University of Florida News

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — More than 32 million Americans harbor potentially toxic proteins that can attack body tissues and lead to autoimmune diseases such as lupus and scleroderma, according to a new University of Florida study. This is the first accurate estimate of the frequency of the proteins, called autoantibodies, the researchers say. The findings appear online and in an upcoming print edition of the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A group of life-threatening blood disorders collectively called myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, may occur four times more often than reported by national cancer registries, according to new research from the University of Florida based on data from Medicare claims.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers have received a $2.7 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to evaluate whether a common medication can help women with HIV reduce their alcohol consumption and improve their overall health.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Biologists at the University of Florida have found a reason why men’s ring fingers are generally longer than their index fingers — and why the reverse usually holds true for women.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A drug typically used to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients has been shown to reverse the progress of an often fatal lung disease in women, according to findings published March 16 in the online edition of The New England Journal of Medicine.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Women are just as likely as men to violently shake a small child in their care, though men cause more severe injuries and death, according to a new University of Florida study.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It’s no secret that media images of the “ideal” body type can lead women to be critical of their own bodies and can even contribute to eating disorders.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Thousands of women receive unnecessary surgical breast biopsies in Florida each year, University of Florida researchers state in an article published online this week by the American Journal of Surgery.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Winter chills couldn’t keep a handful of southeast Gainesville parishioners away from church one dreary evening in January. They didn’t want to miss their time of fellowship.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When treating an eating disorder, exercise is rarely considered therapeutic; it’s more likely to be viewed as dangerous for patients already obsessed with their weight. But a new University of Florida study shows that the psychological benefits of exercise could be used as an intervention for — or even a way to prevent — eating disorders.