University of Iowa Health Care is one of nine leading research centers participating in a new clinical trial testing the ability of an off-patent drug to slow or prevent osteoarthritis. The first-of-its-kind trial is sponsored and directed by the Arthritis Foundation and will focus on patients at high risk for post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) in the knee. Osteoarthritis (OA) affects over 30…
Research and Education
Research and Education
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…
UI Health Care researchers are collaborating with colleagues across the nation and the world to advance science and medicine. In just the past two weeks, UI researchers published new findings in high impact journals on the following topics: Treatment for metastatic eye cancer (NEJM). Molecular underpinnings of eye aging and disease (Cell). How a fungus adapts to infect human hosts (Nature…
A new study by University of Iowa researchers finds that rare lung cells known as pulmonary ionocytes facilitate the absorption of water and salt from the airway surface. This function is exactly the opposite of what was expected of these cells and may have implications for cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. Five years ago, scientists reported the unexpected discovery that ionocytes—a cell type…
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…
While career opportunities in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) are on the rise, women remain vastly underrepresented in these fields.University of Iowa Health Care experts are helping change that, through a unique educational program aimed at getting girls interested in STEM. Girls Go STEM is an annual event intended to inspire the next generation of health care professionals...
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.