MEDICINE

This week we're bragging about Valeria Pena-Valentin: A junior at Cesar Chavez High School who is active in school and sports, and dreams of becoming a doctor.

Choosing the right health care plan can be a difficult decision.

Michigan Medicine is experiencing staff shortages due to the latest COVID surge.

Studies of reproducing robots show that the technology could be applied to other areas in the future, like medicine and environmental cleanup.

McCormick worked with librarians from other institutions to develop the MEDLINE bibliographic database and was an avid volunteer.

U-M Regent Ron Weiser has committed $30 million to establish new prostate cancer center on university's medical campus.

An anti-COVID pill made by drugmaker Merck has been under review by officials, and on Wednesday its fate rested in the hands of the FDA.

The only medicine that can help two-year-old Haoyang's rare genetic condition is not sold anywhere in China and closed borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic mean he cannot travel for treatment. Instead, his desperate father, Xu Wei, has set up a home laboratory to create a remedy for the boy himself. Haoyang has Menkes Syndrome, a genetic disorder that impacts how copper -- which is crucial for brain and nervous system development -- is processed in the body.

The distinction from the independent national watchdog organization recognizes how hospitals prevent medical errors and harm to patients.

Families can tune in to a livestream on Friday by C.S. Mott Children's Hospital about vaccinating kids ages 5-11 against COVID-19.

Many are under the impression that getting medical tests always means driving to a doctor’s office or hospital.

As the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks approaches Local 4 is looking back at lessons learned and improvements made since that tragic day.

Earning a CNA licensure is a great way to enter into healthcare, writes CUAA.

Earning a CNA licensure is a great way to enter into healthcare, writes CUAA.

Learn more about Concordia's Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) licensure program.

Learn more about Concordia's Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) licensure program.

Strata Oncology in Ann Arbor raised $90 million in a Series C financing round.

U.S News & World Report has ranked Michigan Medicine as the No. 1 hospital in the state.

Take a look inside CUAA's state-of-the-art simulation lab and hear from its director.

Take a look inside CUAA's state-of-the-art simulation lab and hear from its director.

Ypsilanti not-for-profit organization Hope Clinic announced the public launch of its $5.5 million Hope For Tomorrow fundraising campaign to expand access to its health services.

Packard Health is expanding this summer to meet the needs of the growing number of Washtenaw County community members.

Thirty-four athletic trainers, social workers and team physicians from the University of Michigan athletic department navigated four scenario-based simulations at CUAA.

Thirty-four athletic trainers, social workers and team physicians from the University of Michigan athletic department navigated four scenario-based simulations at CUAA.

Michigan Medicine is on the search for patient attendants at its Ann Arbor hospital.

Two teen girls from Metro Detroit are working hard to help people around the world smile again.

This National Drug Takeback Day, one Metro Detroit mother is urging people to get rid of their unused medications so they can’t harm anyone.

A mother-daughter duo runs an orthodontics practice in Metro Detroit -- and they couldn’t be more alike. Jana McQueen and daughter Janelle McQueen operate McQueen Orthodontics Specialists in three Metro Detroit cities. It’s the only mother-daughter orthodontics practice in Michigan. AdThe mother-daughter duo now work together at the practice Dr. Jana started in 1998, when her daughter was just a baby. Their joint orthodontics practice is unique -- and their patients love it.

ANN ARBOR – Medical director for Arbor Hospice and NorthStar Palliative Care, Thomas O’Neil, recently earned a fellow status from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He joined Arbor Hospice in December 2018. “Adding Fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine after my name enables me to further support Arbor Hospice’s hospice and palliative programs, and enhance patient care through research, advocacy and service,” said Dr. O’Neil in a release. AAHPM is the only medical specialty society for hospice and palliative medicine to span the U.S. It has supported hospice and palliative medicine since 1988 through development of a specialist workforce, professional education and training, research, support for clinical practice standards and advocacy.

Screenshot from the live Q&A session by experts at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital on Jan. 28, 2021. Mott Children’s Hospital hosted a live Q&A session for parents who have questions and concerns about returning to face-to-face learning during the coronavirus pandemic. “Schools do need to keep kids from congregating,” said Tribble, who said that talking in close groups does raise the risk of transmission. “Mask wearing remains number one for population spread,” said Terry Bravender, chief of adolescent medicine at Mott.

Mott Children’s Hospital is named in Parents Magazine’s January 2021 issue as one of the most innovative children’s hospitals in the nation. The publications surveyed the country’s 50 leading children’s hospitals about their newest innovations, technology and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second time the magazine has ranked pediatric hospitals for innovation. Parents spotlighted Mott for its innovation in research and treatment of pediatric brain tumors. Research at Mott has demonstrated that tumor DNA in spinal fluid could help diagnose and treat young cancer patients with aggressive brain tumors.

The main lab at Henry Ford was the first in Michigan, outside of the health department, to be able to test for COVID-19. Now, the health system tests over 1,500 samples a day and have done roughly a quarter of a million tests since March. Depending on the urgency of the result, the lab can actually choose to do the PCR test on a specific, smaller machine with a rapid turnaround. In general, the majority of tests take less than 24 hours to determine results when they’re done on the larger machines. Dr. Linoj Samuel with Henry Ford Health System explains the process.

When testing for an active COVID infection -- meaning the person is still contagious -- the administrator swabs the nose, back of the nose or saliva to test. The accuracy of the test will depend on how well that sample was collected, along with what test is actually being used. The best test is called a PCR test, which uses a lab technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It is the most sensitive COVID-19 test available and helps tell how infectious a person actually is. See how the PCR test works in the video report above.

ANN ARBOR – Michigan Medicine has partnered with type 1 diabetes research nonprofit JDRF to establish the new JDRF Center of Excellence at the University of Michigan. The goal of the center, through U-M’s Elizabeth Weiser Caswell Diabetes Institute, is to accelerate research to cure type 1 diabetes and to improve lives. Ann Arbor resident Elizabeth Weiser Caswell and her father, Regent Ron Weiser, have made leadership gifts to kickstart the project. “Michigan Medicine is the ideal partner for JDRF,” Caswell said in a news release. “The JDRF Center of Excellence and the Elizabeth Weiser Caswell Diabetes Institute establishes us as one of the premier diabetes centers in the country—and the strongest in the Midwest,” Thomas Gardner, principal investigator of the JDRF Center of Excellence and EWCDI, said in a news release.

WASHINGTON – Pregnant women should avoid a group of common pain relievers including Advil and Aleve for the last four months of pregnancy, federal health officials said Thursday, expanding the warning from three months. They can lead to kidney problems in the fetus that can result in low levels of amniotic fluid that fills the womb. In one exception, the FDA said the new warning does not apply to low-dose aspirin when recommended by a doctor. Federal regulators said they decided to extend the warning after finding 35 cases of the amniotic fluid problem reported to the FDA and reviewing similar examples in published research. Use of the pain relievers reduced amniotic fluid in as little as two days, in some cases, the FDA said.

Are you stocking the right things in your medicine cabinet in case you or a loved one contracts the coronavirus? Here’s what you should take into consideration.

The university released the below video and Q&A addressing the topic:Are the COVID-19 vaccines being rushed through clinical trials? Lok: We know that everyone is eager to have the COVID vaccines and would have liked to have those vaccines yesterday. It depends on whether the vaccine results are exactly as expected or whether they need additional analysis and additional testing. Is it safe to participate in a vaccine clinical trial? I heard there are low numbers of people of color signing up for vaccine trials.

Harvard researchers wanted to see if increases in emergency department visits for respiratory illnesses among older adults happened in the days surrounding thunderstorms because vulnerable groups and those with common chronic respiratory disease may be able to take steps to prevent worsening. The study in JAMA Internal Medicine found thunderstorms are linked with an average of 3,700 emergency department visits annually in the U.S. among seniors with respiratory illnesses, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They collected the data from 1999 through 2012 in more than 3,000 counties and looked at emergency department visits due to respiratory conditions in older patient populations in the days before and after thunderstorms. They found an uptick of ER visits of those with asthma and COPD on the day before thunderstorms. You can find the full study here.

The ships were deployed in late March to help assist frontline hospital workers and provide care on the ships, should hospitals overflow with patients. Comfort arrived in New York City on March 30, a day after it left Virginia, according to Business Insider. Comfort left New York City after treating 182 patients, 70% of whom had COVID-19, according to NavyTimes. Comfort is available in case it is needed for future help, according to NavyTimes, while USNI News reported the same is true for Mercy. (Getty Images)The USNS Comfort departs for its home port of Norfolk, Virginia on April 30, 2020 in New York City.

EAST LANSING, Mich. Some medical schools in Michigan are increasing their class size because they're receiving an influx of applicants during a time marked by a shortage of physicians. Meanwhile Michigan State's medical school, which has a class size of about 200 students, said it's at capacity. MSU would be required to hire more faculty and expand at its East Lansing and Grand Rapids campuses to increase their class size, Maurer said. For the incoming class of 2019, six of Michigan's medical schools received 43,602 applications, up 4,193 from 2018 and up 15,157 from 2014, which likely reflect prospective students submitting applications at multiple medical schools, the Lansing State Journal reported. The college received 6,653 applications in the last window, Ruger said, which is up from the 6,169 applications in 2019.

ANN ARBOR University of Michigan Regent Ron Weiser and his wife, Eileen, have donated $30 million to the university to bolster diabetes research and develop life-changing therapies. The research will be in collaboration with Michigan Medicine and other schools and units within the university. The gift will see the establishment of the Elizabeth Weiser Caswell Diabetes Institute, named for the Weisters daughter whose husband and two sons have Type 1 diabetes. Elizabeth has been a relentless educator and advocate for people with diabetes and for diabetes research, Regent Weiser said in a news release. This gift is transformational, Marschall S. Runge, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president for medical affairs, dean of the University of Michigan Medical School and CEO of Michigan Medicine said in a news release.

ANN ARBOR The University of Michigan and health care investment firm Deerfield Management Co. announced Wednesday a new partnership with the aim of developing life-saving drugs and disease treatments. Deerfield has committed up to $130 million over the next decade in biomedical research at U-M. The University of Michigan has a strong legacy of drug discovery and translation, Rebecca Cunningham, U-M vice president for research said in a news release. Great Lakes Discoveries will support all preclinical stages of drug development and discovery. "With its vast research platform, the University of Michigan is the ideal partner and we look forward to the innovations that we expect this alliance will bring.

How long do experts forecast for a COVID-19 vaccine to be created? Moderna, one of the U.S. companies working on a vaccine, said it could have a vaccine ready for a phase one clinical trial in people within three months. Phase I vaccine trials - This is the first attempt to try out the vaccine in a small group of adults -- usually 20 to 80 subjects. Phase II vaccine trials - The vaccine is tested on a larger group of individuals to assess the safety of the vaccine and method of delivery. Phase III vaccine trials - If the vaccine passed the first two phases, it’s then tested on tens of thousands of people to make sure there are few adverse side effects and the vaccine is effective.