In a roundup of medical education efforts to diversity otolaryngology, Myriam Loyo Li, M.D., says OHSU’s Otolaryngology Diversity and Anti-Racism Committee helped the otolaryngology department review residency applicants holistically and advance applications for the interview committee’s consideration based on diversity and adversity experiences.

An OHSU study finds poor sleep efficiency among infants and young children with acquired brain injury is associated with worse child and family health outcomes.

Ahmad Masri, M.D., discusses results from a study evaluating the drug acoramidis in patients with transthyretin amyloidosis cardiomyopathy in a video interview.

John P. Campbell M.D., provides outside commentary on a clinical trial that found an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injection is as effective as the traditional treatment for retinopathy of prematurity, laser therapy, saying the finding is “reassuring,” but adding “there are remaining questions regarding long-term visual outcomes that hopefully larger studies will help answer.”

In a story about Portlanders who work on Christmas, Shana Kusin, M.D., explains why she often volunteers to work on the holiday: “We always joked that all the Jewish doctors and nurses are at the hospitals during Christmas. I feel almost a moral obligation to be there, because for so many of my colleagues, it’s critically important for them to have it off.”

First-year medical student Tyria Heath is recognized by the Future Clinicians Scholarship Program, which supports diverse health care leaders in the United States. Heath says the scholarship “tells me that I do belong, and not only that, but I also have people who are here to support” them during their medical education journey.

Maria Rodriguez, M.D., says Oregon was one of the first states to adopt a policy allowing pharmacists to offer birth control in 2016, and that “the public health side of things is expanding access to birth control, especially for populations who face barriers to birth control.”

Research by Jessica Macdougall, M.D., and others find adolescents with food allergies benefit from education about how to treat an allergic reaction, read food labels, the impact of alcohol and drugs on allergies, preparing for college, medical care and more. Macdougall says, “Most of these teens have not had to use an epinephrine auto-injector on their own or have not had an anaphylactic reaction requiring treatment in many years, which then leads to anxiety around allergic reactions and use of the epinephrine auto-injector.”

Research by Vijayshree Yadav, M.D., finds people with MS may have reduced fatigue if they also eat foods low in fat, saying: “We are able to show that dietary changes can play a significant role in symptom management in people with multiple sclerosis.”

Research led by Vijayshree Yadav, M.D., suggests people with multiple sclerosis could benefit from a low-fat diet to improve the fatigue that’s a debilitating, and often-underappreciated, symptom of the condition: “Fatigue is very disabling for these patients. There is no FDA-approved drug for fatigue, but we know that fatigue greatly affects their quality of life."