Health & Behavior

Research

The Latest

Genetics Overlap Found Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have found genetic overlap between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and two significant cardiovascular disease risk factors: high levels of inflammatory C-reactive protein (CRP) and plasma lipids or fats. The findings suggest the two cardiovascular phenotypes play a role in AD risk and perhaps offer a new avenue for potentially delaying disease progression.

UC San Diego Research Collaborations Prompt Selection of South Africa for Lactation Conference

In a country burdened by myriad infectious diseases and widespread poverty, the value of breastfeeding to improve infant health cannot be overstated. Such is the feeling of Lars Bode, an associate professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego whose research collaborations and leadership led to the selection of South Africa as the unprecedented site for a major international lactation research conference.

It Takes a Village or 10: Collective Action Stops Harmful Social Practice

Can people change their ways? Yes. But don’t bother preaching against a culture’s conventions, or outlawing them. Neither will work – or not for long, says Gerry Mackie, associate professor of political science in the UC San Diego Division of Social Sciences. When it comes to stopping a harmful social practice, Mackie says, the people practicing it must band together and abandon it as a group. You must empower a community to change itself.

UC San Diego Turning Back the Clock on Parkinson’s

Like many young people, David Higgins was initially in denial about the possibility of having a serious, lifelong disease.

Some Atrial Fibrillation Patients Receive Unnecessary Blood Thinners

About one quarter of all atrial fibrillation patients at the lowest risk for stroke receive unnecessary blood thinners from cardiology specialists, according to a new study by researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and University of California, San Francisco, and these health care providers must be made aware of the resulting potential health risks. The findings are published online April 13 by JAMA Internal Medicine.

Golgi Trafficking Controlled by G-Proteins

A family of proteins called G proteins are a recognized component of the communication system the human body uses to sense hormones and other chemicals in the bloodstream and to send messages to cells. In work that further illuminates how cells work, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a new role for G proteins that may have relevance to halting solid tumor cancer metastasis.