‘A Game-Changer For Research’: Gift To UCSF Will Fund Work On A Different Kind Of Treatment For Depression
The goal of the new research is to develop a personalized approach to treatment that involves identifying the circuitry dysfunction in the brain. UCSF wants to start a first-of-its-kind clinical trial in early 2019 that studies the circuits that connect regions of the brain that seem important for how it works – and are thought to play a role in depression.
The Mercury News:
UCSF Receives $20 Million From Dolby For Depression Research
Could depression be eased by fixing the brain’s flawed electrical circuitry? A $20 million gift from the family of audio pioneer Ray Dolby to UC San Francisco will help find an answer, through research at the new Dolby Family Center for Mood Disorders. Drugs and other therapies can help many of the millions of Americans who live with depression. But some people struggle with severe symptoms that are beyond the reach of current remedies. (Krieger, 9/18)
In other public health news —
Ventura County Star:
School Leader's Suicide Story Hits Home At Forum
The annual forum, “Help & Hope,” packed the school’s performing arts building. The speakers who opened the program didn’t talk about Anthony Bourdain or Kate Spade or other celebrities who killed themselves in the past year.Instead, they focused on numbers, some of them projected on a massive screen: 41 people in Ventura County committed suicide in the first six months of the year. 80 percent of them were men. 25 percent were senior citizens. ...Crisis counselors stood in the aisles just in case someone wanted to talk. In a cluster of booths outside the center, groups ranging from a support group for young adult survivors of suicide to the Vista del Mar psychiatric hospital answered questions and handed out information. (Kisken, 9/19)
The Mercury News:
Are Household Cleaners Making Your Kids Fat?
Most moms feel strongly that keeping the house spick and span is the secret to keeping the family healthy, right? Not so fast. You might want to think twice before you give your kitchen a good scrub with a disinfectant. Common cleaning products may be linked to childhood obesity, according to research recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Scientists now say disinfectants and other multi-surface cleaners could contribute to weight gain in children by altering the gut bacteria of infants. (D'Souza, 9/19)