2013 Press

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December 16, 2013
Integrative Medicine Expert Champions Patient-Driven Health
The Washington Times Communities

“I was never interested in medicine,” said Dr. Margaret Chesney during a recent interview – an unusual if candid admission from the director of U.C. San Francisco’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. “I was fascinated by biology, but I found myself focusing instead on how our behavior influences our biology, our health and life experience. The big moment for me was when I was in college and I was sent to a [local] hospital by my mom to find a summer job,” she continued. “A nurse kindly showed me around and said, ‘This is a group of people who have had problems with alcohol, and they’ve come here to talk with this counselor [who helps them] deal with their problems.’

“I’m looking through the window in the door, and I was hit by lightening bolts. It was like, ‘You need to do this.’ This was when I realized that I just might have something to offer within the field of medicine, that I could help others.” Read more.

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December 9, 2013
Making Sense of Nutrition and ADHD
Attention Talk Radio

Diet, nutrition, vitamins, minerals, metabolism, supplements, preservatives, additives, fiber, allergies, food sensitivities, deficiencies, protein, fat, carbohydrates, Omega-3 oils, enzymes… AAAAHH!  So overwhelming!! Would someone give me a context so I can understand all this?” In this episode of Attention Talk Radio, we interview Dr. Sandy Newmark who does just that, putting as much as he can into a context so you can understand how it all relates. Listen in as we try to empower you to move forward in helping you manage your ADHD with diet. If you feel like you are spinning your wheels trying to understand nutrition, you won’t want to miss this show. Listen.

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December, 2013
The Search for Well Being: Treating the whole person in the new healthcare era
Humankind Radio Program for NPR

Segment 2: Here’s the story of a frightening situation that could happen to any of us. When a California attorney, Deb Graceffa, started experiencing strange symptoms an initial diagnosis pointed to a potentially crippling illness. But high-tech testing and conventional medicine failed to arrest her symptoms, which continued to worsen. After trying numerous doctors, she was referred to a respected physician, University of California medical professor Rick McKinney, who is deeply experienced in integrative care. His approach differed from the others’ and led to a fairly rapid diagnosis requiring minor, mostly natural treatments that gave rapid relief. We hear from the physician and grateful patient about the nature of their communication. More

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November 6, 2013
Medical researchers explore low-carb, high fat ketogenic diets
Examiner.com

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco’s School of Medicine in the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine currently are investigating how different types of diets can help diabetes. In an exclusive interview, Laura Saslow, PhD and lead senior investigator Rick Hecht, MD, talked with me about their research and goals.

“Although strong recommendations have been made touting the health benefits of low fat diets, the evidence that they are helpful for individuals with type 2 diabetes is limited,” explained the researchers. In contrast, initial studies have shown that diets lower in carbohydrates reduce the blood sugar levels of individuals with type 2 diabetes.

“Our research is attempting to begin to fill the research gap by comparing two different diets in our study. We will also be teaching some participants psychological tools to help support their behavior change,” the researchers noted. Read more.

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November 1, 2013
Dr. Sanford Newmark Interview
The Jason Lewis Show (radio) [no longer archived]

Dr. Sanford Newmark discussed the integrative approach to treating ADHD and autism.

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October, 2013
UCSF Osher Center: Integrative Medicine Pain Services
UCSF Center of Excellence in Pain Education Newsletter

The UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine provides complementary non-pharmacological pain services than can be integrated with pharmacological and behavioral medicine. Integrative Medicine has much to contribute to the management of pain, whether acute or chronic, inpatient or outpatient. An increasing number of medical practitioners and hospitals are turning to Integrative (or “Complementary”) Medicine modalities for assistance in managing pain conditions. There are at least three major reasons for this trend: 1) The increasing recognition that integrative/complementary modalities can help meet the longstanding clinical challenge of successfully managing pain, 2) The recent widespread effort to find alternatives and adjuncts to opioid medications, and 3) The growing mandate to treat pain more cost-effectively. Read more.

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September 24, 2013
Gold Seal Award for “Mindful Birthing” by Nancy Bardacke, CNM, MA
Mom’s Choice Awards

“Mindful Birthing,” the book written by Nancy Bardacke, CNM, MA (founder and instructor of our Mind in Labor and  Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting classes) has been awarded a 2013 Mom’s Choice Award (MCA). MCA evaluates products and services created for children and families and is globally recognized for establishing the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. The organization is based in the United States and has reviewed thousands of entries from 18 countries. Their esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and medical experts, as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, business professionals, authors, and scientists.

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September 16, 2013
Eat Better and Stress Less: It’ll Make Your Cells (and Maybe You) Live Longer
TIME Magazine

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September 16, 2013
Lifestyle Changes May Lengthen Telomeres, A Measure of Cell Aging
UCSF News

A small pilot study shows for the first time that changes in diet, exercise, stress management and social support may result in longer telomeres, the parts of chromosomes that affect aging. It is the first controlled trial to show that any intervention might lengthen telomeres over time.

The study was conducted by scientists at UC San Francisco and the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, a nonprofit public research institute in Sausalito, Calif. that investigates the effect of diet and lifestyle choices on health and disease. The researchers say they hope the results will inspire larger trials to test the validity of the findings. Read more.

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September 5, 2013
Maximize your inner happiness with one simple mindfulness practice
WDRC-AM (Connecticut): The Mary Jones Show

Radio interview with our Mindfulness-Based Dementia Care instructor, Marguerite Manteau-Rao, MSW, LCSW

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September 2, 2013
American Schools Are Failing Nonconformist Kids. Here’s How
New Republic

…According to the human development theory of Dandelion and Orchid children, certain people are genetically predisposed to grow fairly well in almost any environment while others wilt or blossom spectacularly depending on circumstances and care. Some kids—the dandelions—seem naturally suited to cope with the current system. As Sanford Newmark, head of the Pediatric Integrative Neurodevelopmental Program at the University of California at San Francisco, puts it, “You can feed them three Pop-Tarts for breakfast, they can be in school twelve hours a day, and they can go to kindergarten when they’re four, and they would still do OK.” But many children crumble. Read more.

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August 30, 2013
Yoga tied to better sleep after cancer
Reuters

Practicing yoga may help people who have had cancer sleep better and reduce their use of sleep aids, according to a new study. Researchers found study participants, mostly women with a history of breast cancer, reported significant improvements in sleep quality and sleep duration when they attended yoga sessions twice per week. The study’s lead author called it “the kind of study that doctors typically look to when changing the standard of care with patients.”

“What’s exciting about this study is that it brought yoga out to people where they’re receiving care and still showed that there’s benefits to yoga participation,” Dr. Donald Abrams, an oncologist at the University of California, San Francisco Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, told Reuters Health. Read more.

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August 20, 2013
Donald Abrams: The Integrative Oncologist
Proto: Massachusetts General Hospital, Dispatches from the Frontiers of Medicine

During the past 25 years, as mounting research has demonstrated the efficacy of treating patients with means that go beyond a standard physician’s prescription, “integrative medicine” departments have appeared in 56 U.S. academic medical centers and dozens of hospitals. Donald Abrams, who straddles conventional oncology (as chief of oncology at San Francisco General Hospital) and integrative methods (as a practitioner at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco), explains the value of the combination. Read more.

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August 19, 2013
Free Stuff to Do in San Francisco
SFGate.com / San Francisco Chronicle

Recently we published a roundup of some of the best free activities in San Francisco, a reprieve from all the stories of rising housing prices, expensive menu items, and overpriced parking. Of course readers had some ideas of their own, and the results are above.

In addition to regular yoga, UCSF offers ‘laughter yoga’ classes. Read more.

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August 8, 2013
Interview with Dr. Sanford Newmark
DxSummit.org

Chloe Detrick interviews Dr. Sanford Newmark, MD, about his research on the subject of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and his thoughts on the diagnostic changes in the DSM-5. Dr. Newmark is a clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California San Francisco. He is also the founder and head of the Center for Pediatric Integrative Medicine at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, which specializes in the treatment of autism, ADHD and other developmental or chronic childhood conditions. Watch the video.

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August 1, 2013
UCSF Pediatrician Takes Drug-Free Approach to Treating ADHD
Palo Alto Patch

According to recently released data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost one in five high school age boys and 11 percent of all children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Poor children are diagnosed at a rate roughly one-third higher than the rest of the population and nearly six-and-a-half million of those between the ages 4 and 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD at some point in their lives – a 41 percent increase over the last ten years. Read more.

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August 2013
Parenting with Presence
Mindful Magazine

“This isn’t your usual childbirth-preparation class,” Nancy Bardacke announced to the 23 expectant mothers and fathers seated in a circle on a late September evening in San Francisco. Bardacke won’t be showing birth videos or demonstrating how to diaper a baby. During this first session of her Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting course, she hardly talked about labor at all. Her lesson began with a raisin.” Read more.

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July 23, 2013
Integrative Medicine Provides Pain Relief, Improves Mood
Psych Central

A new medical approach combines evidence-based medical care with methods of alternative care to relieve pain.

“Chronic pain is very difficult to treat,” said lead researcher Dr. Donald Abrams, a cancer and integrative medicine specialist at the University of California San Francisco Osher Center for Integrative Medicine.

“While there have been some therapeutic advances, many patients with chronic pain become resistant to conventional medical treatments or suffer adverse effects from widely used prescription medications with high addictive potential.

“The results from this study are particularly encouraging as chronic pain is the number one condition for which patients seek care at integrative health care clinics.” Read more.

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July 21, 2013
Noted pediatrician says ADHD can be treated without drugs
Washington Times

The University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre (OMC) in conjunction with the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (OUH) maternity service have an ongoing collaboration to develop the introduction and evaluation of Mindfulness Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) throughout the UK. This innovative project involves the development of a MBCP-focused training programme and, for the first time, the delivery of MBCP to antenatal groups in the UK.

…The MBCP programme (Bardacke, 2012) is a 9-week class-based antenatal intervention adapted from MBSR. Classes incorporate antenatal education and discuss how to apply mindfulness skills to enhance coping with the fear, pain, physical symptoms and distress that may accompany pregnancy, childbirth and the early postnatal period, as well as exploring how mindfulness can be used to cultivate joy and wellbeing in pregnancy and parenting.

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June 12, 2013
9 Habits of People Who Love the Weight They’re At
Oprah.com

Women who practice yoga reported higher levels of satisfaction with their bodies, a lower likelihood of self-objectification and fewer eating disorders than women who do aerobic exercise or none at all, found Jennifer J. Daubenmier, a social psychologist who studies mind-body health approaches. This probably has a lot to with how yoga cultivates an awareness and appreciation of different body parts, Daubenmier explained (think of an instructor urging you to “feel your legs anchoring you to the earth”). Also helpful: yogic breathing, which demands that you not only relax your belly but also fill it with air. Read more.

Scientists with the Veterans Administration and U.C. San Francisco are trying a new approach to help military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Patients usually receive counseling and medication. But, there may be a much more simple remedy. Watch news story.

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May 2013
Integrative Oncology: A Healthier Way to Fight Cancer
Experience Life

DeAnne Salmon, a product designer from Jacksonville, Ore., comes from a family plagued by cancer. Her mother died from colon cancer at age 54. Salmon’s sister died from breast cancer at age 52. It’s no surprise that Salmon became something of a health fanatic, turning to exercise, organic foods and a raft of supplements in order to thwart the disease. “It never occurred to me that after doing everything right, I could get cancer, too,” she says. Read more.

April 29, 2013
Laughter Yoga at UCSF
Laughter Yoga University

The UCSF’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine recently introduced Laughter Yoga to boost laughter among patients who really don’t have a lot to laugh about. “The whole idea behind Laughter Yoga is that we laugh for no reason,” said Teresa Corrigan, the instructor for the class and a nurse at the Center. “We just laugh for the sheer joy of laughing.”

Not only does laughter boost the serotonin, dopamine and endorphin levels; it is a great workout for the immune, lymph, and cardiovascular systems said Corrigan. It also could be a big adjunct to healing for many people, she added. The combination of laughter with controlled exhalation can be a lifesaver for lot of patients. Read more.

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April 4, 2013
Fox News Radio, John Gibson Radio Show
Dr. Sanford Newmark interviewed [NOTE: No longer available online.]

Quick Fix? New report states that 1-5 school-aged boys are diagnosed with ADHD. Dr. Sanford Newmark, head of the pediatric integrative neurodevelopmental program at the University of California, San Francisco’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine weighs in.

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April 2, 2013
New American Epidemic
Huffington Post Live
Dr. Sanford Newmark interviewed

According to new numbers from the CDC, nearly one in five boys and 11% of American children have received a diagnosis for ADHD. What’s behind these shocking numbers? Read more.

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March 29, 2013
Integrative Medicine: Alive on Arrival
RadioMD [NOTE: No longer available online.]

Integrative medicine has been one of the best kept secrets in American healthcare, but now the social and economic time is right for this approach to patient care, as it’s so closely aligned with what people really want; that is, an approach to patient care that addresses the full range of physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual and environmental influences that affect a person’s health. Guest Margaret Chesney PhD, of the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, discusses the finding of a new Bravewell Collaborative study entitled Integrative Medicine in America, which highlights a new major trend, of increasing public interest in prevention and wellness.

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March 28, 2013
Novel Exercise Program May Trump Meds for Dementia
MedScape / Syndicated

A novel exercise program may improve physical and cognitive outcomes in patients who have dementia, with effect sizes greater than those achieved with dementia medications, new research suggests. A pilot study showed the program, which integrates functional movement and mindful body awareness, improved patients’ cognitive and physical function and quality of life and reduced caregiver burden compared with usual care (UC).

“This very small pilot study provides preliminary evidence [this program] may improve cognitive function, quality of life, physical function and caregiver burden with effect sizes that are substantially larger than what is typically seen with currently available dementia medications,” principal investigator Deborah E. Barnes, PhD, MPH, University of California, San Francisco, and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, told delegates here attending the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 65th Annual Meeting. Read more.

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February 26, 2013
Acupuncture Clinic Opens in SF
San Francisco Chronicle
Osher Center researcher Dr. Maria Chao interviewed

In a clinic on the edge of San Francisco’s bustling downtown, Rochelle Germano leaned back in a cushioned chair and shut her eyes. The only sounds filling the dim room were the recorded melodies of string instruments and birds. A woman crouched next to Germano and stuck acupuncture needles, one by one, into her knees, pinky toes, stomach and right hand.

At 29, Germano looks too young and healthy to have any serious ailments, but she said she often suffers from headaches, neck pain and tense muscles. She found relief when she started acupuncture therapy at East West Health Services, a clinic that Chinese Hospital opened in December. Read more.

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February 25, 2013
Treating Autism with Integrative Medicine
Patient Power

What is the latest understanding using integrative medicine to treat autism? Dr. Sanford Newmark, pediatrician and Director of the Pediatric Integrative Neurodevelopment Program at UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, explains the merits of this approach. Dr. Newmark details how harnessing the best of both conventional and alternative medicine can offer effective means and new answers to support autism patients. Kaitlin Fox, mother of an autistic child, shares details of her discovery of integrative medicine and the positive results.  Listen to the interview.

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February 1, 2013
The Boy With a Thorn in His Joints
New York Times

…Leaky gut, meanwhile turns out not to be conjecture after all. “A lot of doctors and people may think that leaky gut itself is sort of a froufrou alternative concept,” says Sanford Newmark, a clinical professor at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “The real name is ‘increased intestinal permeability,’ and it is a definitive, scientific fact.” It’s not known if increased intestinal permeability causes autoimmune arthritis, but some scientists in the field say it’s possible. Read more.

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January 2013
Mindfulness-Based Dementia Care
Whistlestop Express

Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UCSF is offering a new eight-week program specifically designed for professional and family caregivers of persons with dementia. It is also appropriate for health care providers and anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of dementia care from a mindfulness perspective. Learn how the practice of mindfulness can help you cope  with the challenges and stresses of dementia care, and also greatly improve the experience of the person in your care. This intensive course requires that you practice in between classes. You will be rewarded with a transformative experience that will sustain you over the long course of the dementia journey. Read more (page 5).