As Antibiotic Resistance Grows, UCLA Professor Helps Boost Less-Used Gonorrhea Treatment
Dr. Jeffrey Klausner has developed a test to determine which patients have the type of gonorrhea that can be treated with ciprofloxacin.
KPCC:
New Genetic Test Could Slow Growth Of Antibiotic-Resistant Gonorrhea
A UCLA professor says he has created a genetic test that can determine which gonorrhea patients can be treated with an antibiotic that has fallen out of favor, an innovation that could help slow the spread of resistance to a medication that is commonly used to treat the disease. The test was developed by Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, who teaches medicine and public health at UCLA. (Plevin, 5/29)
In other public health news —
Los Angeles Times:
Can Virtual Reality Reduce High Blood Pressure At A Church In South L.A.?
Now he’s collaborating with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to try to reduce high blood pressure in the community. The project has enrolled many of his congregants at Holman United Methodist Church and uses everything in the public health toolbox, including weekly dinners and classes, fitness trackers, nurse check-ins and even virtual reality. African Americans suffer from high rates of hypertension, which makes them much more likely to have strokes or heart attacks. (Karlamangla, 5/30)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Some Answers About Injection Drug Use By Homeless
The in-your-face injection drug use that pervades downtown San Francisco these days, and the thousands of dirty syringes dangerously discarded on the streets, are downright confusing to average residents, if my email in-box is any indication. (Knight, 5/30)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Meatless, Tasty And Genetically Modified: A Healthy Debate
To those steeped in the natural-food movement, the acronym GMO — for genetically modified organisms — has traditionally been almost as taboo as a plate of braised veal. However, that view could be changing as a new generation of Bay Area entrepreneurs upends the alternative meat and dairy industry, using biotechnology to create vegetarian foods that taste more like meat and promise ecological advantages to boot. (Duggan, 5/29)