In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, wow, that's a mouthful, more commonly known as the HITECH Act, spent billions to promote the uptake of electronic health records by US hospitals. Fast forward more than a decade later, and now approximately four out of five healthcare institutions have electronic health record systems in place that integrate clinical notes, test results, medications, diagnostic images, et cetera. The adoption of EHR systems into healthcare introduces new and exciting opportunities to extract information that can be used to augment other types of data for research. As you might imagine though, it can be tricky to pull out meaningful information from the text of clinical notes. In this episode, we'll speak with a University of Michigan researcher, Dr. Vinod Vydiswaran, who's been developing methods to identify dementia from EHR data.

Cognitive Decline May Be Slowed by Bariatric Surgery.

Alcohol affects your sleep, but not your thinking.

Investigators found that people with obesity who underwent bariatric surgery had stable cognition two years later. Researchers say it suggests that bariatric surgery may mitigate the natural history of cognitive decline expected in people with obesity.

With over 400 stories published on Health Lab in 2023, the following 10 articles were the most read of the year.

Post-traumatic stress worse among Mexican American caregivers compared to white caregivers.

By studying first-year college students’ experiences and backgrounds, scientists may have discovered a way to go beyond genetics to predict which students might be more or less vulnerable to stress-related depression.

Piotrowski consulted with a spectrum of doctors, physical therapists and chiropractors, each with a different recommendation for how to treat a herniated disc in the lower portion of his spine until he found one at Michigan Medicine recommending lumbar microdiscectomy, a procedure that involves small incisions to remove portions of the herniated disc and ease pressure on the spinal cord nerves.

A car accident at age 20 left Sahar Mashhour in the intensive care unit for three months. Almost six years later, Mashhour is still pursuing her passions proving that her disability doesn’t limit her ability, but instead helps her see life through a different lens.

Insight on sleep monitors at the University of Michigan in the Department of Neurology.

Last year, a young girl experienced up to 40 seizures a week. Today, after nearly a year of working with the ketogenic diet team at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital – overseen by a pediatric neurologist and dietitian – she’s celebrating six months of seizure freedom.

Are Edibles Actually Good for Sleep?

A Role for Neurologists at the University of Michigan in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy.

Free sleep clinic reduces sleep health inequities in southeast Michigan.

Team Research at the University of Michigan Links Concussions to Suicidal Thoughts in High School Athletes