SUMC in the News (10/16/07)

Press releases

Fish get insomnia, eyes wide open, say Stanford sleep researchers
A Stanford study shows that zebrafish can have a genetic mutation linked to sleep problems.

Stanford analysis shows little difference in risk rates for angioplasty, bypass procedures
Patients with heart disease who undergo coronary angioplasty have an equivalent risk of death and heart attack as patients who undergo coronary bypass surgery, according to Stanford researchers.

Print media coverage

Daily Telegraph (U.K.), 10/17/07
--Cancer treatment success (No online version available)
Ronald Levy, the Robert K. and Helen K. Summy Professor, provides comment in this article on an experimental cancer treatment. Levy is also quoted in a piece prepared by the Australian Associated Press.

Globe and Mail (Canada), 10/16/07
Blood test may help predict Alzheimer's
Stanford scientists have developed a test that is about 90 percent accurate in distinguishing the blood of people with Alzheimer’s from the blood of those without the disease. Tony Wyss-Coray, associate professor of neurology and neurological sciences, is quoted in this Reuters article, which also appears on MSNBC.com. He is quoted in a HealthDay article on USNews.com and in a San Mateo County Times article that also quotes Jerome Yesavage, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and director of Stanford's Aging Clinical Research Center. Mark Britschgi, a postdoctoral fellow in Wyss-Cory's lab, provides comment for a Palo Alto Online story.

MSNBC.com, 10/16/07
If it's any consolation, fish gets insomnia too
This Reuters article, which also appears in the Courier Mail (Australia) and on ScientificAmerican.com, discusses the Stanford study on insomniac zebrafish and quotes Emmanuel Mignot, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. An article quoting Mignot and senior research associate Philippe Mourrain appears in the Oakland Tribune and Palo Alto Daily News; articles also appear on LiveScience.com, Nature.com and Times Online (U.K.).

Forbes.com, 10/16/07
Garlic may ward off heart woes
This HealthDay article discusses a new study from University of Alabama researchers that found garlic may promote healthier responses in blood vessels. Christopher Gardner, assistant professor of medicine at the SPRC, is quoted. Gardner also provides comment in a brief item that appears in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.

Fremont Argus, 10/16/07
Children's health care falling short
Children only get about half the recommended treatment for common medical problems such as asthma and obesity, potentially leading them toward an unhealthy adulthood, according to researchers at University of Washington-Seattle. Paul Wise, the Richard E. Behrman Professor in Child Health and Professor, provides comment in this article, which originally appeared in the San Jose Mercury News.

Daily Express (U.K.), 10/16/07
Six-a-day no defence against cancer (No online version available)
Eating more than five portions of fruit and vegetables a day offers no additional protection against cancer, according to the latest research. This study was led by Marcia Stefanick, professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, who is quoted in this news brief.

MSNBC.com, 10/15/07
Same survival rates for angioplasty, bypass
This Reuters Health article discusses the recent report on risk rates for patients undergoing angioplasty or bypass procedures. Dena Bravata, senior research scientist and first author, is quoted. Mark Hlatky, professor of health research and policy and of cardiovascular medicine, is quoted in articles prepared by HealthDay, theHeart.org and WebMD.com.

Oakland Tribune, 10/15/07
Diet and eye health
A new study by Tufts University scientists has found a possible connection between the quality of carbohydrates consumed and the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of irreversible blindness. Michael Marmor, professor of ophthalmology, provides comment in this article.

Dallas Morning News, 10/15/07
Med school called No. 1 for Latinos
UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas has been ranked as the nation's top medical school for Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine. The article mentions that Stanford placed second.

St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), 10/15/07
Employee-based health care is terminal (No online version available)
The work of Alain Enthoven, a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy/Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research, is referenced in this article on employee-based health care.

Broadcast media coverage

WBBM-TV (Chicago), 10/16/07
This segment discussed the Alzheimer's blood test and mentioned Stanford researchers. Similar segments aired on TV stations across the country, including ones in Baltimore, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia; the research was also mentioned on ABC's World News with Charlie Gibson and CBS Evening News. Mark Britschgi also discussed the test during interviews that aired locally on KGO-TV and KNTV-TV.

KPIX-TV, 10/16/07
This segment discussed the Stanford study on insomniac zebrafish.