CU Anschutz In The News

Bleeding strokes are the deadliest type of stroke and the hardest to treat. What might make matters worse is having both diabetes and Alzheimer's disease versus either condition alone, new research shows. Not knowing if the people included in the study had high or uncontrolled blood pressure "makes it difficult to assess the overall health of the patients and determine whether it was having both Alzheimer's disease and diabetes that put them at higher risk for a severe stroke," said Dr. Robert H. Eckel, a professor emeritus of medicine and a diabetes specialist at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine in Denver.

The elective, created in 2010 by physicians at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, was set up to address the lack of maternity leave for doctors in residency programs, a time when many get pregnant. "When we first created this elective, our residents had to take vacation days, about four weeks, if they wanted time off with their newborns. Some took unpaid Family and Medical Leave combined with vacation time. For some, this meant not being able to pay back student loans. Others faced career setbacks," says Dr. Melanie Cree-Green, pediatric endocrinologist and assistant professor at the CU School of Medicine.

During a trip to Denver in September 1955, President Dwight Eisenhower played a round at Cherry Hills Golf Club. That night, he felt ill. An electrocardiogram determined the president had suffered a massive heart attack. He was rushed to the Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Aurora, which closed in the 1990s. The building is now part of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

For the HPV vaccine, specifically, some parents don’t understand that the vaccine is not only safe, but most effective when given early, even if that’s long before a child is sexually active, said Dr. Sean O’Leary, associate professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “If you think about that argument as you think about other vaccines and prevention, you do preventive measures way before it’ll be an issue,” he said. “When do you have (kids) put their bike helmet on? Before they get on the bike or when they’re about to get into a wreck?”

Colorado could use the 2016 law to enact protocol for HIV medication at pharmacies, but backers of the bill are seeking new legislation because, this time, they want pharmacists to get reimbursed by insurance companies for their time. One Colorado, the LGBTQ advocacy organization that initiated the HIV medication proposal, agreed to add the insurance reimbursement requirement to the bill after consulting with the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and the Colorado Pharmacists Society.

Fresh donated eggs appear to be better for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) than frozen ones, a new study suggests. "We can now confidently say that choosing to utilize fresh donor eggs along with transferring a single embryo instead of multiple embryos will provide the best chances for a healthy mother and a healthy baby," senior author Dr. Alex Polotsky said in a University of Colorado news release. He's chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at the university's School of Medicine in Aurora.

A care plan that addresses both the physical and mental symptoms of Parkinson disease could be beneficial for patients and caregivers alike. A team of investigators, led by Benzi M. Kluger, MD, Department of Neurology, Anschutz Medical Campus, University of Colorado, examined whether outpatient palliative care leads to better improvements in Parkinson disease patient and caregiver outcomes, compared to standard care.

Obese teens who diet to lose weight may have more success if they also focus on getting enough rest, a small study suggests.The effort is worth it, though, to avoid poor sleep becoming a lifelong problem, said Stacey Simon of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora. "Health habits learned in adolescence often continue into adulthood, so learning good sleep and eating strategies in adolescence is critical,” Simon, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.