CU Anschutz In The News

The ability to accurately and precisely predict the final menstrual period has long been a “holy grail” of menopause research, Nanette Santoro, MD, professor and E. Stewart Taylor Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, and colleagues wrote. However, menstrual bleeding patterns, serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels or previous anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) assays could predict the final menstrual period only within a window of 4 years, which is not clinically useful.

Cells in a coronavirus are not unusual, according to Michelle Barron, the medical director of Infection, Prevention, and Control at UCHealth's University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus. "It's actually a cold virus," Barron said. "It's one of the most common cold viruses that we see every year." The new coronavirus strain, yet to be named, originated in Wuhan, China where hundreds have been infected. "It's an evolving story in terms of what we expect to see with this," she said. 

Last month, Maryam Guiahi at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus published an article in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology to make the case that the zeal to stop abortions are, possibly, causing more. She can't prove it conclusively because Catholic hospitals, a major source of health care in this country, especially for the poor, put up what she calls "research barriers" around women they treat. Guiahi knows a sea change on reproductive care based on faith will be difficult to affect. 

Therapy for the entire family might help kids and teens vulnerable to bipolar disorder stay healthy longer, new research suggests. "This study is an important first step in trying to decrease the severity of bipolar disorder early on for children," said study co-author Dr. Christopher Schneck, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. "Efforts at home and in health care settings, like providing skill training for families, can make a big difference in a child's suffering."

New thinking among radiologists and medical physicists is upending the decades-old practice of shielding patients from radiation.“There’s this big psychological component, not only with patients but with staff,” said Rebecca Marsh, a medical physicist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado, who spoke about shielding at a December forum here at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America. “How do you approach something that is so deeply ingrained in the minds of the health care community and the minds of patients?”

Colorado became one of the early states to begin pushing for rules requiring health care workers get flu vaccines. And in general, the rules have been a success, according to Dr. Matt Wynia, the Director of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus and an early supporter of the state regulations. “They found it to be extremely successful when you just tell people, 'Look you gotta do this,' then people do it,” Wynia said.

Teenagers who've experimented with opioid painkillers are likely to be taking other health risks, a new study finds. It's important for doctors and parents to know these behaviors commonly go hand-in-hand, said lead researcher Dr. Devika Bhatia at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. So when teenage patients display other serious risk-taking, doctors might ask them whether they've ever abused opioids, according to Bhatia.

Babies from Colombia who were born healthy after being exposed to the Zika virus in the womb showed signs of neurodevelopmental delays by 18 months of age, a small study finds. Because there was variability between individuals, “looking at a population enables one to see overall trends,” says neurologist Ken Tyler of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, who was not involved in the research.