News

A pattern of increasing marijuana use in adolescence may lead to higher rates of depression and lower educational accomplishments, according to a new study led by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh published in the journal Addiction. Researchers analyzed 158 boys and young men from Pittsburgh who completed questionnaires about their marijuana use and psychosocial outcomes like level of education and depression, and had an MRI brain scan. While researchers expected to see the worst...

New findings published in The Journal of Pain show that moderate and high levels of exercise can help people suffering from pain. Chronic pain, which affects millions of Americans, leads to increased health care costs, lost productivity, and emotional and financial costs to those who suffer from it. While there are medications to treat chronic pain, few are effective and some may lead to drug addiction and abuse. Exercise has long been suggested to people with chronic pain as an alternative to...

Injuries to the rotator cuff – the group of tendons and muscles that allows shoulder movement and stability – are very common and can cause pain, weakness, and limited range of motion in the shoulder. To treat rotator cuff tears, doctors recommend non-surgical therapies like ice, rest, steroids, and anti-inflammatory drugs, or even surgery and rehabilitation, but no approach is foolproof. Non-surgical interventions work only about half the time, and surgery can lead to re-tearing and other...

Asthma affects more than 20 million Americans, and the first line of treatment is usually corticosteroids to decrease inflammation and clear the airway. But for the 5%-10% of people with severe asthma, corticosteroid treatments do not improve symptoms and may even make the condition worse. Providing an important clue about why some cases of asthma are worse than others and harder to treat, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh recently found that levels of an inflammatory protein called...

Slower walking may be one of the first signs of mental decline, and a shrinking hippocampus – the small region of the brain related to memory, emotion, and spatial orientation – may explain the connection, according to new findings published in the journal Neurology. In a study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, researchers assessed the walking speed and brain health of 175 older adults ages 70 to 79 at multiple time points over a period of 14 years...

Adults who are obese often struggle with chronic pain, and many use potentially addictive prescription opioids to manage their pain. While prescription opioid use initially declines following weight-loss (bariatric) surgery, new research from Wendy C. King, PhD, at the University of Pittsburgh shows that opioid use in this group increases within a matter of years and eventually surpasses pre-surgery rates. “Our nation is in an epidemic of opioid abuse, addiction and overdose. Recent reports...

Adolescent depression—characterized by low mood, inability to enjoy normally pleasurable activities, insomnia, irritability, weight changes, and feelings of guilt or worthlessness—is more common than previously thought, and more likely to develop in girls than boys. According to new research, the proportion of adolescents who experience depression is higher than previous studies have reported—36 percent for girls and 14 percent for boys. These depressive episodes are associated with problems...

For many people who struggle with weight problems, bariatric surgery -- a procedure that significantly reduces the size of the stomach and changes connections with the small intestine -- is a way to lose weight quickly. While the procedure can help improve the health of people who are overweight or obese, new research shows an unexpected downside. One in five patients who undergo one of the most popular weight-loss surgical procedures, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, is likely to develop problems...

Sepsis—a condition that arises when the body’s response to an infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs—is the number-one cause of death in hospital patients. At least 1.5 million sepsis cases occur in the United States annually.  After undiagnosed sepsis caused the death of a 12-year-old boy, Rory, in 2012, New York became the first state to require that hospitals follow a protocol to quickly identify and treat the condition. “Rory’s Regulations” require hospitals to follow...

Abusive head trauma (AHT) in infants, often known as shaken baby syndrome, can lead to permanent brain damage and even death. “AHT is the leading cause of death from traumatic brain injury in infants and the leading cause of death from physical abuse in the United States,” said Rachel Berger, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics, Pitt School of Medicine, and chief, Child Advocacy Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Approximately 30 percent of AHT cases are missed when caretakers...

The biological processes that lead to cancer are complicated and not fully known, but researchers are finding that even the tiniest parts of the body can predict cancer risk—and play a role in the development of cancer treatment. The tips of chromosomes in DNA are protected by “caps” called telomeres. New research reveals that the length of these telomeres may predict cancer risk. According to research led by Jian-Min Yuan, MD, PhD (Epidemiology, Pitt Public Health and Arnold Palmer Professor...

Pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs, is a condition in which a person’s arteries thicken and the blood does not flow as well as it should. When this happens, the heart must work harder to pump blood through the lungs. Some cases of pulmonary hypertension can lead to serious health problems, such as heart failure. Treatment options for pulmonary hypertension are available, but they do not work for everyone. Results from a research study led by Marc Simon...

Celiac disease is a digestive disorder in which the immune system is triggered by gluten to damage the small intestine. Celiac disease, which has no cure, can lead to digestive problems and can prevent the body from getting the nutrients it needs. Why the body’s immune system responds to gluten is poorly understood, but research has revealed that a reovirus, a common but otherwise harmless virus, can provoke the immune system response. In a collaboration with researchers from the University of...

Many elderly patients have someone who will take them home and care for them after a hospital stay, and a Pitt study—led by Juleen Rodakowski, OTD, MS, assistant professor of occupational therapy, Pitt School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences—has found that when those caregivers are involved in the discharge planning process, the rate at which the patients are readmitted to the hospital goes down. The discharge planning process can include interventions like connecting patients and...

A Pittsburgh winter can make anyone desperate for a little sun. But people who are using indoor tanning are putting themselves at a higher risk for cancer and other skin problems, according to Laura Ferris, MD, PhD (Dermatology), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Ferris says no amount of indoor tanning is safe and that “every time someone tans, his/her DNA is exposed to something that causes cancer.” Other risks of tanning include wrinkles, pigment changes, and skin...