Body of knowledge

A UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center study found that close to half of cancer deaths between 2017–2019 (93,764 Californians) were associated with tobacco use — almost double what was previously estimated in a study of 2014 data. The new JAMA Network Open study researched people with one of 12 tobacco-related cancers — from lung and mouth to bladder and stomach — from 2014–2019 using data from the UC Davis-managed California Cancer Registry.

A UC Davis Health study published in Science Advances shows female and male hearts respond differently to the stress hormone noradrenaline. Male and female mouse hearts responded uniformly at first after exposure, but some areas of the female heart returned to normal more quickly than the male, producing differences in electrical activity. The study may have implications for human heart disorders like arrhythmias and heart failure, and how different sexes respond to medications.

A new study led by UC Davis MIND Institute researchers confirms that brain development in people with autism differs from those with typical neurodevelopment. According to the study published in PNAS, these differences are linked to genes involved in inflammation, immunity response and neural transmissions; they begin in childhood and evolve across the lifespan. Understanding how the brain in a person with autism changes throughout life can provide opportunities for early intervention.

New research published in Science has generated the first comprehensive genetic map of sarcomas and identified several new important genes that, when inherited, can cause the cancer. The first-of-its-kind study involved investigators from major sarcoma centers around the world, including UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Australian-led research revealed 1 in 14 individuals with sarcoma carry a clinically important gene that explains why the cancer arose. In addition, researchers identified a previously unrecognized genetic pathway specific to sarcomas.

Asking patients to take a short survey on a tablet before appointments may help mental health providers identify young people at risk of psychosis, according to a UC Davis Health study. Published in JAMA Psychiatry, it found that when patients took a 21-question pre-visit survey, more than twice as many were identified at risk of psychosis compared to non-surveyed. However, screening did not reduce time between first psychotic symptoms and treatment.

New UC Davis Health research confirms that pediatric critical care telemedicine consults with clinicians in rural and community emergency departments result in significantly fewer interfacility transfers. Authors said the study, published in JAMA Network Open, is the first randomized clinical trial assessing the impact of telemedicine consults on transfer rates compared to the current standard of care, telephone consultations.