| Show Number |
Air Week |
Title |
Program Description |
SHOW #215
|
September 6, 1998 |
Instrumented Laparoscopic Spinal Fusion |
ILSF is a new, minimally invasive procedure designed to relieve back pain
from herniated or collapsed discs and degenerative disc disease. By accessing the spine
laparoscopically from the front of the body rather than cutting through the large back
muscles, smaller incisions are used, and recovery time is much faster. Small, tapered
titanium tubes called “cages,” packed with a small amount of bone material from
the patient’s hip, are screwed into place on both sides of the affected disc, at
which point the disc is removed. The grafted bone will then eventually fuse to the
vertebrae, stabilizing the spine. The cages, specifically designed for use with the
laparascope, are currently in FDA clinical trials at a dozen sites around the country.
CONTACT: Triangle Spine & Back Care Center, (919)876-7676 |
| |
|
FUTUREX: Ultrasound Drug Delivery |
Researchers at Stanford University are developing a way to deliver
chemotherapy to a tumor more specifically using ultrasound. First, they inject the drug.
Then, they aim a focused ultrasound beam at the tumor, which opens up the nearby blood
vessels, essentially making the tumor “leaky.” In this state, the drugs can
better penetrate the tumor and destroy the cells. CONTACT: M.A. Malone, Office of
Communications, Stanford University Medical Center, (415)723-6912 |
| |
|
Oklahoma Bombing: Psychological Aftermath |
Following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the Department of Psychiatry
at the University of Oklahoma began a study of the school children in the area, in order
to assess the effect of the tragedy on their psychological well-being. Through structured
interviews, researchers were able to gather information on how children were coping with
the bombing, and identify children in need of further counseling. The study helped
generate a Crisis Intervention Plan for the Oklahoma City Schools, and all of this
material should serve as a model for other cities in crisis. CONTACT: Stacy Smoot, Media
Relations, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, (405)271-2323; Book entitled
“One Family Under the Same Sky” (featured in the story) can be obtained by
calling (800)858-2264 |
| |
|
BREAKTHROUGHS IN HISTORY: Tuberculosis |
A brief look at the history of tuberculosis, from the perspective of
National Jewish Hospital in Denver, the first institution in the US dedicated to the care
of needy TB patients. CONTACT: Jordan Gruener, Media Relations Director, National Jewish
Research & Medical Center, (303)398-1002, website: www.njc.org |
SHOW #216
|
September 13, 1998 |
Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery |
Traditional open-chest heart surgery requires a 12- to 15-inch incision
in the chest, and the surgeon must then split apart the breastbone and spread the ribcage
to reach the heart. Port-access minimally invasive heart surgery is a new method that
eliminates the need to make that large incision or crack the breastbone. Tubes are fed
through blood vessels in the thigh and neck to the heart, where they deliver drugs that
stop the heart and connect the patient to a heart-lung machine. Once the heart is stopped,
surgeons operate through small “ports” between the ribs using specially designed
instruments. The procedure is currently in use mainly for multiple-vessel coronary artery
bypass grafting (CABG) and mitral valve repair or replacement procedures. It offers the
advantages of reduced scarring due to the smaller incisions, and significantly quicker
recovery times. CONTACTS: M.A. Malone, Broadcast Media Manager, Stanford University School
of Medicine, (650)723-6912; Heartport, Inc., Corporate Communications, (415)482-4430, main
# (650)306-7900, website: www.heartport.com; VA
Palo Alto Health Care System, website: www.icon.palo-alto.med.va.gov |
| |
|
EVERYDAY BREAKTHROUGH: Gambling Drug |
Researcher Dr. Suck Won Kim of the University of Minnesota is testing a
new use of an existing drug, naltrexone, to help compulsive gamblers suppress the urge to
gamble. The drug inhibits the effects of the neurotransmitter called dopamine, which
apparently is released in large quantities when the individual anticipates a reward or
pleasurable activity. Although this use is still experimental, it appears to be effective,
and may be approved by the FDA for this indication in the future. CONTACTS: Dr. Suck Won
Kim, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, (612)625-3210, email: kimxx003@maroon.tc.umn.edu; Teri Charest,
Media Relations Representative, Office of Communications, Academic Health Center,
University of Minnesota, (612)624-4604; Gamblers Anonymous, (213)386-8789, website: www.gamblersanonymous.org |
| |
|
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) |
Seasonal Affective Disorder involves symptoms resembling clinical
depression during the winter months, which disappear with the advent of spring. The most
common treatment up to now has been exposure to very intense lights for periods of time
during the winter. Now, Dr. Michael Terman of the New York State Psychiatric Institute,
one of the leading researchers in the field, has been experimenting with the use of a
Dawn/Dusk Simulator, a programmable device attached to a specialized light attached above
a patient’s bed. The simulator emits calibrated light, and in mirroring the lighting
conditions and timing of both dawn and dusk, helps reset patients’ biological clocks,
even while they sleep. CONTACTS: Carolyn Conway, Director of Public Relations, Columbia
University Health Sciences Division, Office of External Relations, (212)305-3900, email: mem47@columbia.edu; Referrals: The Center for
Environmental Therapeutics, Georgetown, CO, website: www.cet.org/cet2000;
Lightbox distributor website: www.sphereone.com |
| |
|
GENEWATCH: Mapping Microbes |
While the Human Genome Project promises enormous advances in medicine by
mapping the blueprint for human life, other gene sequencing projects currently underway
may be nearly as important. There are several efforts making progress in mapping the
genomes of some of the most virulent disease-causing microbes - killers like tuberculosis,
cholera, and malaria. By learning more about the genetic structures of these organisms,
researchers should be able to develop new and better vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic tests
to combat them. CONTACT: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Office of Communications, (301)402-1663 |
SHOW #217
|
September 20, 1998 |
Jaw Lengthening |
In the past, children born with misshapen, underdeveloped jaws faced
major, highly invasive corrective surgery. Now a new, much less aggressive technique can
achieve the same results. This jaw lengthening method has been adapted from a procedure
originally developed by a Russian orthopedic surgeon for use on legs and arms. Incisions
are made in the outer mandible, and a bone-lengthening device made of pins and metal with
external screws is implanted. The patient wears the device for about three months, turning
the screws very slightly every day for a month. CONTACT: Nancy Kochuk, Medical Center PR,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, (919)966-3366 |
| |
|
BREAKTHROUGHS IN HISTORY: Crawford Long |
In 1842, Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Georgia became the first
physician to use ether as an anesthetic, ushering in the modern era of painless surgery.
Not realizing the profound significance of his achievement, he made no effort to publicize
it, and until recently his first use was not recognized. Today, the Crawford W. Long
Museum in Jefferson stands as an educational memorial to this skilled and innovative
surgeon. CONTACT: Tina Harris, Director, Crawford W. Long Museum, Jefferson, Georgia,
(707)367-5307 |
| |
|
Breast Cancer/PET Scans |
Early detection is one of the keys to successful treatment of breast
cancer. Now, the use of the imaging technology known as the PET scan (Positron Emission
Tomography) could contribute to earlier detection and more accurate diagnosis. PET scans
have been used widely to study other parts of the body, notably activity in the brain.
Now, it’s being studied as a tool to detect and diagnose breast cancer. Eventually it
could prevent the need for invasive diagnostic surgery in some women, who today must have
their axillary lymph nodes removed to determine whether their breast cancer has begun to
spread to other parts of the body. CONTACTS: George Stamatis, Public Affairs, Case Western
Reserve University School of Medicine, (216)368-3635; PET facility at University Hospitals
of Cleveland Voice Mail System, (216)844-7683; American Cancer Society, (800)ACS-2345,
website: www.cancer.org/bottom.html;
American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Network website: www.cancer.org/bcn/bcn.html; Y- ME, National
Organization for Breast Cancer Information and Support, (800)221-2141, website: www.y-me.org |
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