College of Medicine - Tucson

The College of Medicine – Phoenix is helping evaluate the quality of the research being released rapidly about the virus that causes COVID-19.

Researchers found that inhibiting heat shock protein 90 in the spinal cord enhanced effectiveness of opioid therapy and could decrease its side effects. The findings suggest doctors may be able to prescribe less of drug, but patients would get the same level of pain relief with reduced side effects.

A paper published in two medical journals last week offers guidelines for physicians treating coronavirus patients requiring advanced life-saving therapies.

Thirteen research teams will address various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic with financial support from a rapid-turnaround seed grants supplied through the BIO5 Institute and state funding. The grants amount to more than $500,000.

The first phase of testing will include 3,000 health care workers and first responders in Pima County, as well as 1,500 members of the general public.

AZCOVIDTXT will allow people to report the health and wellness condition in their household on a weekly basis through brief surveys on their mobile phones.

Students in the College of Medicine – Tucson are screening the local homeless population for COVID-19 symptoms, while also providing meals and supportive care.

UArizona Health Sciences shipped 250 COVID-19 sample collection kits to the Navajo Nation in Window Rock, which has been particularly hard hit by the new coronavirus.

Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson have invented a new respiratory-assist device that provides fast, safe relief to those who experience difficulty breathing.

More than 70 UArizona medical students are helping health care professionals during the COVID-19 crisis by volunteering to provide child care, pet care, grocery shopping and meal preparation.