There are approximately 700,000 knee replacements performed in the United States each year and that number continues to increase, said Dr. Russ Guin, assistant professor of sports medicine with the College of Community Health Sciences. The most common reason for knee replacement is primary osteoarthritis, Guin said during a Mini Medical School presentation in February.…

On average, family caregivers spend nearly 25 hours a week taking care of family members and 1 in 4 of those caregivers spend more than 40 hours a week providing care, according to Dr. John Burkhardt, a clinical psychologist at University Medical Center. “These hours can oftentimes lead to care burnout,” Burkardt shared during a…

U.S. adults aged 50 to 80 have experienced diminished physical activity and function, and more falls, since March 2020, according to a national survey released last year. “The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with worsened physical functioning and fall outcomes,” Dr. Jackie Luker, a geriatrician with University Medical Center, said during a Mini Medical School presentation…

The prevalence of U.S. adults diagnosed with diabetes has increased since 2004, to nearly one-third of the population as of 2016. This is concerning because diabetes can cause serious eye diseases and threaten sight, said Dr. Raghu Ganugula, assistant professor of Biomedical Sciences with the College of Community Health Sciences. “The long-term effects of diabetes…

The 10th Annual Tuscaloosa Africana Film Festival, co-sponsored by The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences, will be held virtually on February 19 and 20. Six acclaimed movies from the African continent and the broader African Diaspora will be screened at the festival. Participants can join via their own devices by logging on…

While capsule pills are here to stay, generation nano-systems are an up-and-coming technology in the medical world, according to Dr. Meenakshi Arora, associate professor of Biomedical Sciences with the College of Community Health Sciences. In understanding how drugs can help our body, it’s important to understand how we get sick in the first place, with…

There has been phenomenal growth in next-generation medicine spurred in part by nanotechnology, according to Dr. M.N.V. Ravi Kumar, The University of Alabama Distinguished University Research Professor for Bioscience and Medicine in the College of Community Health Sciences. Nanotechnology is appealing because it allows researchers to “develop the next generation of oral delivery technologies,” Kumar…

Dr. Thad Ulzen is a child and adolescent psychiatrist at University Medical Center. He is also working to enhance care and services provided by Brewer-Porch Children’s Center in Tuscaloosa, which became part of The University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences in October 2020. Brewer-Porch provides behavioral health care for children and adolescents locally…

Nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure and Alabama has the highest U.S. death rate from the chronic condition, often referred to as a “silent killer” because it can have life-threatening consequences, such as heart disease and stroke, but produce few symptoms. “As many as 40% of people with high blood pressure don’t…

Dr. Nathan Culmer, assistant professor at the College of Community Health Sciences, and Dr. Todd Smith, assistant professor at the Capstone College of Nursing have received $1.8 million in funding this year from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant program. This funding will significantly increase the Emergency Medical Services’…