It," discusses her notes on steps patients can take to improve safety after a recent hospital stay for her partner.
  • Psychopharmacology: Tackling alcoholism with drugs (Science Magazine)
    New treatments, some now in clinical trials, reflect a growing awareness that people with different genetic profiles and drinking histories may need different therapies. "It's a fascinating time in our field," says Selena Bartlett, who directs the Preclinical Development Group at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco. "It feels like we're heading for a sea change for new therapies for alcoholism."
  • Editoral: Hybrid vigor in science (Science Magazine)
    Bruce Alberts, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Science and Biochemisty professor at UCSF School of Medicine discusses the benefits of translational research he's witnessed in his career. He writes: "There are many precedents for such productive partnerships. My office at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is located at the new Mission Bay campus, where biotech buildings are springing up like mushrooms across the street. Most faculty look forward to the many synergistic interactions that are likely to arise from this proximity."
  • LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Save UC Hall at UCSF (San Francisco Examiner)
    Chirstin M. Creighton, who works in the UCSF Department of Pathology, writes in response to an April 7 article on a $38 million grant to fund UCSF Stem Cell Research Facility (“State advised to grant UCSF $38M, The Examiner, April 7). "While I am not opposed to building this stem cell research institute, I am greatly concerned about the fate of the beautiful old UC Hall, whose proposed demolition is continually mentioned in all the UCSF Planning Department reports related to this project. UC Hall is not located anywhere near the proposed construction site, and it is not clear why its demolition is involved in these plans. Destroying this building that has graced Parnassus Heights since 1917 would mean the loss of a cultural and aesthetic resource for the university, the neighborhood and The City."
  • Mission Bay lands Multiple Sclerosis nonprofit (San Francisco Business Times)
    The Northern California chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will move in August to 5,400 square feet in the Alexandria Center for Life Science at Sixteenth and Owens streets. It is believed to be the first traditional nonprofit to land at the city's medical-biotech campus. Mission Bay's success in attracting biotech and pharmaceutical companies -- and the potential of the University of California, San Francisco's $1.6 billion women's, children's and cancer specialty hospital -- would put the chapter closer to clients, said David Hartman, president of the chapter. UCSF's medical services eventually will include neurology and its Multiple Sclerosis Center, Hartman said. [Subscription Site]
  • Who benefited most from higher Medi-Cal payments? (San Diego Union-Tribune)
    During the first full year of getting extra government money to care for poor patients, nursing homes in California pocketed bigger profits and spent more on administrative functions, but they made little headway in expanding nursing staffs or improving patient services, researchers conclude in a new report. “That's a lot of money with not much to show for it,” said Charlene Harrington, lead author of the report and a professor at the University of California San Francisco.
  • Fernley woman in need of double lung transplant (Mason Valley News)
    Cathy Brindos from Fernley, NV needs a double lung transplant to cure a rare disease she described as "basically high blood pressure in the lungs." Cathy said the condition damages blood vessels in the lungs, and is a rare, fatal disease. She and a friend are raising funds for the $500,000 cost of the proceedure. Cathy is receiving treatment at University of California San Francisco Medical Center. She reported that she has two more tests to go before doctors decide to place her on a donor list.

UCSF HEADLINES

  • Likely reason show for link between HIV drugs and heart attacks (UCSF News Office)
    Protease inhibitors (PIs), a class of drugs commonly used in HIV therapy, are associated with higher levels of fibrinogen, a clotting factor linked to coronary artery disease, according to a study led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
  • Tennis courts and godzilla: A conversation with lung biologist Thiennu Vu (UCSF Science Cafe)
    Breathing is such an unconscious event – except when it isn’t. Then and only then do we get a suffocating sense of how dependent we are on our efficient and expertly packed lungs to keep us both alive and energized. UCSF’s Thiennu Vu, MD, PhD, needs no firsthand reminders. Indeed, she chose to study lung biology in large part because of the suffering of others she’d witnessed on hospital wards. Here, she is interviewed on the topic, accessible via podcast.
  • Academic senate to honor two for distinction in teaching (UCSF Today)
    Bradley A. Sharpe, MD, assistant clinical professor in medicine, and Brian L. Schmidt, DDS, MD, PhD, associate professor in the departments of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, are being lauded for their distinction in teaching at UCSF. The campus community is invited to the Academic Senate’s Distinction in Teaching Award Ceremony on Wednesday, April 16, at noon in Cole Hall on the UCSF Parnassus campus.