UCLA In the News lists selected mentions of UCLA in the world’s news media. Some articles may require registration or a subscription to view. See more UCLA In the News.

Race for a COVID-19 cure is moving at ‘lightning speed’ | KNBC-TV

No less than four experimental drugs that could potentially combat COVID-19 will begin testing at UCLA Medical Center in the next week. Approval from the FDA and the drug makers to begin the trials took place in just the last few weeks. “That’s lightning speed,” said Dr. Otto Yang, a veteran infectious disease researcher at UCLA. He said he is used to waiting months, if not years, for approval to do drug tests. “I’ve never seen this in my career,” Yang said.

California will release plan about lifting virus constraints | Associated Press

Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of medicine and public health at the University of California, Los Angeles, noted 90% of cases in California are in 14 mostly urban counties. He said it would make sense to start lifting restrictions in rural places and see how it goes over periods of about two weeks…. “We’ve been fortunate in California that ... while massive devastation was predicted that was not what was observed and our health systems have been adequate to manage the hospitalizations that we have seen.”

Battling COVID-19, California is staying the course | KNBC-TV’s “NewsConference”

“We need to know how many people have already been infected. We need to know how many people have recovered. And we need to know who may have some sort of immunity to this, and who doesn’t,” said UCLA’s Anne Rimoin (approx. 4:30 mark).

UCLA expert answers coronavirus questions | KPCC-FM’s “Take Two”

“It is a cough that’s a dry cough, and it does happen quite frequently for COVID-19 patients. About 59 to 82% of persons will have such a dry cough,” said UCLA’s Dr. Robert Kim-Farley (approx. 20:30 mark.) (Kim-Farley is also quoted in the Los Angeles Times here and here.)

Are we at a turning point? | KPCC-FM’s “AirTalk”

“Right now, all 50 states are kind of in emergency situations. And most of the states have the house order. In the last … two to three weeks, I think we’ve seen a big, positive change. And you can see the whole U.S. number, the incidence numbers, are reducing. And the deaths starting to reduce,” said UCLA’s Zuo-Feng Zhang (approx. 4:00 mark.)

UCLA testing all surgical, procedure and ER patients for COVID-19 | City News Service

UCLA Health announced Monday it has initiated COVID-19 testing for all patients coming to its hospitals and some outpatient clinics for scheduled surgeries, procedures and emergency department treatment, a change from its previous practice of testing only those exhibiting symptoms of the disease and referred by their primary care physicians.

Pasadena hotels could house homeless during pandemic | Pasadena Now

So far at least 25 homeless people have died as a result of Cornoavirus infections. Officials say that number could be an undercount. “As a humanitarian issue and to protect emergency room resources, it is essential that we do everything we can to help homeless people find safety,” said study co-author Randall Kuhn, an associate professor of community health sciences at the University of California-Los Angeles’ Fielding School of Public Health.

L.A. nursing home works with city to distribute testing kits | Times of Israel

The shortage of testing mirrors a countrywide predicament. According to David Eisenman, professor of medicine and public health at the University of California, Los Angeles, “a combination of bureaucracy, regulations, and lack of competent governance led the FDA and the CDC to the point where they were flatfooted when the virus landed here.”

A gene that may regulate menopause symptoms | Earth.com

Experts at UCLA have identified a gene that may play a central role in menopause-related hot flashes and weight gain. The gene, called reprimo, is expressed by certain neurons in the brain… Study senior author Stephanie Correa is an assistant professor of Integrative Biology and Physiology at UCLA and a member of the Brain Research Institute. “We want to figure out which neurons are mediating the beneficial portions of hormone therapy and mimic them without hormones,” said Professor Correa. (UCLA’s Edward van Veen is also quoted.)