Researchers from USC and Duke report that the persistent “know-do gap” — where clinicians know guidelines but practice differently — is the primary driver of antibiotic overprescribing for pediatric diarrhea in India’s private sector, not lack of knowledge, point-of-sale profits, or stockouts of clinically recommended treatments such as oral rehydration salts (ORS).

This qualitative study conducted by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) found that intentional educational strategies are critical to the adoption and growth of lifestyle medicine programming and facilitate deepening of clinicians’ knowledge, skills, and confidence in delivering lifestyle medicine interventions to treat, reverse and prevent chronic disease.

Backed by the combined expertise of three USC schools, scientists are developing a new drug aimed at a previously unexplored biological target in Alzheimer’s disease, aided by an $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The team, led by Hussein Yassine of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, is investigating why some carriers of the APOE4 gene — the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s — develop dementia while others remain cognitively healthy. His lab has identified an enzyme that predisposes the brain to inflammation and the research team is now working to find a drug that can block it without harmful side effects. Their work points to an enzyme which breaks down protective omega-3 fatty acids in the brain and triggers damaging inflammation.

Myopia, or short-sightedness, is on the rise worldwide and has become a major public health issue—especially in East Asia, where large numbers of school-aged children are affected. Traditionally, factors such as family history, intensive reading, heavy screen use, and limited time spent outdoors have been seen as the main causes. Hua Yan and colleagues suggests another possible cause: poor air quality.

In 2014, 23 states expanded access to Medicaid. Income for newly eligible individuals in those states were compared to income for those who would have been expanded in the 10 states who chose not to expand access to Medicaid.  “Gaining a better understanding of how increased access to Medicaid impacts individuals across a multitude of dimensions, including economic, is critical for the current political moment in which Medicaid funding faces substantial uncertainty,” said study co-author Becky Staiger, assistant professor of Health Policy and Management at UC Berkeley School of Public Health.