Players from the Hillsboro Hops baseball team visit patients at OHSU Doernbecher.

Mathew Lattal, Ph.D., and Earnest Kim, Ph.D., have discovered a new path for treating drug addiction by blocking dopamine receptors in the brain.

Adam Blumenburg, M.D., discusses the effects of kratom use. He says: “There’s a lot more we have to learn about it. It does not seem to be as dangerous as other substances but it’s not completely safe either.`”

Research from Matthew Lattal, Ph.D., and Earnest Kim, Ph.D., finds that blocking dopamine receptors in different regions of the amygdala reduces drug seeking and taking behavior.

Highlights of OHSU’s cutting-edge research in aging. Jeffrey Kaye, M.D., says: “We have this continuous life record of individuals over time that’s unparalleled. There’s nowhere else in the world, actually, that this data exists.”

An OHSU-led study reveals that a small protein called alpha-synuclein repairs DNA breaks in neurons. Senior author Vivek Unni, M.D., Ph.D., says: “This is the first time that anyone has discovered one of its functions is DNA repair. That’s critical for cell survival, and it appears to be a function that’s lost in Parkinson’s disease.”

Ben Hoffman, M.D., comments on the safety risks associated with inclined infant sleepers. He says: “There is no such thing as a safe inclined sleep product. All inclined sleepers should be taken off the market.”

The Oregonian features OHSU’s Wy’east Post Baccalaureate Pathway, which aims to increase Native American representation in medicine. Erik Brodt, M.D., says: “We believe they are going to be amazing physicians because of where they come from, not despite where they come from, and we say that from the beginning.”

An OHSU heart and kidney transplant survivor discusses his medical journey, recovery.

Oregon’s Clatsop County is selected to pilot the Healthy Oregon Project, a statewide program to study how a person’s genetics, environment, and behaviors affect the risk of chronic disease, including cancer. Paul Spellman, Ph.D., says: “After we pilot in Clatsop County, our goal is to go statewide, probably launching region by region.”