Health and Medicine

A nasal spray shown to numb the upper jaw is set to be tested in an FDA Phase 3 trial, which will assess the spray's effectiveness compared to the current "gold standard" treatment -- painful anesthesia injections. The Phase 3 trial will be carried out later in 2009 at the UB dental school and other clinical sites.

After a collective trauma, such as Thursday's crash of Continental Flight 3407, an entire community (or even the nation) can be exposed to the tragedy through media coverage and second-hand accounts, according to Mark Seery, Ph.D., University at Buffalo assistant professor of psychology.

The visitor in Barry Willer's office at the University at Buffalo was frustrated and deeply depressed. The man's wife had sustained a relatively mild traumatic brain injury, and he was doing all he could to support her. But despite his best efforts, the man's wife described him to friends as being "indifferent." He was at his wits end.

University at Buffalo researcher John Violanti, Ph.D., a specialist in suicide among police officers, is preparing to conduct a study on suicide risk among returning veterans. The U.S. Army yesterday reported a "stunning spike" in the number of soldiers taking their own lives.

A family sociologist at the University at Buffalo says this month's murder-suicides involving a family of four in Ohio and a family of five in California may be "just the tip of the iceberg."

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been identified as the "signature injury" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To meet the needs of veterans with TBI, the VA's Health Services Research & Development Unit is funding a $1.4 million, four-year prospective cohort study of Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans, headed by University at Buffalo researchers at the Buffalo VA Medical Center. The results will be used nationwide.

As the United States continues to experience a nursing shortage that is expected to grow to one million nurses by 2016, a new research study highlights a pool of potential candidates who could alleviate the shortage in an economical way.

People who lose a job or who are in the midst a financial crisis often are reluctant to talk about their struggles and may isolate themselves from friends and family. A faculty member in the UB School of Social Work offers advice and how to reach out to those hit by financial crunch.

Infants exposed prenatally to cocaine react more emotionally to stress and appear to have fewer stress-reducing coping strategies than infants with no cocaine exposure, researchers at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) have shown.

Sixty New York State pharmacists will be eligible for certification to administer flu and pneumonia shots after completing a training session at the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on Saturday.