Eye On Optics in New Zealand reports on OHSU researchers discovering a connection between levels of certain proteins found in patients’ tears and persistent pain months after eye surgery. Brooke Harkness, O.D., says, “So, it’s not a random mix of proteins, but a pattern that we’re seeing. I think that’s pretty exciting.”

Healio reports from the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on a study of individuals with mild cognitive impairment or dementia that found sleep disruption was associated with weekly agitation level. Results showed the highest correlation for agitation was “wake after sleep onset” measured in minutes, with the more waking minutes following interrupted sleep associated with weekly agitation level. Wan-Tai (Michael) Au-Yeung, Ph.D., says, “Was poor sleep quality at night causing agitation throughout the week? That’s still unclear. A future direction [would be] to do a similar study with a more diverse sample to confirm these findings.”

In a Romper article about “redshirting” — a term borrowed from athletics that’s now often used in the context of academics to refer to starting kindergarten a year late — boys for kindergarten, Christopher Reigeluth, Ph.D., says for most parents who are worried about their boys, the question of when to start kindergarten is beside the point. Rather than your child’s age, his ultimate success or failure will depend on the school's ability to meet their needs, he says.

A new study finds he United States spends $43 billion each year on cancer screening. In response to the high cost of colonoscopies, specifically, David Lieberman, M.D., says that while the cost is high, the test could prevent cancer as well as detect it because surgeons can see and cut out growths on the colon wall that can turn into cancers. He says the test has “a large upstream cost and potential downstream benefits.”

In coverage of a Homeless Services Masterplan presented to the Ashland City Council, presenters explain that a group of OHSU student nurses surveyed and did outreach to people living on the street to inform the project.

David Lieberman, M.D., weighs in on a new FDA-approved blood-based screening test for colorectal cancer. He says the blood-based test is “better than no screening,” but cautions that it is “inferior to other screening tests and should not replace one of the established screening tests.”

Local media cover the launch of “Coraline’s Curious Trail,” a trail of statues installed at various locations in Portland. The cat figures are inspired by the Cat character in “Coraline,” the 2009 feature that was the first release from Laika studio in Hillsboro. At the completion of the Art Trail, the cat statues will be auctioned to raise money for OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.

Local media cover the launch of “Coraline’s Curious Trail,” a trail of statues installed at various locations in Portland. The cat figures are inspired by the Cat character in “Coraline,” the 2009 feature that was the first release from Laika studio in Hillsboro. At the completion of the Art Trail, the cat statues will be auctioned to raise money for OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.

Healio reports from the Scientific Meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography on a study that finds high-quality, noninvasive imaging may safely diagnose coronary artery disease for patients with obesity. Maros Ferencik, M.D., Ph.D., says, “Stress echocardiography with contrast or modern [single-photon emission CT] scanners can handle these more difficult patients more easily. This was the motivation to analyze the technology more formally.”

An OHSU clinical trial suggests older adults with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease may benefit from fish oil supplements. The trial, however, didn't demonstrate benefits for people who don't have the APOE4 gene. Lynne Shinto, N.D., says, “Our findings showed that over three years, there was not a statistically significant difference between placebo and the group that took fish oil. I don’t think it would be harmful, but I wouldn’t say you need to take fish oil to prevent dementia.”