Did smokers do better than non-smokers in a clinical trial for an experimental cancer treatment? That was the intriguing question that led University of Iowa researchers and their colleagues to develop a drinkable, carbon monoxide-infused foam that boosted the effectiveness of the therapy, known as autophagy inhibition, in mice and human cells. The findings were recently published in the journal…

Twist. Pop. Pain. It’s a combination that any athlete—young or old, professional or weekend warrior—knows and dreads as a likely indication of a torn ACL. Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which stabilizes the knee joint, is an extremely common injury, affecting between 100,000 to 200,000 people in the U.S. every year. It is also a significant injury, often requiring surgery and…

New findings may take scientists a step closer to understanding what causes SUDEP—Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy—a rare but fatal complication of epilepsy. There are about 3,000 deaths from SUDEP each year in the U.S. The biggest risk factor is epilepsy that is not well controlled with medication or surgery, but the exact cause of SUDEP is not known. However, increasing evidence suggests…

An out-of-body experience. That’s how Cody Purvis describes losing nearly 75% of the hair on her head as a result of the autoimmune disease alopecia areata. “The person that I looked at in the mirror every day was just not who I was,” says Purvis, a pet boarding and grooming business owner in Kanawha, Iowa. In alopecia areata, the body’s immune system attacks hair follicles. It can result in…

Primary care generally refers to the specialties of family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology. But increasingly in Iowa and across the nation, the balance of providers in primary care specialties leans toward family medicine.