Tuesday, November 10, 1998
Community briefs
UC Berkeley health book hits stands
Authors of a new UC Berkeley "do-it-yourself" health handbook,
out in bookstores this month, sifted through mountains of
scientific studies and conflicting medical advice to come up with
recommended home remedies for the 160 common health problems listed
in the guide.
"The UC Berkeley Wellness Self-Care Handbook: The Everyday Guide
to Prevention and Home Remedies" can tell you what to do if you’re
stung by a jellyfish, the best cure for jet lag and everything you
ever wanted to know about wrinkle creams.
But it doesn’t neglect how to recognize, treat and prevent more
standard ailments, from hay fever and hair loss to skin cancer and
snoring.
UC Berkeley clinical professor of health and medical science
John Edward Swartzberg, also a clinical professor of medicine at UC
San Francisco, and UC Berkeley professor Sheldon Margen,professor
emeritus of public health and nutrition and chair of the editorial
board of the long-standing University of California at Berkeley
Wellness Letter, wrote the guide.
Their handbook is an A-to-Z compendium of ailments and disorders
that "covers virtually every complaint that you can do something
about on your own," said Margen.
Each entry contains a brief section describing the disorder and
what causes it, then goes on to discuss what will happen if left
untreated, home remedies, prevention and when to call your
doctor.
Also included is an outline of health-related milestones, from
birth to old age, and preventive strategies that can be practiced
at any age to improve the quality of life and lessen the chance of
developing chronic, long-term illnesses. Some surprises await in
the 576-page book.
For instance, sufferers of poison oak and poison ivy should turn
first not to aloe vera or other popular salves, but to that old
standby in the medicine arsenal, rubbing alcohol. Alcohol
"deactivates any remaining urushiol," the oil that is the source of
the allergic reaction, says the handbook.
"Don’t use a washcloth. This can spread the urushiol. Instead,
dab your skin with alcohol-soaked cotton balls," the handbook
says.
UCLA AIDS Institute awarded funds
The UCLA AIDS Institute was awarded $7.3 million from the
National Institute of Health to continue UCLA’s Center for AIDS
Research (CFAR), one of 17 centers based at leading AIDS research
institutions across the nation.
The five-year grant will support the UCLA AIDS Institute’s
research programs in the basic, clinical and behavioral
sciences.
"This grant will enable the UCLA AIDS Institute to explore new
treatment options and launch innovative programs in international
research and biobehavioral health," said Dr. Irvin Chen, director
of the UCLA AIDS Institute.
"Current therapies have given us a window of opportunity to
transform AIDS into a fully manageable disease," Chen added. "We
hope to find new ways of translating basic science advances into
novel approaches to conquer HIV and improve care for our
patients."
First funded in 1988, the CFAR program has enabled UCLA AIDS
Institute researchers to achieve numerous scientific
breakthroughs.
CFARs provide a pool of shared resources – such as technical
expertise, equipment and training — to local AIDS researchers.
The centers also promote interdisciplinary and international
collaboration, technology transfer through academic-industry
collaborations, and public outreach.
Compiled from Daily Bruin staff reports.
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