As possible stroke victims enter the emergency room of the busy Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, they are met by undergraduate UCLA students trained in detecting the symptoms of the condition. The Student Stroke Team, formed in 1992 by UCLA neurologist Dr. Sidney Starkman, is one of the only programs of its kind in the United States. It gives UCLA undergraduates an important role in helping detect stroke victims, said Marissa Campbell, a fourth-year physiological sciences student and Student Stroke Team coordinator. The student team is critical in this early detection process because like a heart attack, treatments for stroke patients are time-dependent, Campbell said. Searching for hallmark symptoms, such as headaches, the inability to communicate and unresponsiveness on certain sides of the body, members of the student group work in the emergency room to screen incoming patients. Once a suspected stroke victim has been identified, Student Stroke Team members immediately notify Starkman, who confirms the diagnosis and immediately notifies the UCLA Medical Center's neurologists. Strokes are caused by the interruption of blood flow to parts of the brain. Read more...

Student fees could be raised by another 8 percent beginning in fall 2011 if the UC Board of Regents approve a proposal that was announced Monday by UC President Mark Yudof. Read more...