Researchers at UT Health San Antonio are launching a five-year, $15.5-million study to investigate why the region’s older Mexican Americans experience a high rate of dementia. The project, the San Antonio Mind and Heart Study, is led by UT Health San Antonio’s Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases with funding from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging. Let’s dive deeper Latinos, dementia, and the goals of this study.
A Continuation of Important Data
The new dementia study is an is an extension of the San Antonio Heart Study, conducted at UT Health San Antonio between 1979 and 2006 led Dr. Helen P. Hazuda. Researchers, led by Dr. Claudia L. Satizabal, associate professor of population health ...
Latinas suffer a high burden of cervical cancer, which is often caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). In fact, Latinas have the second-highest rate of dying from cervical cancer after Black women, according to the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Cervical cancer screening – commonly referred to as a Pap smear – can help reduce this disease burden. However, Latinas and other women of color face numerous barriers to cervical cancer screening, such as lack of health insurance and fear of cervical exams, which can be uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing. Enter University of North Carolina researchers Jennifer S. Smith and Noel T. Brewer. The duo are part of the research team behind the My Body, My Test 3 clinical trial, which explored the ...
Cancer patients with unmet needs for support – in areas from finances to emotions – are more likely to experience worse clinical outcomes, according to a new study led by Dr. Frank Penedo of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. Who are the cancer patients at highest risk for having unmet needs? Latinos, Blacks, and people who experience anxiety, depression, pain, poor physical function, and low health-related quality-of-life scores. "Our findings offer strong evidence that unmet supportive care needs are associated with unfavorable clinical outcomes, particularly higher risk for ED visits and hospitalizations," Dr. Penedo said, according to a news release. Let’s dive into unmet needs and what they mean for Latino cancer ...
In the next few years, Latinos face a 142% rise in cancer rates. Latinos also experience cancer differently—from genetics to healthcare access to survivorship. That’s why Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, partnered with the Mays Cancer Center to create the Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos (ASCL) biennial conference. Read the proceedings from the 2018 and 2020 ASCL Conferences. The 2022 ASCL Conference on Feb. 23-25, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas, welcomed over 250 prominent researchers, physicians, healthcare professionals, patient advocates, and students from across the globe to address cancer health disparities among Latinos. Conference sponsors included major supporters Genentech ...
UT Health San Antonio and UTHealth Houston are looking for healthy Latinos to join their “Healthy Control Study” to help uncover new ways to treat disease. “Controls” are healthy people who donate a biospecimen – such as blood, saliva, or tissue – that researchers can use to compare to people of a similar age and race/ethnicity who also have cancer, Alzheimer’s, or other health conditions. A half-hour appointment with a one-time blood draw is all that’s needed for the new UT Health San Antonio and UTHealth Houston study. “You don’t have to be sick to help advance medical research. Researchers need information from healthy people to compare with people who have a disease so they can learn more about disease and develop new treatments,” said Dr. Amelie ...
Family is the heart of Latino culture. Many Latinos are expected to take on the respectable but high-stress role of caregiving for their aging parents, who are 1.5 times more likely than non-Latino Whites to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Join UT Health San Antonio's webinar — “How to Care for the Latino Caregiver” — at 11 a.m. CST on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, to explore how to support Latino caregivers as they support their families. Panelists from UT Health San Antonio, the National Alliance for Caregiving, and Genentech will share how to ease caregivers’ stress, anxiety, and depression, as part of Alzheimer's And Brain Awareness Month in June. This is a part of a webinar of a series, “Let’s Address Health Equity Together.” The series is a collaboration of ...
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease that usually affects young adults of various races/ethnicities, including Latinos. However, compared to white people, there is less understanding of how the disease impacts the Latino community. Let’s explore more about MS, why less is known about MS in Latinos, and how Latinos can gain equal access to MS care.
What Causes MS?
Normally, our body’s immune system protects us from getting sick. But sometimes, our immune system can mistakenly attack parts of our own body. In MS, the immune system attacks myelin, a substance that coats nerve fibers, according to the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke. Myelin can be found in our body’s central nervous system, which includes the brain, optic ...
Despite the ever-growing population of Latinos in the United States, only a very small percentage participate in clinical trials. Clinical trials are studies with volunteers that help researchers learn how to slow, manage, and treat different diseases. “This massive underrepresentation of Latinos in clinical trials makes it hard for researchers to develop new treatments for this group, which suffers a heavy burden of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases,” said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of the Salud America! program at UT Health San Antonio. Do you know what happens in a clinical trial? How can clinical trial help you and your friends, family, and community? Why is Latino participation in clinical trials important? Get answers and helpful resources in new bilingual ...
When people donate biospecimens—blood, fluid, or tissue samples—it gives researchers the opportunity to better understand, treat, and prevent conditions from cancer to Alzheimer’s. So why don't some people donate? Find the answers at UT Health San Antonio's Zoom webinar — “The Importance of Biospecimens and How Can Latinos Donate” — at 10 a.m. CT on April 5, 2023. The webinar features experts from UT Health San Antonio, Genentech, and leaders and participants in the All of Us Research Program discussing how to increase biospecimen donation and point to donation opportunities. This is a part of a webinar of a series, “Let’s Address Health Together.” The series is a collaboration of the Salud America! program at the Institute for Health Promotion Research ...
