Health Lab Articles

Doctor talking with patient on hospital bed showing kidney X-ray, blue background
Health Lab

Kidney disease is a problem for cerebral palsy patients. Why are doctors missing it?

Researchers say new measures of kidney function are needed for people with the condition, which is caused by damage to, or malformation of, the developing brain.
woman packing over bed in striped blue and white shirt
Health Lab

Many older Americans plan to take long trips soon, but may alter plans if COVID spikes at their destination

Many seniors plan to travel for the holidays and take long vacations in 2022 but need to keep COVID, telehealth rules and other health needs in mind.
Health Lab

The drive to find a bone marrow donor

Ryder Washington needs a bone marrow transplant. But the five-year-old, like many other African-Americans, doesn’t have any matches in the national bone marrow registry. His parents are out to change that.
stethoscope drawing in blue ink on lined paper with lab note writing on bottom right in yellow and navy
Health Lab

Using miniature heart tissues to study how the heart beats

Preclinical research allows for a more efficient analysis of heart conditions.
Doctor leaning against desk with clipboard in dark room with anxiety
Health Lab

Medical training takes a mental toll, but less of one than it did a decade ago

First-year medical residents, called interns, still face a high rate of depression but duty hour reductions in GME and better access to mental health care may have reduced their risk in the last decade.
young man in yellow shirt on left and on right same young man in mask and blue shirt
Health Lab

When donating blood is ‘the kindest thing you can do’

Blood transfusions were the only thing that helped Connor Burke cope with the fatigue of his chemotherapy. Now, amid a national blood shortage, he’s encouraging more people to donate blood
hospital bed drawing in blue ink with yellow badge with blue ink writing
Health Lab

Androgen hormones may exacerbate sex differences in COVID-19 outcomes

A pre-clinical study explores the role of hormones in the COVID-19 vascular damage that’s generally worse in men than in women.
stethoscope on heart of orange shirt close up
Health Lab

Understanding how frailty in children with heart conditions may influence outcomes  

A third of children and adolescents who underwent a complex procedure for a severe congenital heart condition were identified as frail.
baby with stethoscope on heart
Health Lab

Comparing outcomes between therapies for babies with hypoplastic left heart syndrome

Researchers look at whether the type of surgical shunt used in newborns with complex heart disease makes a difference by the time they’re adolescents.
hospital bed drawing in blue ink on lined paper with yellow  badge bottom right saying lab note in blue font
Health Lab

Coronavirus lurks and lingers in nursing home patients’ rooms

Rigorous surface cleaning needed to reduce chance of spread to unvaccinated and vaccinated-but-vulnerable patients, staff and visitors
Stethoscope next to outline of family in red texture grit
Health Lab

Doctoring and parenting in a pandemic: Women bore the brunt

Women who are doctors and parents made more changes and experienced greater depression and anxiety during the pandemic than men who are physician-parents.
doctor at microscope in black and white wheelchair insulin in photo next to it in a yellow shirt with doctor in color
Health Lab

100 years of insulin

An endocrinologist discusses the history of the life saving drug and its importance in diabetes management.
woman in hospital gown going under scan machine in blue light
Health Lab

Side effects of radiation therapy reduced when computer optimizes treatment, study finds

A multi-center study found that breast cancer patients experienced less pain and skin irritation when a more complex form of treatment planning was used for radiation. 
Merrick and Melliah sleeping on their mother's chest
Health Lab

Merriah and Melliah’s Michigan Answer: From premature birth to a bright future

For Merrick and Mychal, the news that they’d be having fraternal girls with an expected delivery date of Christmas Day 2020 made the news even more exciting. But, to everyone's surprise, that delivery came early.
Child sitting with parent on couch socializing while watching show
Health Lab

Can talking to kids during TV time buffer screen time effects on development?

A new study suggests that talking with children during TV time may help stimulate overall curiosity and aid in early childhood development.