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Groundbreaking gene therapy at UCLA Health gives Serbian girl chance at a healthy life
04/15/2021
In parts of Europe, Sofija Markuljevic is known as “the little girl who united Serbia.” Tens of thousands of supporters have followed the 20-month-old’s journey — in magazines, on television and through social media — from her diagnosis with a neurogenetic disorder to her parents’ fundraising efforts and her cross-continental journey to UCLA Health to receive life-saving treatment.

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Celebrating a healthy Ramadan in 2021
04/12/2021
This year, Ramadan is projected to begin on Monday, April 12, and end on Tuesday, May 11 (although dates may vary). More than 1 billion people around the world will be recognizing this Islamic holy month through prayer and dawn to dusk fasting – a spiritual discipline of prayer and reflection.

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Researchers devise more efficient, enduring CAR gene therapy to combat HIV
04/08/2021
A UCLA research team has shown that using a truncated form of the CD4 molecule as part of a gene therapy to combat HIV yielded superior and longer-lasting results in mouse models than previous similar therapies using the CD4 molecule.

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Low-calorie diet and mild exercise improve survival for young people with leukemia
04/01/2021
A study led by researchers at UCLA and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has shown that a combination of modest dietary changes and exercise can dramatically improve survival outcomes for those with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer.

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Deactivating cancer cell gene boosts immunotherapy for head and neck cancers
03/23/2021
By targeting an enzyme that plays a key role in head and neck cancer cells, researchers from the UCLA School of Dentistry were able to significantly slow the growth and spread of tumors in mice and enhance the effectiveness of an immunotherapy to which these types of cancers often become resistant.

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Simulations show how city building configurations affect pedestrians’ air quality
03/12/2021
The next time you’re walking or biking in a city, take a look around — you may be able to get a sense of air quality by how the buildings are laid out. When buildings are aligned in rows with no gaps between them, pedestrians are usually exposed to higher concentrations of vehicle-related, ultrafine particles that harm human health, according to a study co-authored by UCLA air quality expert Suzanne Paulson.

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UCLA multilingual COVID-19 website offers vaccine information in more than a dozen languages
03/08/2021
The TranslateCovid.org informational site operated by UCLA recently launched a robust vaccine FAQ section, which to date has information in 17 languages including Spanish, Armenian, Chinese, French, Hindi, Hmong, Japanese, Lai, Thai, Vietnamese and more.

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UCLA forms research collaboration with Yuyu Pharma to advance MS treatment
03/01/2021
Through a new collaboration with a South Korean pharmaceutical company, UCLA scientists will participate in the process to develop a new drug to treat multiple sclerosis. UCLA and Yuyu Pharma will evaluate the efficacy and safety of drugs that have the potential to treat the debilitating disease.

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UCLA Health receives $29 million gift to establish center in precision genomic medicine
02/11/2021
UCLA has received a $29 million gift to establish a center where scientists and physicians will work side by side to examine the role of genetics in disease and develop therapies that improve patients’ lives.

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Unlocking the mystery behind skeletal aging
02/10/2021
Researchers from the UCLA School of Dentistry have identified the role a critical enzyme plays in skeletal aging and bone loss, putting them one step closer to understanding the complex biological mechanisms that lead to osteoporosis, the bone disease that afflicts some 200 million people worldwide. The findings from their study in mice, published online today in the journal Cell Stem Cell, could hold an important key to developing more effective treatments for osteoporosis and improving the lives of an aging population, they say.