Can 70 Really Be The New 50?

We may be living longer, but are we living healthier? As we age, proper nutrition and exercise can help us live more fulfilling lives and enjoy our extended post-retirement years. Indeed, exercise is medicine.

Cindy Chang, MD, a sports medicine physician, shares her training and expertise to provide physical activity goals and guidelines for adults. She’ll also help you determine your own activity level using the “physical activity vital sign” and why this is even more important during the COVID pandemic.

Watch Can 70 Really Be The New 50? Living Longer and Healthier with Exercise.

COVID-19 and Autism – Finding a Path Forward for Families

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented changes in every aspect of our lives. For individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who often have increased behavioral symptoms with changes in routine, the pandemic has been deeply disruptive to their lives in ways that go beyond access to care.

In a compelling video from the recent Autism Tree Project Foundation Global Neuroscience Conference, Doris Trauner, MD, shares the impacts felt by both children with autism and their caregivers based on findings from studies done around the globe. She also discusses data gathered from families enrolling in a clinical trial on the use of cannabidiol to treat problem behaviors in children with severe autism. The families were asked to complete a health impact survey about how the pandemic has impacted their child’s behavior and education as well as their family dynamics. Most children were reported to have been impacted negatively overall. Dr. Trauner suggests ways we can support these children moving forward as well as some big picture lessons we can take with us into the future.

Watch Impact of COVID-19 on Children with Moderate to Severe Autism with Doris Trauner.

View more programs on Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Deep Look into COVID-19: Adapting to a COVID World

As the second anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic approaches, the world looks significantly different than it did nearly two years ago. According to recent statistics, the virus has infected more than 383 million people and has caused nearly 5.7 million deaths, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

The world needed to rapidly change. Strict rules were put into place that saw many countries across the globe come to a sudden standstill in an attempt to confine the spread of COVID-19 during the early stages of the pandemic. As scientists learned more about the virus, social distancing and mask wearing became commonplace.

With the release of a vaccine, there was hope that a return to “normalcy” may be possible; that we could begin living as we did before the word ‘COVID’ became a part of our daily lexicon.

But will that ever be the case? Or will COVID-19 remain a part of our lives similarly to the flu?

These are important questions as we continue to adapt to living in a COVID world. Experts at UC San Diego are working to find answers using epidemic modeling and data-driven approaches. They are looking at the promise of proteins as anti-viral COVID-19 therapeutics. And they are analyzing what we’ve learned about disease transmission, and what mutations of the virus could mean for the future of this pandemic.

Watch Deep Look into COVID-19: Adapting to a COVID World.

Hand Lumps, Bumps and Everything in Between

Our hands and wrists, which are made up of many small bones, joints and tendons, are so integral to our daily lives that we often don’t appreciate them until there’s something wrong. Conditions like arthritis, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, and cysts, and injuries like lacerations and nerve damage, can negatively impact our quality of life.

Dr. Lauren Santiesteban, hand and wrist surgeon at UC San Francisco, explains basic hand anatomy and common conditions and injuries that cause pain and impair movement. She says steps for assessing hand pain include getting a patient’s history and doing a physical exam. Treatment may include rest, anti-inflammatory drugs, X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, splinting, physical therapy, steroid injections or surgery.

Watch Lumps and Bumps of the Hand and Wrist.

Technology vs. Pain and Addiction: Advances in Neuromodulation

The majority of Americans are living with pain, according to the findings from a report recently released by the National Center for Health Statistics. Pain affects more than your body, increasing stress and depression which can make pain worse, leading to a vicious cycle.

Lawrence Poree, MD, MPH, PhD, discusses the intersection of neuromodulation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the opioid crisis in pain management, as well as techniques such as TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) to help alleviate pain and depressive symptoms.

To learn more about pain management, check out the other programs in this six-part series Advances in the Understanding and Treatment of Pain taught by leading experts at UC San Francisco who explore the causes, consequences, and treatment of pain as well as barriers to providing effective pain relief.

Watch Technology vs. Pain and Addiction: Advances in Neuromodulation.