Health and Medicine

The University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) will host national experts on addictions and substance abuse during a fall seminar series that will begin Sept. 29.

Botulinum toxin, the same Botox used to treat facial wrinkles, helps facial wounds heal with less scarring, according to results of a study published in the August issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have presented the first evidence that the addictive drug methamphetamine, or meth, also commonly known as "speed" or "crystal," increases production of a docking protein that promotes the spread of the HIV-1 virus in infected users.

Only one drug is approved to treat persons with mild to moderate Alzheimer's symptoms, despite the fact that the brain protein at the core of this disease, the NMDA receptor, is known to play a central role in several acute and chronic neurodegenerative conditions that impair learning and memory. Gabriela Popescu, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry at the University at Buffalo's School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is hoping to help change that situation.

An innovative University at Buffalo air sterilization technology that the U.S. Department of Defense is funding to protect troops on the battlefield soon may be protecting hospital patients from deadly infections, thanks to recent funding from the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR).

Western New York Wellness Works, a $1 million initiative funded by State Senator Mary Lou Rath to promote company-sponsored wellness programs, will receive another $500,000 to support the program in its second year, Rath announced today at a "healthy" company picnic at Greater Buffalo Savings Bank, one of the participating companies.

Researchers at the University at Buffalo have developed a microfluidic device that rapidly tests live cells for responses to any stimulus by using electrical resistance to measure changes in cell volume. It has numerous potential applications, including the detection of drug/cell interactions, bacterial sensitivity to antibiotics and cancer cell susceptibility to chemotherapeutic agents.

In partnership with industry, University at Buffalo researchers are conducting one of the first scientific air-quality tests of "allergy-friendly" hotel rooms. The project is expected to provide data applicable to other environments where indoor air quality is critical, such as in health-care facilities and aboard airplanes.

An innovative accelerated bachelor's-degree program in the University at Buffalo School of Nursing designed to address the chronic nursing shortage will expand and focus on meeting the needs of underserved urban and rural areas under a three-year, $1.36 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The direction in which a vehicle rolls over when it careens out of control determines whether the driver or front-seat passenger is at greater risk for serious injuries or death, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Center for Transportation Injury Research at the University at Buffalo.