OU Medical Center-Health Matters

What do you do when a third of the children are overweight or obese and most would rather play a video game than a game of tag? One physician and researcher believes the answer may lie in making the enemy your friend. Her research utilizes a video game designed to get kids moving and one Oklahoma City school has become her latest ally.

More than 15.5 million people in this country have diabetes. It is the seventh-leading cause of death. Now, the adult form of this disease is turning up in our children at an alarming rate...something that was virtually unheard of 10 to 15 years ago. The dilemma is most of the existing treatments for adults have never been tested or approved for use in children. But pediatric diabetes specialists at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and other top pediatric specialists nationally hope a new landmark study will help determine the best treatments to keep these kids healthy longer. The study will be conducted in multiple locations through Oklahoma. For more information on the study, call 405-271-7755 or 1-800-613-8512.

If you have a child or grandchild who is spending the holiday break sick in bed, you are not alone. The holidays bring people together - and people sometimes share illnesses right along with their gifts. But OU Physicians Family Medicine specialists say being sick isn't all bad for children. We offer a look at how those pesky winter-time illness impact immunity.

Cell phones aren't just for adults anymore. Most teenagers won't leave home without one - but several companies are now marketing cell phones for even youger users. And chances are Santa will be delivering a lot of cell phones this Christmas to middle-school aged kids and even younger. But when should a child have a cell phone? We get some advice from the child development experts with the OU Physicians Child Study Center.

Imagine having terrible pain in your legs when you walk. You certainly wouldn't want to move much - let alone exercise. But it turns out - exercise may be just what the doctor ordered for millions who have peripheral atterial disease. Now, a new study at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center will help determine which forms of exercise are best and which programs help motivate people with this disease to get moving again.

Imagine if your newborn baby or grandbaby just couldn't seem to gain weight and no one seemed to be able to tell you why. That was the plight that faced a new mom in Yale, Oklahoma. But she finally found answers and the help her daughter needed when she was referred to a specialist at the Children's Hospital at OU MEDICAL CENTER. She also learned her child's problem is on that faces more newborns than most realize.

We are able to vaccinate against influenza, polio and many other diseases. For two decades scientists have worked to uncover a vaccine for the virus that causes AIDS, but without success. Now, a discovery by researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center could lead to the first viable vaccine for HIV.

Did you know that billions of nature's smallest critters call your mouth home? It sounds gross, but many of those tiny organisms actually work to keep you healthy. It's when they get out of balance that problems set in - problems like cavities. Now researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center hope to find a genetic answer to maintaining a healthy smile.

A Russian boy adopted by an American family is finally getting some much needed medical help. The boy was born with just a lump of tissue where he should have ears - no ear canal and no ear drum - but he has a normal hearing nerve. Thanks to a team of specialists at the OU Medical Center, he'll have ears and what doctors hope will be near-normal hearing.

A woman's ability to ward off disease might just be too much of a good thing in some instances. Research at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center reveals a robust immune system in females contributes to liver damage caused by alcohol.

Myopia, also known as nearsightedness, affects approximately 75 million people in the United States. Typically beginning in early childhood, myopia is usually genetic and can make even the most mundane day-to-day tasks more difficult. But researchers at the Dean McGee Eye Institute are studying a new drug that may help prevent myopia from getting worse.

Every day of the every year, people all across Oklahoma and the nation turn to physicians and other health care providers for care and advice. Did you know that you can help ensure the quality of the care you receive? Here are some tips to help you do just that from the public health experts at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

For people who suffer from allergies, the changing of the seasons can mean runny noses and sinus headaches. And that can have them running to the nearest drug store in search of relief. But experts at the Oklahoma Poison Control Center warn some over-the-counter medications can prove dangerous if your not careful.

Ovarian cancer will affect more than 23,000 women in this country this year alone. Nearly 14,000 will die from it. New research at OU Medical Center brings more hope for those affected by advanced ovarian cancer.

Infertility affects more than six million women and their partners in this country. That's about one in ten of the reproductive-age population. So it is more common than many realize. Age certainly plays a role, but how does a woman's chronological age correspond to reproductive age? A physician/scientist at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is involved in new research aimed at finding out.