In looking back at 2024, the breadth of research, discovery and innovation across the spectrum of health science is breathtaking. Our scientists at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus once again expanded the boundaries of knowledge in their relentless drive to improve healthcare and find answers to the toughest health science challenges of our time.
It is our privilege to highlight just a fraction of the remarkable research, patient care and education that took place on campus over the past year.
From unraveling the mysteries of rare neurologic disorders and exploring the complexities of menopause, to gaining new insights into the triggers of Alzheimer’s and shedding light on the hidden effects of stress on sperm, our scientists are breaking ground on the questions that matter. Also, our experts from across disciplines offered their thoughts on many trending health topics in the news.
Here are our top 10 stories posted in the CU Anschutz newsroom in 2024.
Sister Breaks Down HBO’s ‘Six Schizophrenic Brothers’
Matthew Galvin walks on scene – a dark, empty area with stone pillars and cement floor – and takes a seat in a lone chair. An off-camera interviewer asks the paunchy gray-haired Galvin, sporting a long beard, green flight jacket and white baseball cap with aviator sunglasses perched on the bill, for his name.
“Paul McCartney,” he responds, his face deadpan, followed by an awkward silence. Pressed on his response, Galvin assures he’s serious, pulling a cassette tape from his pocket – The Beatles’ “Let It Be” – “to prove it.”
“Have you got schizophrenia?” the interviewer asks.
CU Anschutz Receives $2 Million From the Céline Dion Foundation to Advance Autoimmune Neurologic Disorders Research
The need for more research into a rare disease that halted the career of Céline Dion is a main thread in a new documentary about the music superstar’s painful journey, which, thanks largely to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and a new philanthropic gift, has taken a turn toward “a very bright future.”
Premiering June 25 on Prime, “I Am: Céline Dion” chronicles the singer’s struggle with the debilitating neurological disease called stiff person syndrome (SPS). Amanda Piquet, MD, associate professor of neurology and director of the autoimmune neurology program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and her team are working tirelessly with Dion to overcome this rare, chronic and progressive autoimmune neurologic disease, which currently has no cure. SPS is characterized by muscle stiffness, painful spasms and difficulty walking.
Six Key Things to Know About Menopause
Menopause is having a moment. Celebrities from Oprah Winfrey and Drew Barrymore to Michelle Obama and Naomi Watts are speaking out about their own experiences and bringing attention to this milestone reached by approximately 1 million American women a year. With the increased awareness, more women are calling for better treatment options and urging lawmakers to boost research funding for menopause and women’s health studies.
“The first generation of professional women in the workforce is attaining this milestone in large numbers, which has led to an appreciation of how symptoms of menopause can affect performance,” said Nanette Santoro, MD, professor and E. Stewart Taylor Chair in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “Women are finally demanding the treatment they deserve to support them through it. It’s very exciting to see the current focus on this important life transition.”
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus-Led Team Receives Up to $46 Million to Develop Innovative Treatment to Cure Blindness
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus will receive up to $46 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Transplantation of Human Eye Allografts (THEA) program to advance pioneering research aimed at curing total blindness through human eye transplantation.
The award will support the work of the Total Human Eye-allotransplantation Innovation Advancement (THEIA) project team led by CU.
The project is led by principal investigator and surgeon-scientist Kia Washington, MD, and co-principal investigator Christene A. Huang, PhD, transplant immunologist. Both are professors at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and are nationally recognized leaders in plastic and reconstruction surgery, transplant surgery and immunology.
Breakthrough Research Sheds Light on The Hidden Effects of Stress on Sperm
A groundbreaking study led by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus reveals that stress-induced changes in sperm motility occur after a stressful event, rather than during it, and improve sperm performance. The discovery is essential in understanding how stress impacts the reproductive process to improve fetal development outcomes.
The study was published recently in Nature Communications.
Over the last five decades, there has been a notable decline in semen quality, which has coincided with environmental stressors. This new research identifies how stress affects the ability of sperm to move through a female’s reproductive system to fertilize an egg (motility). Researchers observed changes in extracellular vesicles (EVs), small particles released from the male reproductive tract that play a role in sperm development and maturation. These changes occurred after the stressor had passed, not during the stress experience.
Sex and Menopause: How to Keep the Romance Alive
Winnifred (Winnie) Hunter, PhD, knows how menopause can trigger troubles in the bedroom. A psychologist and sex therapist, Hunter has counseled middle-aged women through countless issues that were taking tolls on their sex lives during this final reproductive stage – from depression and vaginal pain to boredom and body shame.
Women in or near menopause make up a big part of the patient population at the Women’s Sexual Health Consultation Service that Hunter co-directs with Lauren Harrington, MD, FACOG. The service was established at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to help fill a gap in this still sometimes stigmatized facet of behavioral healthcare.
What Is Chronic Loneliness and How Can I Overcome It?
Do you ever feel alone in a crowded room? The question is a lyric from a band called Jack’s Mannequin that Emily Hemendinger, MPH, LCSW, said provides her with a great lead-in for discussing chronic loneliness with patients.
“It’s a feeling of never fitting in, of always being on the outside,” said Hemendinger, assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and clinical director of the OCD Program. “And anyone at any point in their life can feel lonely, if they don’t feel like they have meaningful and deep relationships.”
Is the Collagen Powder Craze Worth the Hype?
Cory A. Dunnick, MD, professor of dermatology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, hasn’t had many patients ask about collagen powder. But a few of her friends on the tennis court have asked about using the popular supplement to improve their skin and health.
Collagen supplements come with many claims including: reduced signs of aging, such as firmer skin and fewer fine lines and wrinkles; improved skin hydration, resulting in smoother, softer skin; and stronger hair with reduced thinning and hair loss.
Can the ‘Dopamine Detox’ Trend Break a Digital Addiction?
No podcasts, videos or Netflix. No junk food, gambling or porn. Video gaming? No way. Instagram? Forget it. Music? Nope. Lock up your phone and hide your earbuds. It’s dopamine detox time, and it’s going to change your life.
That’s the gist of the messages from a large number of posts, blogs and wellness websites out there, all promoting a quick-fix for people’s depressed moods and lack of productivity. Judging by the likes and comments, people are biting, with Reddit even boasting a dopamine-detox support group.
Alzheimer’s Study Finds Potential Immune System Link, Mostly in Women
When immune systems go awry, they can wreak havoc, triggering everything from diabetes to – scientists now believe – Alzheimer’s disease (AD). But immune systems are supposed to protect, not injure, the body. So what if scientists could pinpoint a window before things go amiss and harness the defense system in a way that curbs or prevents AD from taking hold?
It’s one possibility being targeted by a group of University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus researchers bent on halting the brain-destroying disease that affects 6.7 million Americans 65 or older.
In a recently published study, the group found an association between higher levels of an immune system-related biomarker and decreased microstructure in parts of the brain highly vulnerable to AD. The finding, which signals a greater risk of cognitive difficulties, was distinctly higher in women.
