Health and Medicine

Physicians treating refugees and immigrant populations face a minefield of potential cultural gaffes. They should not touch a Muslim man during the initial interview. A nod of the head may mean "no" instead of "yes" if the patient is Albanian. Among Latinos, the head of the family, not the patient, makes treatment decisions. A $604,000 federal grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute to the University at Buffalo will help new and experienced physicians avoid such missteps.

Advanced research into the action of receptors involved in carrying chemical messages across certain brain synapses and all human nerve-muscle synapses has received increased momentum through a $4.63 million Jacob Javits Award in the Neurosciences to Anthony Auerbach, Ph.D., of the University at Buffalo.

Researchers at the University at Buffalo studying the effects of alcohol on the brain, using zebrafish as a model, have identified several novel central nervous system proteins that are affected by chronic alcohol exposure.

The University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) will host national experts on addictions and substance abuse during a fall seminar series that will begin Sept. 29.

Botulinum toxin, the same Botox used to treat facial wrinkles, helps facial wounds heal with less scarring, according to results of a study published in the August issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have presented the first evidence that the addictive drug methamphetamine, or meth, also commonly known as "speed" or "crystal," increases production of a docking protein that promotes the spread of the HIV-1 virus in infected users.

Only one drug is approved to treat persons with mild to moderate Alzheimer's symptoms, despite the fact that the brain protein at the core of this disease, the NMDA receptor, is known to play a central role in several acute and chronic neurodegenerative conditions that impair learning and memory. Gabriela Popescu, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry at the University at Buffalo's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is hoping to help change that situation.

An innovative University at Buffalo air sterilization technology that the U.S. Department of Defense is funding to protect troops on the battlefield soon may be protecting hospital patients from deadly infections, thanks to recent funding from the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR).

Western New York Wellness Works, a $1 million initiative funded by State Senator Mary Lou Rath to promote company-sponsored wellness programs, will receive another $500,000 to support the program in its second year, Rath announced today at a "healthy" company picnic at Greater Buffalo Savings Bank, one of the participating companies.

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have developed a microfluidic device that rapidly tests live cells for responses to any stimulus by using electrical resistance to measure changes in cell volume. It has numerous potential applications, including the detection of drug/cell interactions, bacterial sensitivity to antibiotics and cancer cell susceptibility to chemotherapeutic agents.