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Victoria Colliver

Antibody found to shrink cancer cells

Victoria Colliver San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Monday, April 2, 2012 - 1:33pm

In a potential breakthrough for cancer research, Stanford University immunologists discovered they can shrink or even get rid of a wide range of human cancers by treating them with a single antibody.

Features, Cancer, Cancer Research, Cancer treatments, Medical research Read more Comments

Everyone's talking about 'gossip' study that finds it's beneficial

Victoria Colliver San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 12:46pm

If you don't have something nice to say ... well, go ahead and say it anyway. You may actually be doing something good for your health as well as humanity.

University of California, Berkeley, psychologists have found that gossiping - specifically, spreading information about a person who has behaved badly -- can play a critical role in maintaining social order, preventing exploitation and lowering stress.

Features, Research, Study, University of California, College Read more Comments

Skin cancer treatment expands with new drugs

Victoria Colliver San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Monday, August 22, 2011 - 2:58pm

Thirteen years after federal regulators last approved a new drug to treat advanced melanoma, the Food and Drug Administration has given the green light to two revolutionary drugs in the past five months to treat the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Researchers say the developments make this an exciting time for those who see possibility for controlling the disease. Each year in the U.S., melanoma is diagnosed in 68,000 people and it kills more than 8,700.

Features, Cancer, Drugs, Medical treatment, Melanoma Read more Comments

Drug shortages strain patients' treatment, medical bills

Victoria Colliver San Francisco Chronicle

Last updated Monday, August 22, 2011 - 12:59pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- Record shortages of prescription drugs in the United States are forcing pharmacists and doctors to scramble to find medications for their patients or to delay potentially lifesaving treatments.

Features, Drugs, Medical treatment Read more Comments

FILE In this file photo of Nov. 13, 2006, police officers stand behind a cruiser outside the Family Discount Pharmacy in Stollings, W.Va., during a drug robbery attempt-turned-hostage situation. The suspect, Jeffrey Harvey, was arrested after police said he crushed and snorted prescription drugs while threatening to kill the hostages. A wave of pharmacy robberies is sweeping across the United States as desperate addicts and ruthless dealers turn to violence to feed the nation’s growing hunger for narcotic painkillers. (AP Photo/ The Logan Banner, Michael Browning, File)

Armed robberies at pharmacies increase

San Francisco Chronicle, Victoria Colliver Scripps Howard News Service

Last updated Monday, June 27, 2011 - 1:12pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- Christopher Patterson, co-owner of High Street Pharmacy in Oakland, Calif., didn't panic when two young thieves in masks walked in last month and pointed a gun at him. He and his staff simply gave them what they wanted: the store's entire supply of a prescription narcotic cough syrup that that sells for up to $200 a bottle on the street.

Crime, Robbery, Drugs, Pharmacies, National Read more Comments

Brains of vets with PTSD can change as they age

San Francisco Chronicle, Victoria Colliver Scripps Howard News Service

Last updated Friday, June 24, 2011 - 2:11pm

Combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to have dementia, cardiac problems and structural changes in the brain as they get older than veterans without PTSD, according to new research.

The findings, which for the most part resulted from research at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, raise concerns about the overall health of aging veterans, but hold promise for the potential of helping to treat these diseases.

Features, Brain, Health, PTSD, Veterans Read more Comments

Sharks may be to blame for surge in Calif. sea otter deaths

San Francisco Chronicle, Victoria Colliver

Last updated Friday, January 28, 2011 - 3:09pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- A record number of sea otter bodies were found on California coastlines last year, a trend that leaves scientists and conservationists concerned for the future of the furry ocean animals.

About 304 carcasses were found in 2010, according to preliminary numbers released by the U.S. Geological Survey. Based on a spring count of 2,719 living sea otters, those bodies accounted for 11.2 percent of the population.

Sea otters, Sharks, Wildlife, National Read more Comments

New federal health law aids boomers, study says

San Francisco Chronicle, Victoria Colliver

Last updated Tuesday, December 14, 2010 - 2:30pm

SAN FRANCISCO -- People ages 50 to 64 are most likely to benefit from the new federal health law because they have the highest rates of long-term unemployment among working-age adults and are more likely to have health problems that would make it tough for them to buy individual coverage, according to a report being released Tuesday.

The study, by the Commonwealth Fund, estimated that 18.3 million people in that age group stand to benefit from provisions in the federal health law, including the expanded access to coverage, elimination of lifetime and annual spending caps on policies and, eventually, the end of insurers denying people coverage based on their medical histories.

Business, Health care bill Read more Comments