The wife of a professional Canadian hockey player shares her experience receiving treatment for melanoma at OHSU: “Just a reminder to get your skin checked ... the earlier you get it the better. Be an advocate for your own health!"

A new study reveals for the first time a new avenue of cell death in Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. “Everyone knows that microglia are activated to mediate inflammation,” says Stephen Back, M.D., Ph.D. “But no one knew that they were dying in such large numbers. It’s just amazing that we missed this until now.”

Emily Skogrand, Pharm.D., says a two-dose package will cost $44.99, which creates barriers; however, pharmacists will still be able to write a prescription for the medication, and with insurance, it typically costs $10 to $50.

Long-awaited trial data show the psychedelic drug MDMA is effective at treating post-traumatic stress disorder in a diversity of people; Erick Turner, M.D., says the difference between the MDMA and placebo groups is impressive, but he doubts that it is as big as it seems. Because MDMA produces an intense psychedelic experience, around 94% of people who received the drug and 75% of those who didn’t correctly guessed which group they were in. “That is not a blinded study,” Turner says.

A Willamette Week article expresses misgivings about the proposed combination.

Research led by Jonathan Pruneda, Ph.D., establishes a framework to predict the severity and symptoms of a rare and deadly genetic disease that affects about 40 children worldwide, including Raiden Pham, a patient receiving care at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.

Eneida Nemecek, M.D., discusses a grant she received from Genentech to help bring the benefits of clinical trials to more people in the Hispanic/Latino communities: “Cancer incidence in Latinos is on the rise, and their risk of poor outcomes and mortalities is high due to socioeconomic disparities. This also translates into lower participation in clinical trials. We wanted to challenge these trends by proposing a model to reach out to members of the Hispanic/Latino community to start a conversation about their understanding of cancer care and research, and to identify the challenges they face and potential solutions to optimize their access to cancer care and research opportunities.”

The Oregonian previews the 15th annual Great Salt Lick Auction, featuring tongue-sculpted artwork made by livestock and benefiting the OHSU Parkinson Center.

Pamplin Media interviews Nathan Selden, M.D., Ph.D., following revelations in Australia about a live roundworm that neurosurgeons found in the brain of a patient who reportedly ingested it a year before as larvae from consuming native vegetation in python habitat. He says, “Oregon is a really great, healthy place to live, and we have a really low burden of risk for foodborne disease. But there’s nowhere on earth where that risk is zero. So we should just be sensible and careful, but not overly stressed or worried.”

An OHSU study that used real blood to evaluate the absorbency of period products found menstrual discs typically carry the most blood and menstrual underwear usually absorbed the least. Bethany Samuelson Bannow, M.D., M.C.R., says: “as a hematologist who studies bleeding disorders, it’s absolutely shocking to me that we have an organ that’s literally designed to bleed and stop bleeding every month, and we really haven’t delved into exactly how that works.”