Sacramento, California - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today issued the following statement in the wake of continued reports of measles outbreaks nationwide:

Washington, DC - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today cleared for marketing the ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System (ENROUTE TNS), for use during a minimally invasive procedure to restore normal blood flow to narrowed carotid arteries. It is the first device designed to access the carotid arteries through an incision in the neck, instead of the groin, and uses a blood flow reversal system to capture pieces of the blockage dislodged during the procedure.

Los Angeles, California - A consortium led by UCLA physicians has found that paramedics can safely start providing people with medication in the first minutes after the onset of a stroke instead of waiting for them to receive treatment at a hospital.

Los Angeles, California - Heart health goes mobile and social with the release of BioGram, a new mobile app created by the cardiologist experts at the University of Southern California (USC) Center for Body Computing (CBC) along with collaborators at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and private companies AliveCor and Medable. The free app, the first to allow heart rates to be shared with a photo, is available now for download on iTunes.

Los Angeles, California - Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) applauds the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) decision to provide coverage of annual low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening for patients ages 55 to 77 years with at least a 30 pack-year smoking history.

Davis, California - Veterinary researchers at the University of California, Davis, are teaming up with their colleagues in human medicine to investigate a troubling disorder in newborn horses and are exploring possible connections to childhood autism. The common link, the researchers suggest, may be abnormal levels of naturally occurring neurosteroids.