Whether it's a bicycle collision or difficulty breathing, the UA community can count on quick help from students trained and certified as EMTs.
 
The University of Arizona Student Emergency Medical Services, or UASEMS, group has been operational for three semesters and provides assistance in medical emergencies. Its leaders emphasize thorough training and certification.
 
"We're students at the UA who happen to be EMTs. We're not student EMTs," says Derek Smith, manager of UA Student Emergency Medical Services and a non-degree-seeking graduate student.
 
When Brandon Murphy arrived at the UA three years ago, he didn't find any options for students to work in EMS on campus. He met up with two other students – who've since graduated – to begin brainstorming a program that students could run. They looked at other universities that have student EMS programs and modeled a club after the best practices they found around the country. It took two years to work through the administration and risk management officials, but they were able to start as a club with ASUA funding and began responding in spring 2012.
 
UASEMS switched to funding from the student service fee and began expanding hours in fall 2012. As the fall progressed, the group did too, taking on additional days until they were operating from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. seven days a week.
 
UASEMS this year was the sole EMS provider at the Tucson Festival of Books, saving the festival $4,000 by not using the Tucson Fire Department. UASEMS also works stand-by at Spring Fling, football games and tailgating and when requested for special events, like the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure.
 
"Anything that occurs on campus, we can be there," Murphy says. "Our members do get put into emergencies where they're the only person there, so we make sure they're held to the same certification. We weren't going to settle for a CPR certification or anything else. We make sure everyone has state certification."
 
UASEMS finished the semester with 32 student members, most of whom are certified Emergency Medical Technicians, with the same Arizona training and certification as a Southwest Basic Life Support Ambulance. Two EMTs staff each 12-hour shift, sometimes along with an additional Certified First Responder, and typically respond to at least two calls for service. On its busiest day, UASEMS responded to 12 calls in a 24-hour period.
 
Common calls for service deal with fall victims, injuries from pedestrian, bicycle or vehicle collisions and respiratory distress.
 
"It's part of our emergency mission to provide a quick, rapid response and be the first to provide care until further medical care arrives," Murphy says.
 
By checking vital signs and reporting to paramedics, the student EMTs can eliminate a step and save valuable time if a patient needs to be taken to a hospital.
 
"There are calls where we take the blood pressure while waiting for TFD and give the information right to them so they can load and go. They appreciate it," Murphy says.
 
Many students join out of an interest in a future medical career, some have even gone on to medical school already, while others are considering EMT as a career. Interest is growing; the group has received 80 applications since the fall that they haven't been able to accept. They're hoping to take on as many as 10 in the fall and hope to expand to providing EMS service around the clock, seven days as week.
 
UASEMS has a golf cart and two bicycles, all equipped with emergency gear. UAPD ride-alongs are a mandatory part of the orientation, which includes 20 hours of vigorous bike training and instruction on bloodborne pathogens and health privacy laws. The members participate in monthly continuing education courses and perform mock drills during the week.
 
"It's real-life, in-the-field experience they can't get shadowing somebody in a hospital," says Murphy, a junior in communications from New Jersey. "Here, you're set to a standard and you have a responsibility. That is your patient until further medical attention arrives."

A new University of Arizona study, published in the journal Neurology, suggests a possible link between elevated blood sugar levels and risk for developing Alzheimer's disease.

About 5 percent of men and women, ages 65 to 74, have Alzheimer's disease, and it is estimated that nearly half of those age 85 and older may have the disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among the known factors that contribute to the disease are age and genetics. Scientists also think that high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes may increase risk.

Although the link between diabetes and Alzheimer's has been studied, UA researchers wondered if elevated blood sugar levels in non-diabetic individuals also might indicate a higher risk for developing Alzheimer's disease.

"There have been studies that have linked diabetes to Alzheimer's disease as a risk factor," said Alfred Kaszniak, UA professor of psychology and a co-author on the study. "What was not known when we began this work is whether that risk was only at levels of blood sugar that qualify for diagnoses of diabetes, or in the borderline or pre-diabetic range, or would we also see a relationship across the so-called normal range of blood glucose?"

The researchers used fluorodeoxyglucose (18F) positron electron tomography, or FDG PET, a medical imaging technique that produces three-dimensional images of metabolic activity in the brain. Fasting serum glucose levels – blood sugar levels following several hours of not eating – are routinely acquired as part of the FDG PET protocol.

"When compared to those without the disease, Alzheimer's disease patients demonstrate a pattern of reduced brain metabolism in particular brain regions," explained Christine Burns, lead author on the study and a UA pre-doctoral student in psychology. "What we show is an association between elevated fasting serum glucose levels and a similar pattern of reduced metabolism in these same AD-related brain regions in cognitively healthy adults."

The researchers studied data on 124 cognitively normal, non-diabetic adults with a family history of Alzheimer's disease. The individuals, who ranged in age from 47 to 68, were among participants in a larger study, led by Dr. Eric Reiman, executive director of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Phoenix, looking at a variety of Alzheimer's risk factors, including genetic risk. 

The link between high blood sugar and reduced brain metabolism existed regardless of whether individuals carried the Apolipoprotein E4 gene variant, an established risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease.   

In addition to suggesting a link between elevated blood sugar levels and Alzheimer's risk in non-diabetic individuals, the study also shows promise for the use of brain imaging techniques like PET in identifying Alzheimer's risk and developing early preventative interventions, researchers say.

"Right now, if you want to develop a drug or evaluate some other kind of a preventive measure for Alzheimer's disease, the labor and expense is prohibitive," Kaszniak said. "If you recruit people who may be at some risk, but are 20 years away from developing signs of the illness, what drug company or governmental agency is going to fund research that follows people for 20 years to see whether something is effective in prevention?

"However, if you have a biologic marker, it suggests what areas you should really focus on in those very expensive longitudinal studies," he said.

Burns said she hopes the findings will inform ongoing work designed to help develop early Alzheimer's interventions.

"A lot of valuable research is focused on treatment and slowing decline in Alzheimer's patients," she said. "I'm interested in complementing this work with interventions that can be implemented earlier on, perhaps at middle age."

The Arizona Board of Regents has approved the University of Arizona's tuition proposal for 2013-14, sharply reducing overall tuition for law students and modestly increasing base tuition for undergraduate, graduate and medical students.

Overall tuition for Arizona residents in the James E. Rogers College of Law Juris Doctor program will decrease by about 11 percent, to $24,381 next academic year from $27,288 this year. Non-resident students will see an approximate 8 percent decrease, to $38,841 from $42,298. Overall tuition includes base graduate tuition and mandatory fees, plus differential tuition.

The tuition decrease is possible because new non-Juris Doctor, or JD, programs will diversify the student population and produce additional income. Lowering tuition is part of the college's larger plan to help students manage law school costs.

About 80 percent of students in the JD program receive financial aid awards from the college – a higher percentage than most other law schools. "We believe that the tuition reduction will improve accessibility and allow our students to graduate with less debt," the UA wrote in supporting material to the regents.

Other UA students, including medical students, will see an approximate 3 percent increase in base tuition and mandatory fees, which is necessary for the UA to meet its local, institutional and ABOR-mandated goals. The proposal was developed in consultation with undergraduate and graduate leadership and reflects their feedback and priorities.

Resident undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees for the main campus will be $10,391 for 2013-14, up from $10,035 in 2012-13. For non-residents, tuition and fees will be $27,073, up from $26,231. At UA South, resident undergraduates will pay $8,166, up from $7,941, and non-residents will pay $26,570, up from $25,808.

For resident graduate students on the main campus, tuition and fees will be $11,511, up from $11,122, and $27,383, up from $26,533, for non-residents. At UA South, resident graduate students will pay $10,690, up from $10,390, and non-residents would pay $26,880, up from $26,110.

ABOR also approved an $80 per year increase in the mandatory library technology fee for students on the main campus.

Tuition revenue generated by the increase will support key initiatives including the retention and graduation of students, seeding research, making engagement experiences possible for all students, online and alternative educational delivery, the retention and recruitment of faculty and attending to critical life, safety and code building repairs.

The increase in tuition revenue will preserve student access to educational resources and lead to success through investments in financial aid, greater course availability and new sources of academic support. In the 2012 fiscal year, the UA invested more than $168 million in financial aid.

For students in the College of Medicine-Tucson and the College of Medicine-Phoenix, tuition will increase to $28,686 for residents and $47,861 for non-residents. The modest increase will allow the colleges to offset state reductions with minimal impact to the educational experience.

The colleges are the state's only providers of allopathic medical education, with more than 650 students enrolled.

The board also set residence hall rates for 2013-14. On average, rates for undergraduate housing will increase by about 2 percent. Nine-month rates for undergraduate residence halls will range from $5,519 to $7,679, depending on the hall. Graduate housing rates will not increase.

State budget cuts suffered by the UA – more than $180 million since 2008 – are unprecedented and well-documented. Adjusted for the Consumer Price Index, per-student funding for the UA is at its lowest level since 1967.

Despite these sharp cuts, the UA has been achieving distinctions never before seen in its history. For the first time this academic year, overall enrollment topped 40,000. Retention and graduation rates are up, as is the number of baccalaureate degrees conferred.

To replace lost state funding, the UA is diversifying the variety and size of its revenue streams and is undertaking projects to optimize its efficiency. The UA is completing a comprehensive, campus-wide strategic planning process that will directly tie the University's strategic plan to measurable goals, metrics and financial modeling.