School of Medicine In the News

Due to the frequent rejection of claims for noninvasive ventilators (NIVs) by Medicare Advantage plans, individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are experiencing disproportionately high rates of hospital admissions for inpatient care.

Measuring the amount of specific antibody clumps in the blood helped distinguish people with multiple sclerosis (MS) from healthy individuals and people with other conditions with an accuracy of at least 90%, a new study has found.

In this video, Nanette Santoro, MD, discusses the efficacy of nonhormonal treatment for patients with vasomotor symptoms (VMS), also called hot flashes or night sweats, in subgroups of patients considered unsuitable for or unwilling to take hormone therapy based on hormonal therapy history, the efficacy of the nonhormonal treatment for patients with VMS in menopause according to time of day, and pooled safety data over 52 weeks of the nonhormonal treatment for patients with VMS in menopause.

Some 46% of health care workers reported experiencing burnout in 2022, according to a recent report released by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, up from 32% in 2018. Some estimates have even placed the cost of burnout to the U.S. health system at $4.6 billion annually.

UCHealth is seeing an uptick in hospitalizations due to respiratory illnesses, just as the season of holiday gatherings and travel is about to begin.  

'Tis the season to give thanks, trim the tree and exchange gifts.

Older Indigenous coal miners faced a higher likelihood for black lung disease and respiratory impairment than non-Indigenous miners, according to study results published in Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

You have roughly 20,000 genes in your body, and there’s a near guarantee that many contain a mutation, or abnormality, in your DNA. Don’t stress just yet: In most cases, these one-off mutations won’t have any effect on your health.

Among patients hospitalized with atrial fibrillation discharged on a direct oral anticoagulant, more than 10% received an off-label dose, researchers reported at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

​With the holidays approaching and an increase in hospitalizations due to respiratory illnesses, ​UCHealth ​officials have announced new policies for hospital visitors.

You’ve probably seen the effects of the 2023-24 respiratory illness season if you haven’t felt them yourself.

Covid and flu shots can be safely given at the same time, and according to a small new study, doing so may even confer benefits.

Walking is among the world’s most popular forms of exercise, and far and away the most favored in the United States. And for good reason: It’s simple, accessible and effective. 

In this exclusive video, Enrique Alvarez, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, offered perspective on data from the DISCOMS study that was recently published in Lancet Neurology, and addressed some of the challenges when deciding whether patients with MS should discontinue disease-modifying therapy (DMT) as they get older.

In the past two decades, we have witnessed the powerful impact of years of research to uncover the mechanisms regulating our immune responses to infections. 

In children ages 1 to 3 years assigned to the patch during the randomized portion of the trial, the percentage whose bodies achieved an eliciting dose (ED) of at least 1,000 mg without a reaction -- equivalent to about three or four peanuts -- grew from 74.7% at the initial 12-month analysis to 81.3% at 24 months, reported Matthew Greenhawt, of Children’s Hospital Colorado [and CU School of Medicine] in Aurora.

College sports have seen a decline in the rate of sudden cardiac deaths, but rates remain higher for Division I men's basketball players, as well as male and Black athletes in other sports, new research has found.

A new study from researchers at the University of Colorado and Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Safety (RMPDS) found that ingestion of THC in edible cannabis by children younger than 6 years of age can lead to clinically significant toxicity, with ingestions exceeding 1.7 mg/kg being more likely to develop severe and prolonged toxicity, many affecting the central nervous system.

Whether people are fast asleep or reading a book, the neurons in their brains hum a tune that only they can hear.

A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine provides fresh insights into assisted living residents at move-in and a couple of years later and suggests questions to contemplate about the future of the setting.

If your hearing begins to decline, your risk of falling may rise.

Over the ages, writers and scientists alike have considered the eyes as a window into the soul. Jayashree Kalpathy-Cramer, PhD, sees them as a window into human health.

Results of a study looking at International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes suggests researchers and clinicians should be cautious when interpreting data from analyses reliant on ICD-10 codes for heart failure.

MedPage Today brought together three expert leaders for a virtual roundtable discussion on the joint meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis and the American Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, including Enrique Alvarez, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Let’s say you’re a doctor and you’re trying to monitor a patient for sepsis — a dangerous blood infection that kills hundreds of people each year in Colorado.

What’s the average age of a person entering long-term care? Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus now have an answer to this difficult question — as well as how long older adults will likely live with a disability before opting for a nursing home.

The U.S. spends huge amounts of money on health care that does little or nothing to help patients, and may even harm them. In Colorado, a new analysis shows that the number of tests and treatments conducted for which the risks and costs exceed the benefits has barely budged despite a decade-long attempt to tamp down on such care.

More than 50 million Americans suffer from chronic back pain — but a new drug-free groundbreaking treatment, pain reprocessing therapy, is helping patients and offering new hope. NBC’s Jacob Soboroff reports for TODAY.

A team of surgeons in New York has performed the world's first transplant of an entire eye in a procedure widely hailed as a medical breakthrough, although it isn't yet known whether the man will ever see through the donated eye.

The proportion of U.S. kindergartners exempted from school vaccination requirements has hit its highest level ever, 3%, U.S. health officials said Thursday.

In a highly anticipated decision, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a weekly injected version of the type 2 diabetes drug Mounjaro (tirzepatide) for chronic weight management.

Katherine Green with UCHealth Sleep Medicine Center talks about the importance of sleep and the role it plays in overall health.

An analysis of the pivotal MIRROR trial examining use of pegloticase plus methotrexate (Krystexxa) suggests use of the urate-lowering agent was associated with greater decreases in systolic blood pressure than pegloticase alone in patients with gout and uncontrolled hypertension.

The COVID-19 pandemic was not associated with changes in parental vaccine hesitancy overall, but there were other effects, including a polarization of vaccine attitudes and changes in trust about vaccine information, a study found.

We all love the tasty Thanksgiving turkey and scrumptious stuffing. But safe to say no one wants to bring COVID-19 home with the leftovers. Ugh, right?

If a trampoline is on your kids list to Santa this year then you may need to be a Grinch.

There is some indication that COVID-19 may have peaked for now, because emergency department visits for the virus are down somewhat from mid-October, said Thomas Campbell, a professor of medicine in the infectious diseases division at the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus.

It's been credited with helping thousands of people lose weight and blamed for disrupting sales in the fast food and snack industries. One Scandinavian firm is reaping the rewards.

A one-of-a-kind research center at the University of Colorado Boulder is providing a place for human biomedical research to take place safely on a non-medical campus.

Too much stress isn’t good for you — on top of feeling relentless burnout, it can lead to sleep problems, a poor immune system, higher blood pressure and lower cognitive function. And occasionally, chronic or acute stress can affect your skin, too.

Patients with asthma, COPD and interstitial lung disease have reduced SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-specific antibody, B-cell and T-cell responses, which signals poorer protection against COVID-19, according to results published in ERJ Open Research.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation awarded Jayashree Kalpathy-Cramer, PhD, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, a $300,000 grant to analyze clinical data curated at the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center using artificial intelligence (AI) in an effort to identify biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease.

“Children’s Hospital Colorado is aligning their distribution of nirsevimab…with the CDC guidance and recommendations for who to prioritize for receipt of this medication, Lalit Bajaj told FOX31 in a statement.

It was supposed to be a big helper in the fight against RSV. But a newly-approved drug meant to prevent the virus in babies and toddlers is now hard to find. Pediatricians say they're having to limit who gets the shot because of low supply.

At one point in her life, Amber Pearson spent eight hours a day acting out her obsessive thoughts.

Two of the federal Department of Veteran Affairs’ top health care leaders in Colorado have been reassigned following concerns over operational oversight, organizational health and workplace culture.…The VA’s current director for eastern Colorado, Michael Kilmer, is no longer listed on the agency’s website. The chief of staff, Shilpa A. Rungta, also has been removed from the leadership page. Both appeared on an archived version of the site as recently as June.

Do you ever stand up to do something and forget exactly where you were going or what you were even doing in the first place? There might be too much on your plate fogging your brain with information.

For several months now, I've been studying how the new medications, Ozempic and Wegovy, cause dramatic weight loss.

Amber Pearson has had a severe form of obsessive compulsive disorder since she was in high school. She would wash her hands so much they became raw and bled. 

Moderator Daniel Ontaneda, from the Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis Treatment and Research, is joined by Enrique Alvarez, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and Gabrielle Macaron, from the Université de Montréal in Quebec.

Eating only during an 8-hour window each day can help people with type 2 diabetes lose weight and control their blood sugar levels, according to a new study.

Racial and ethnic minorities have unequal access to healthcare and are more likely to experience health disparities. 

Newsweek has released the top 600 U.S. hospitals ranked by state, sorted by a score that factors recommendations, patient experience, quality and patient-reported outcome measures. 

The overall incidence rate of abortions reimbursed through commercial insurance decreased 14% during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic despite eased regulations, and it did not return to pre-pandemic levels, a recent study found.

The Agent paclitaxel-coated balloon was better than conventional balloon angioplasty for in-stent restenosis (ISR), according to the AGENT IDE pivotal trial that will be used to support the device's case for FDA approval in coronary circulation.

All-too-common fructose — found in table sugar and high fructose corn syrup, used widely in everyday foods like ketchup — has long been considered a major reason why Americans pack on the pounds.

"Websites that use compounded products or pellets are not FDA-regulated; therefore, they have no responsibility to prove their claims; they can entice women into using this stuff with all kinds of promises about 'hormone balancing' and other meaningless terms.

The state of children’s mental health was already a concern before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2020, many hospitals and emergency departments across the country have reported a sharp uptick in demand for behavioral health services.

On October 13, the drug manufacturer Sanofi made a surprising announcement: Public demand for Beyfortus — the brand name of nirsevimab, the company’s new product aimed at protecting newborns from severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections — had wildly outpaced supply.

Recently, respiratory viruses ― such as influenza, rhinoviruses and respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV ― have made a dramatic comeback.

One of the nation’s smallest hospitals is among the most prepared to see children in an emergency.

As seasonal haunts pop up around Colorado Springs, you may find yourself wondering: Why do I enjoy being spooked?

More adults are now living with congenital heart disease than ever before because of medical and technological advances that have allowed them to thrive decades beyond their initial childhood diagnosis.

Lots of vaccine disinformation spread during the pandemic, and doctors worried that may have given some parents pause about not only the risks of the COVID shot, but of childhood vaccines as well.

A new COVID-19 variant, HV.1, is being monitored by health authorities.

The major take home points are first to understand that suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10 through 24, and the leading mechanism of death is by firearms.

“The built environment really drives a change in behavior, and we have seen that chronically in the African American population being overly targeted and now being overly addicted to nicotine,” said Daniel Kortsch, a family medicine physician and chair of the Tobacco Cessation Workgroup at Denver Health [and associate professor of family medicine at CU School of Medicine] in Colorado.

The University of Colorado brought in an economic impact of $10.8 billion to the state during the 2022-2023 fiscal year, according to a new study.

10 (tie). Nikola Jokic, $54.6 million, plays for the Denver Nuggets, who are cared for by head team physician Jason Dragoo, MD, an orthopedic sports medicine specialist at the University of Colorado Hospital in Englewood.

Obesity researchers have struggled to pinpoint the cause of the illness. 

In this Healio video exclusive, Viral Shah, MD, discusses insulin delivery systems for patients with type 2 diabetes.

As heart transplantation involving donation after circulatory death (DCD) becomes more common in the United States, expanding the potential donor pool, it’s leading to questions about how organ allocation policies might have to change to ensure that this innovation is being made available equitably across the country.

Tirzepatide, the active ingredient in the diabetes drug Mounjaro, helped people lose more than 60 pounds (lb), or at least one-quarter of their body weight, when used along with intensive lifestyle changes, according to a new study.

With a new COVID booster out and flu season just around the corner, staff at Safeway pharmacies are working hard to meet demand.

A local university is leading a team trying to accelerate research into how biology, lifestyle and environment impact human health.

A local woman would never have known she had a potentially deadly condition without the help of some leading-edge technology. 

Battling cancer is not an easy fight, and fears of having to face cancer again can cause anxiety and depression, experts say.

ID Week brought together experts in the field of infectious diseases (ID) who highlighted the significance of diversity and inclusion in building a robust workforce.

While the old adage “you are what you eat” may be true, a new study suggests that what we eat also has something to do with who we are, genetically speaking. 

The National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program has awarded $30 million to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and its partners to establish the Center for Linkage and Acquisition of Data (CLAD).

Stacy Fischer, co-leader of cancer prevention and control at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, said several small studies have found that psychedelic drugs may help patients who are experiencing demoralization or despair because of their impending mortality. The study CU is part of will have a larger and more diverse group of people, which hopefully will produce more conclusive evidence of whether there’s a benefit, she said. “There’s so much science that needs to be done in this space,” Fischer said.

Becker's Healthcare is delighted to honor 35 hospital and health system chief innovation officers. 

Childhood vaccinations in Denver have fallen below what infectious disease experts believe protects the community for many diseases once considered eradicated or under control, leaving local doctors to worry an outbreak could be inevitable.

During a long-time friend and co-worker conversation, I described my son, Joey, as “neurodivergent.”

This National Coming Out Day, we are showcasing LGBTQ women featured in "Eye to Eye: Portraits of Pride, Strength, Beauty," a photography series from Carey Candrian, an internal medicine associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Cold and flu season is around the corner, and doctors are urging people to consider getting vaccinated now. Dr. Connie Savor Price, chief medical officer at Denver Health, answers some questions.

A $25 million gift to the University of Northern Colorado will propel the Greeley school closer to making its planned college of osteopathic medicine a reality.

Baby Olive Heringer has been to more hospitals than most at eight months old. She was diagnosed with long QT syndrome before she was even born.

Hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery can increase time in range for pregnant women with type 1 diabetes with no safety concerns, according to trial findings presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes annual meeting.

In fact, alcohol-related liver disease has surpassed other conditions such as hepatitis C and fatty liver disease as the number one reason for liver transplants.

When you live with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), you know you’re probably in for some joint pain.

Hybrid closed-loop therapy significantly improved maternal glycemic control during pregnancy in people with type 1 diabetes, providing a clinical advantage beyond that achieved with continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and insulin-pump therapy, shows the AiDAPT randomized controlled trial.

The University of Colorado has launched a volunteer community advisory board designed to provide feedback to cancer researchers on making studies more accessible and relevant to rural populations.

For the last 15 years, Oscar Romero Alba has faced issues with his kidneys. For the past four years, that's meant dialysis.

As health care providers across the United States grapple with ongoing shortages of cancer drugs, experts are sounding the alarm about drugs that are becoming harder to obtain.

“I got lucky that I suck at golf. I threw my back out playing a sport that people usually enjoy in khakis.”

The drug Veozah (fezolinetant). which became available in May, is a safe and effective non-hormonal treatment for the hot flashes and night sweats that often accompany menopause, according to a new study.

On many campuses, the question of how students should respond to speech that offends them has been settled.

Chronic pain can occur in any part of the body. One of the most common types of this condition is chronic back pain.