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

  • Smoking ban debate is hot topic (Detroit News)
    The Detroit News reports: "Dianne Rose was an active, healthy 61-year-old woman until last September, when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Since she isn't a smoker, Rose believes the disease she expects to take her life is linked to second-hand smoke -- and that's why she wants lawmakers to ban smoking in work places to protect the health of other Michigan citizens." --- Stanton Glantz, professor of medicine in division of cardiology at University of California, San Francisco, is quoted.
  • The Science of Sarcasm (Not That You Care) (New York Times)
    Katherine P. Rankin, a neuropsychologist and assistant professor in the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California, San Francisco, presented a study at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in April that found “yhe right parahippocampal gyrus is involved in detecting sarcasm, not being sarcastic," said Dr. Rankin.
  • Kennedy’s Surgery for Tumor Called Success (New York Times)
    The New York Times reports: "Senator Edward M. Kennedy successfully underwent surgery on Monday in Durham, N.C., for a malignant brain tumor, his surgeon said. ... Mr. Kennedy and his wife met a group of neurosurgeons from leading institutions, including the University of California, San Francisco, and Duke, a doctor who knew of the meeting said."
  • Medical schools graded based on pharmaceutical relationships (News & Observer, NC)
    The News & Observer reports: "The UNC-Chapel Hill medical school has the best conflict-of-interest policies of the state's four academic medical centers, according to a new study released today. ... The study from the American Medical Student Association gave UNC-CH's hospital a "B"... Of the 150 schools evaluated, just seven - or 5 percent - received 'A' grades. Those schools are: The University of Pittsburgh, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, University of California-Davis, University of Pennsylvania, UCLA, University of California, San Francisco, and the Uniformed Services University of Health Services, in Maryland."
  • Kennedy's surgeons are optimistic (San Francisco Chronicle)
    The Chronicle reports: "Sen. Edward Kennedy was recovering Monday after undergoing brain surgery to remove a malignant tumor, a risky and delicate procedure that offers the 76-year-old Massachusetts Democrat the best chance of extending his survival. ... Prominent UCSF brain surgeon Dr. Mitchel Berger said Monday that he had consulted personally with Kennedy and his wife in Boston on Friday. Berger said that although he could not discuss specifics of the senator's case, patients in similar circumstances have benefited from aggressive combinations of surgery, radiation and drug therapy. 'There is always hope for survival,' Berger said. 'I am cautiously optimistic.'"
  • Being fat may not be due to how much you eat (Telegraph, UK)
    Prof Kaveh Ashrafi of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues report in the journal Cell that "a person could have a relatively small appetite and yet a relativity high ability to deposit fat," writes the Telegraph.
  • Kennedy Tumor Surgery Called a Success (Wall Street Journal)
    The Wall Street Journal reports: "Sen. Ted Kennedy successfully underwent 3½ hours of surgery at the Duke University Medical Center to remove the tumor discovered in his brain last month, but he now faces a rigorous program of chemotherapy and radiation." --- Mitchel Berger, chairman of neurosurgery at the University of California at San Francisco, was interviewed. "He said he was part of a 'small group' of experts who met last week with Sen. Kennedy and his wife and physicians to discuss options," said the WSJ.

UCSF TELEVISION COVERAGE

  • SF budget to hit hard on city workers (KGO-TV CH 7 (ABC) San Francisco)
    The Mayor's budget proposal will affect healthcare in San Francisco according to Mitch Katz, director of health. Katz said people will get a lower level of service from the budget cuts; Alfredo Mireles, SF General Hospital nurse, said promises made in last year's contract have not been honored. --- Air Time: 6 PM
  • Ted Kennedy Undergoes Successful Brain Surgery (KPIX-TV CH 5 (CBS) San Francisco)
    KPIX reports: "Senator Edward Kennedy underwent surgery today to treat his malignant brain tumor. In tonight's Daily Checkup, Dr. Kim Mulvihill reports on the Bay Area medical center that he consulted an the delicate procedure that could be his best chance at controlling the disease. ... After getting the diagnosis, the senator did what many of us should do when facing a frightening medical situation. Kennedy decided to weigh all of his options and he got more than one opinion. Among the places that Kennedy consulted, UCSF Medical Center." --- Air Time: 6 PM
  • SF Budget Affects Healthcare Delivery (KRON-TV CH 4 (My Network TV) San Francisco)
    Critics of Mayor Newsom's budget proposal claim the plans will hurt San Francisco General Hospital and Laguna Honda. A hospital worker at SFGH spoke to KRON about patient services that will be cut. Newsom criticized nurses' labor unions, like SCIU, that refuse to take pay cuts.
  • Ted Kennedy (KTVU-TV CH 2 (FOX) San Francisco)
    KTVU interviewed UCSF Neurosurgeon Andrew Parsa about Senator Ted Kennedy's surgery yesterday to treat his malignant brain tumor, and his cancer vaccine trial. --- Air Time: 5 PM
  • Senator Kennedy Surgery (MSNBC --- National)
    NBC reports: “Senator Ted Kennedy is having surgery after being diagnosed with a potentially lethal form of brain cancer.” Dr. Fraser Henderson, professor of neurosurgery at Georgetown University Medical Center, talks about the surgery and the heat shock protein cancer vaccine, and mentions that trials for the cancer vaccine are being completed at UCSF and UCLA. --- Air Time: 11 AM

UCSF HEADLINES

  • Roundworm Sheds Light on Fat Storage (UCSF Today)
    Early birds aren't the only ones drawn to fat worms. UCSF researcher Kaveh Ashrafi studies the roundworm C. elegans to learn how we pack on unwanted pounds.
  • New Website Chronicles History of UCSF (UCSF Today)
    The UCSF Library has launched a new website, A History of UCSF, celebrating the rich heritage of UCSF, from its origins in early San Francisco to its place today at the forefront of life sciences technology, research, education and health care.