Scientists have known for decades that poverty leads to higher rates of illness and mortality. More recent research led by UCSF faculty has shown that these effects don't end at the poverty line. In fact, health improves at each step of the social ladder.

UCSF researchers have exposed a single protein that can stimulate the maturation of the synapses, or junctures, through which nerve cells communicate a key signal to one another.

Too frequently, clinicians feel lost and out of place caring for dying patients. They often fear that recognizing the imminence of death may minimize a patient's hope...

A treatment commonly used by dermatologists to get rid of facial wrinkles may also help migraine sufferers, a UCSF researcher has reported.

A drug commonly used during invasive heart procedures not only helps maintain blood flow through the large blood vessels that have been enlarged during the procedure, but also preserves blood flow through the smaller blood vessels downstream that may become blocked by debris.

In findings that could lead to a new Alzheimer's disease drug, researchers at SFVAMC and University of California, San Francisco have isolated a protein fragment that nurtures brain cells, an effect that could prevent loss of brain function caused by the disease.

A study undertaken for the Food and Drug Administration to assess the safety of popular dietary supplements containing ephedra concludes that these products can pose severe health risks and even kill some people...