Health and Medicine

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have devised two new ways of "stapling" peptide helices to prevent these medically important molecules from losing their shape and degrading in the presence of enzymes.

Pick a decade, any decade. From secretaries in miniskirts in the "Mad Men"-style '60s and Southwest Airlines' "hostesses" in hot pants in the "liberated" '70s, to the present-day surge of provocatively dressed young female service workers -- the ubiquitous "Hooter Girl," for example -- University at Buffalo Law Professor Dianne Avery has a name for it all: "The Great American Makeover: "The Sexing Up and Dumbing Down of Women's Work."

Researchers from the National Network of Pediatric MS Centers of Excellence, in the first retrospective study of the response of children with multiple sclerosis to standard, or first-line, therapies, found that one-fifth of patients involved in the review required "second-line" treatments.

For veterans who have returned from conflicts overseas, fighting mental illness once home can be overwhelming. Often there are multiple medications prescribed for specific times throughout the day and adding to that are the medications that must be taken for chronic physical problems.

A University at Buffalo researcher's work with a state-of-the-art driving simulator is making better drivers among those considered to be the most risky motorists on the road: teens with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

The success of Buffalo-based Medical Acoustics, a medical device company expecting to turn a profit for the first time in 2011, exemplifies how partnerships with universities like the University at Buffalo can help businesses bring new products to the market.

When a serious threat of a flu epidemic arises, public health officials advise persons to stay away from crowds and, as importantly, avoid shaking hands. But a Viewpoint piece in the current issue of Public Health Reports, authored by University at Buffalo public health faculty members, illustrates that, in certain situations, social pressures make such recommendations moot.

Anne Skelly, PhD, RN, ANP-C, associate professor of nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a University at Buffalo School of Nursing distinguished alumna, will present the inaugural Margaret A. Nelson Lecture at 2 p.m. on March 4 in 114 Wende Hall on UB's South Campus.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- What many of us take for granted -- a good night's sleep -- may be unattainable for those with lung cancer. Lung cancer patients comprise a subgroup of cancer patients who are most vulnerable to sleep disturbances.

A telephone-based group education and support intervention provided to spouses of veterans with mild to severe dementia saved an average of $2,768 per patient over six months compared to "usual care," a study conducted by a University at Buffalo researcher has show. However, those savings dissipated during the following six months and by the one-year assessment the savings were lost.