Medscape reports on a new NIH grant to OHSU to find a cure for HIV. Jonah Sacha, Ph.D., says, “This is an unprecedented and exciting time in HIV cure as we can reverse engineer a stem cell transplant-mediated cure for HIV.”

A story in The Lund Report reports on retainer, or “direct care,” primary care practices charging membership fees to patients. One issue covered in the story is when doctors leave clinics for these concierge services, patients are left without care at their clinics. Eric Wiser, M.D., says employers or clinics are responsible for ensuring the continuity of patient care, not the physician.

Sports Illustrated covers Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning narrating a public service announcement titled “Give Cancer Hell.” During the week leading up to the game, Oregon's players wore shirts with the same message.

News coverage with OHSU President Shereef Elnahal, M.D., includes topics ranging from the budget deficit to the Knight cancer gift. OPB reports that Elnahal says one strategy for addressing budget issues is pushing for higher reimbursement rates from commercial payers. “We have standing to make a good argument to be reimbursed for the complexity of care that we’re offering in a way that we’re not right now,” he says.

The Source reports on the Sole Support for Parkinson’s Walk held on Sept. 27 in Bend. Joseph Quinn, M.D., says, “While we continue to advance our understanding of Parkinson’s disease through research, the statistics are sobering — Parkinson’s is the fastest-growing neurological disease in the world, with one person diagnosed every six minutes.”

OPB-Radio interviews Bill Messer, M.D., Ph.D., in a story outlining what Oregonians need to know about COVID-19 booster vaccinations.

Nature reports on new techniques to investigate the crucial role of the placenta for the developing embryo. Victoria Roberts, Ph.D., says invasive cells from the placenta open up the arteries, “essentially making a channel so that mom can provide what she needs through her blood supply.”

ProPublica interviews Jane Zhu, M.D., for a story about the growth of for-profit entities in U.S. mental health care facilities, noting that denying care to patients without insurance or with lower-paying forms of insurance can help increase profits.

In a Medscape story about privacy concerns around advancements of assistive communication devices and brain-computer interfaces for people otherwise unable to speak, Melanie Fried-Oken, Ph.D., says, “I want to make sure choices are available for an individual within the devices. And the only way that the developers are going to know what possible choices to have is by including end users.”

A new multicenter randomized controlled study that started at OHSU suggests changing clinical guidance for treatment of spinal cord injury. Brandon Togioka, M.D., says, “While this study does not support allowing patients to have low blood pressure, it does suggest that aggressively elevating blood pressure may be doing more harm than good.”