Wednesday, May 04, 2016
UM SOM Researchers Identify Potentially Revolutionary Antidepressant Compound
For years, scientists and doctors have known that ketamine can treat depression very rapidly, often working within hours, compared to weeks or months for widely used antidepressants. However, the drug, which is approved as an anesthetic, has major side effects – it is linked to hallucinations and dissociation - a sense of being outside your own body – and for these reasons is abused as a club drug. Not surprisingly, this limits its use in the treatment of depression.
Tuesday, May 03, 2016
UM SOM Identifies Compound That Reverses Symptoms of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease are the two most common neurodegenerative disorders worldwide, and cause untold suffering to millions of patients and their families. Treatments for these diseases are limited, and no cures exist. Now, a new study describes an innovative strategy that reverses symptoms in these neurodegenerative diseases – at least in fruit flies genetically altered to model the diseases.
Monday, May 02, 2016
What Does The Concept of Health Disparity Really Mean?
In a lecture on April 19 in Taylor Lecture Hall at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM), Dr. Paula Braveman, MD, MPH, Professor of Family and Community Medicine and Director of the Center on Social Disparities in Health at the University of California, San Francisco, argued that researchers and practitioners should view health disparities through the lens of social justice.
Friday, April 29, 2016
Baltimore City Health Commissioner Speaks at University of Maryland School of Medicine Addiction Conference
Baltimore City Health Commissioner Leana Wen and other experts recently addressed ways to decrease the epidemic of opioid overdose deaths at a conference on mental health and addiction.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
UM SOM's Primary Care Track Helping to Address National Doctor Shortage
As medical schools continue to look for ways to address the severe shortage of primary care doctors in the U.S., one medical school –the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) --will be graduating its first class of students through an innovative program that encourages medical students to become primary care doctors.
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Dean E Albert Reece and SOM Board Member Robert Fischell Inducted into National Academy of Inventors
Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Vice President of Medical Affairs at the University of Maryland and the John Z. and Akiko Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean at UM SOM and Robert E. Fischell, ScD, a member of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) Board of Visitors, were recently honored at the induction ceremony of the 2015 Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors at the NAI's fifth annual conference, held this year in Washington D.C. on Apr. 14-15.
Friday, April 15, 2016
Does a Common Parasite Play a Role in Rage Disorder?
In recent years, a common parasitic infection has been linked to a range of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as suicide attempts. Now a new study has linked it to repeated bouts of rage, a disorder known as intermittent explosive disorder (IED).
Thursday, April 14, 2016
UM SOM Research Illuminates Key Aspects of How We Fall Asleep and Wake Up
Falling asleep and waking up are key transitions in everyone’s day. Millions of people have trouble with these transitions – they find it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep at night, and hard to stay awake during the day. Despite decades of research, how these transitions work – the neurobiological mechanics of our circadian rhythm – has remained largely a mystery to brain scientists.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Leading Physician-Scientist at University of Maryland School of Medicine Receives Award for Innovative Work in Thermal Treatment for Cancer
Zeljko Vujaskovic, MD, PhD, an internationally recognized physician scientist and Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM), will receive the 2016 J. Eugene Robinson Award at the annual Society for Thermal Medicine Meeting in New Orleans, held April 11 to 15. Dr. Vujaskovic, who is also Director of the Division of Translational Radiation Sciences in the UM SOM Department of Radiation Oncology, and Director of the Maryland Proton Alliance at UM SOM, will receive the award in recognition of his contributions to hyperthermic oncology, the use of heat to treat cancer. At the event, Dr. Vujaskovic will also present a lecture on the reemerging role of thermal therapy in cancer treatment.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
IHV Releases Data Supporting Community-Based Treatment Providers in Fight Against Hepatitis C
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine released data today at The International Liver Congress 2016 in Barcelona, Spain demonstrating that treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be provided safely and effectively within a community-based and non-specialist setting.