Coverage of initial positive results from a clinical trial evaluating Atsena Therapeutics’ ATSN-101 gene therapy as a potential treatment for mutations to the gene GUCY2D that cause a form of inherited blindness known as Leber congenital amaurosis, or LCA, quotes Paul Yang, M.D., Ph.D., as saying “As LCA1 causes early and severe vision impairment or blindness and there are no approved treatments, ATSN-101 has the potential to fill a significant unmet need within the LCA community.”

Students from the OHSU School of Nursing-affiliated group Nursing Students Without Borders promote childhood health care by providing health assessments of teddy bear “patients” at the Safeway Providence Festival of Trees in Medford. Student Sara Grubb says the recommended treatment for most of the stuffed bears was “more cuddles and hugs.”

OHSU patient Sharol Lucey has lived 26 years with the same donor heart, making her one of the region’s longest-living heart transplant patients. Lucey, who has developed a friendship with the family of her heart donor, Steven Haugen, says: “Heart transplants are a blessing with a very dark cloud. Both Steven’s mom and his two sisters have expressed to me that it’s a little bit of a ray of sunshine coming through, seeking the good that his donation has done in someone else’s life.”

In an American Academy of Dermatology article on a promising new model for melanoma treatment in the form of a personalized vaccine, Elizabeth Berry, M.D., says: “This is an exciting, groundbreaking time. We’ve known for decades that melanoma is immunogenic, and the Holy Grail has been to develop some sort of vaccine against melanoma. Researchers have been trying to do this for decades, and it has not been successful until now.”

Christopher Fox, M.S.N., RN, is leading a two-year study to evaluate health outcomes for 125 patients who receive treatment through the OHSU Tele-PreP Program, which seeks to improve patient access to highly effective, HIV-preventing medications. Fox says, “People who have an increased risk for HIV also often face challenges accessing health care, and some health care providers don’t prescribe PrEP because they mistakenly assume a patient doesn’t need it. Telemedicine — which enables patients to receive health care from the comfort and safety of their own homes — can help overcome these barriers.”

Michele Megregian, Ph.D., shares insight on options for delivery when a baby is breech, including a procedure called external cephalic version. Megregian says, “We listen to the pregnant person's instinct about their own bodies, too. Some people who go into this with the attitude that the baby is breech for a reason, and so we explore that pregnant person's feelings around that framework and we support them.”

An OHSU study shows that almost half of the illicit drug users surveyed in rural areas have been recently incarcerated, presenting an opportunity to get people connected to addiction treatment while they’re in jails and prisons.

MinKyoung Song, Ph.D., RN, describes her research, which finds children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences are more likely to receive too little or too much sleep, and how that can result in long-term health consequences.

In a Health story on a study demonstrating the benefits of Tai Chi to improve memory and slow Parkinson’s disease, study co-author Kerri Winters-Stone, Ph.D., says: “We have to think about the long-term benefits of exercise. People get discouraged because they don’t see weight loss or other changes early on. But those things are happening, and they’re also preventing much more difficult things later on.”

Maureen Baldwin, M.D., leverages the social media platform TikTok to survey teens and young adults about their understanding of menstrual health, finding significant misconceptions and gaps in knowledge. Baldwin says, “This can be a scary topic to talk about… I think it’s important to normalize periods and discussions around periods.”