The power of vitamin D: What experts already know (and are still learning) about the ‘sunshine vitamin’

It’s no secret that vitamin D is critical to balancing many areas of health. But from pediatric broken bones to cluster headaches, physicians and scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) are still learning just how powerful the so-called “sunshine vitamin” is.

Women less likely than men to receive opportune care after stroke, study finds

Women are less likely than men to receive timely care for strokes caused by blockages in large vessels, known as emergent large vessel occlusion (ELVO), according to researchers with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Texas Health Informatics Alliance Launches, Opens Registration for its First Conference

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) has joined forces with two other University of Texas System institutions to form the Texas Health Informatics Alliance (THIA), which aims to enhance health informatics across the state through partnerships in research, data, policy, education, standards, and workforce development.

Preclinical research reveals that new IgM antibodies administered intranasally to fight COVID-19 more potent than commonly used ones

A nasal therapy, built upon on the application of a new engineered IgM antibody therapy for COVID-19, was more effective than commonly used IgG antibodies at neutralizing the COVID-19 virus in animal models, according to research recently published by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB Health), the University of Houston, and IGM Biosciences, Inc.

New study suggests pregnant women hospitalized for COVID-19 do not face increased risk of death

Pregnant women who are hospitalized with COVID-19 and viral pneumonia are less likely than non-pregnant women to die from these infections, according to a new study by researchers with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM).

Girl gets her smile back – and a new jaw – thanks to innovative tissue engineering procedure

Nine-year-old Grace Moss of Laredo, Texas, was facing a daunting prospect. A tumor that had invaded her jaw had been removed, but now the plastic surgeon wanted to remove her fibula – the smaller of the two bones in her lower leg – to use as a graft.

Researchers receive more than $53 million to study role of white matter lesions in dementia

A $53.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will aid brain scientists, including a researcher from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), in studying the role of incidental white matter lesions, or WMLs, in dementia among diverse people with cognitive complaints.

$5 million NIH grant awarded to reduce COVID-19-related disparities in vulnerable populations

To help reduce COVID-19-related health disparities in vulnerable populations in Texas, a multi-institutional team of researchers led by UTHealth in Houston will identify disease hotspots and testing deserts in racially diverse areas, and then develop and evaluate intervention strategies to increase testing.

Clinical trial to assess rehabilitation treatment for infants and toddlers after stroke

In the first of its kind for the tiniest stroke survivors, researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) will lead a stroke rehabilitation clinical trial in the state of Texas through a multi-institutional NIH StrokeNet initiative.

Double-lung transplant for COVID-19 patient performed by team of UTHealth physicians

Just 12 hours after undergoing a double-lung transplant, 70-year-old Francisco Medellin was sitting up in a chair pushing bike pedals – a seemingly simple act that was the culmination of hard work by a dedicated multidisciplinary team from McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Diane Santa Maria named dean of Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth

Diane M. Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, RN, FAAN, has been appointed dean of the Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), effective Tuesday, Sept. 1. In this role, Santa Maria will serve as the Jane and Robert Cizik Distinguished Chair and the Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair in Nursing Education Leadership.

Team is first in Texas to join NIH study investigating efficacy of convalescent plasma for COVID-19

Using a multimillion-dollar grant from the NIH, physician-scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) will investigate whether convalescent plasma infusions can prevent the progression of COVID-19 in one of the first randomized clinical trials in the country.

Simple blood test can predict severity of COVID-19 for some patients

An early prognosis factor that could be a key to determining who will suffer greater effects from COVID-19, and help clinicians better prepare for these patients, may have been uncovered by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). Results of the findings were published today in the International Journal of Laboratory Hematology.

Researchers uncover a critical early step of the visual process

The key components of electrical connections between light receptors in the eye and the impact of these connections on the early steps of visual signal processing have been identified for the first time, according to research published today in Science Advances by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).