V. Liana Tsikitis, M.D., says it’s hard to predict who will get diverticulitis, or when small bulging pouches in the digestive tract become inflamed or infected, and how serious each case can be. She says: “As we’ve moved further away from our ancestors’ active hunter-gathered lifestyle and become couch potatoes, we’ve seen more cases of diverticulitis."

Elizabeth Eckstrom, M.D., is quoted by the Monterey Herald about the benefits to general health in communities that emphasize nine characteristics of healthy centenarians’ lifestyles, such as plant-based food, social connections and walkability. She says, “There are communities who have done it successfully. The Blue Zones Project really was able to make giant changes in their community.”

ZME Science explains how the brain processes sound in a noisy environment, citing a 2021 study from OHSU documenting that people with hearing impairments tend to fuse sounds from both ears, causing sounds to blend together in a way that is often unintelligible. Lina Reiss, Ph.D., says, “This differs from what people with normal hearing experience in what is known as the ‘cocktail party effect.’ People with normal hearing can separate and understand the multiple voices, but they just get confused about which voice is saying what.”

The Siuslaw News reports that six rural emergency service agencies across Oregon will receive awards to purchase life-saving equipment thanks to an award from the Oregon Office of Rural Health at OHSU and the Roundhouse Foundation. Robert Duehmig says, “We recognize the critical services our rural EMS agencies provide and also understand they are often under-resourced to provide these services where and when people need them most.” The funding helped first responders in Clatsop, Douglas, Klamath, Lake, Lincoln and Polk counties.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) chapter in Warrenton presented two gift baskets for patients at the Columbia Memorial Hospital-Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Collaborative. This is a subject near and dear to our hearts,” says chapter leader Pam Blakelee. “It’s our honor to help and give back encouragement to our community.”

StudyFinds covers discovery published in 2022 by researchers at OHSU and Linköping University in Sweden that found the cochlea in the inner ear detect low-frequency sound in a manner very different than previously known.

Fahrenheit magazine covers shoe design from 19th annual Doernbecher Freestyle program.

An Oregon woman is convicted of first-degree custodial interference and two counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment after refusing medical advice and attempting to treat her teenage daughter’s liver cancer with CBD oil.

ScienceLine covers OHSU study highlighting inaccurate claims about the absorbency of tampons, pads and other period products. Bethany Samuelson Bannow, M.D., says, “Our work highlights the gap between the goal of menstrual companies in designing products and the goal of physicians in using them for diagnostic purposes.”

OHSU patient Sharol Lucey has lived the past 26 years with the same donor heart, making her one of Oregon’s longest-living heart transplant patients. Even though Lucey has had to overcome some additional health challenges since her transplant, she says: “It’s a miracle. … There are still challenges, but you have to face each one. And the staff at OHSU will do everything in their power to help you.”