| Show Number |
Air Week |
Title |
Program Description |
SHOW #218
|
September 27, 1998 |
Prostatron |
Most, if not all men over 50 will at some point suffer from enlarged
prostate, known clinically as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH. BPH is a non-cancerous
growth of the prostate gland, which pressures the urethra, leading to frequent and
uncomfortable urination, possible blockage of the urethra, and possible infection. Current
therapies include drugs, which must be taken for life, and surgery. Now there’s
another FDA-approved alternative for men who either do not respond well to the medications
or aren’t good candidates for the surgery. It’s called transurethral microwave
thermotherapy (TUMT®), using the device called the Prostatron. It uses a catheter with a
microwave-emitting tip to heat the cells of the prostate gland. The thermal energy is
monitored and controlled by the device, safely shrinking and destroying cells in the
prostate without harming surrounding structures. The procedure is minimally invasive,
performed on an outpatient basis, and patients can typically resume normally activities
immediately following treatment. CONTACTS: John Howser, Media Director, Vanderbilt
University Medical Center, (615)322-4747; Prostatron manufacturer: EDAP Technomed, Inc.,
toll-free hotline: (800)933-TUMT (8868), website: www.edaptechnomed.com |
| |
|
EVERYDAY BREAKTHROUGH: Bispectral Index |
Anesthesiologists currently rely on standard dosages and vital signs
response to measure the effects of anesthesia. Those methods can sometimes result in
inaccurate information, leading to the patient receiving too much or too little
anesthesia. The Bispectral Index offers a more quantitative approach. The device measures
subtle changes in the patient’s EEG, or brain waves, converting the data into a
single number that measures level of consciousness. This allows the anesthesiologist to
fine-tune dosages, preventing under- or over-anesthesia. CONTACTS: Joni Morford, Fischer
& Partners, Inc., (888)247-4633; Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. (508)653-0603, website: www.aspectms.com |
| |
|
Heart Reduction Surgery |
Left ventricular remodeling is also known as the Batista procedure, after
the Brazilian surgeon who developed it. It’s a controversial operation in which a
portion of the heart muscle is removed, reducing the overall volume of the heart and
restoring its ability to pump blood efficiently to all areas of the body. It’s
intended to help people with enlarged hearts due to heart failure. Often, these are
patients awaiting a heart transplant, and this procedure can serve as a bridge until a
donor heart becomes available. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic have been at the forefront
of introducing the procedure into American clinical practice, gathering ongoing data in
the process of evaluating its value. They are quick to point out, however, that the
operation is suited for a very limited number of patients, and is not the panacea it has
been portrayed to be in many prior media reports. CONTACTS: Jim Armstrong, Health Affairs,
Division of Health Affairs, The Cleveland Clinic, (216)444-9455, Cleveland Clinic
Information Line for heart & lung procedures: (800)822-9488, websites: www.ccf.org (general Cleveland Clinic Foundation site), www.heartcenter.ccf.org:8080/05-00/05-04/05-04.htm
(Dr. McCarthy’s paper on left ventricular remodeling) |
| |
|
FUTUREX: Mucosal Vaccines |
Ninety percent of all human infections begin at mucus membrane sites. Now
there’s research in progress to exploit that fact by blocking infections at those
sites, through the use of vaccines designed to prevent the pathogens from invading the
body. Present vaccines are injected, and produce a systemic response, fighting infectious
agents after they’re in the bloodstream. Dr. Victor Fischetti at The Rockefeller
University has developed a way to engineer harmless bacteria which live at the mucosal
sites to deliver vaccine agents to those sites, raising an immune response which would
prevent future infection by the disease-causing pathogen. CONTACT: Joseph Bonner,
Assistant Director of Communications, The Rockefeller University, (212)327-7876, website: www.rockefeller.edu |
SHOW #219
|
October 4, 1998 |
Minimally Invasive Procedures |
This episode features highlights of
BreakThrough’s first year on the air. The retrospective is broken down into several
discrete segments. References are to the original stories - see those Program Summaries
for details and contact information. Perhaps the biggest trend in the world
of surgery today is toward what are known as minimally invasive procedures - operations
using miniaturized instruments and tiny television cameras that allow surgeons to see and
work deep inside the body through very small incisions. As the equipment and expertise
have progressed, so has the willingness of surgeons to employ these techniques in new
areas. SEE “Spinal Fusion,” Show #132, Week of 1/4/98; “Uterine
Fibroids,” Show #111, Week of 8/10/97; “Heart Port,” Show #135, Week of
1/25/98 |
| |
|
Diagnostics |
Our coverage of diagnostics has mainly centered around the remarkable
progress in recent years in imaging devices. Non-invasive and harmless methods of
detecting and diagnosing disorders are reaching previously unimaginable levels of
sophistication, and the boundaries of their capabilities are continually being pushed.
SEE: “Depression” & “Virtual Diagnostics,” Show #103, Week of
6/15/97; “Stuttering,” Show #104, Week of 6/22/97; “PET Scan/Heart
Disease,” Show #146; “Endoscopic Ultrasound,” Show #122, Week of 10/26/97 |
| |
|
Pharmaceuticals |
Our coverage of new pharmaceuticals has concentrated mainly on drugs we
consider to be distinct advances in the treatment of their target diseases, particularly
when they represent a completely new class of compounds. We have also from time to time
reported on new drugs that are delivered in unique ways. “Raloxifene,” Show
#119, Week of 10/5/97; “Schizophrenia,” Show #149, Week of 5/3/98; “New
Cancer Drug,” Show #133, Week of 1/11/98; “Liquid Breathing,” Show #102,
Week of 6/8/97; “Photodynamic Therapy,” Show #103, Week of 6/15/97 |
| |
|
Restoring Function |
Until fairly recently, if you lost function in a part of your body, that
was that. Today that’s no longer the case, and there’s some absolutely
fascinating work going on that will yield marvels in the years to come. SEE:
“Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation (FNS),” Show #101, Week of 6/1/97;
“UPDATE: Jim Jatich,” Show #140, Week of 3/1/98; “Vocare,” Show #106,
Week of 6/29/97; “Prosthetic Sensors,” Show #134, Week of 1/18/98;
“Biofeedback,” Show #136, Week of 2/1/98; “Ocutech VES (macular
degeneration),” Show #102, Week of 6/8/97; “FUTUREX: Artificial Retina,”
Show #101, Week of 6/1/97; “Cataract Surgery,” Show #131, Week of 12/28/97;
“Corneal Rings,” Show #137, Week of 2/8/98 |
| |
|
New Approaches |
Breakthroughs often involve new approaches to age-old problems. Many of
the advances featured in this segment are oriented a bit more toward the future, although
some are available today. These innovations are among the first inklings of what are
expected to be major new lines of therapy in the years to come. SEE: “Artificial
Liver,” Show #119, Week of 10/5/97; “Carticel (knee cartilage
transplantation),” Show #145, Week of 4/5/98; “Artificial Skin,” Show #101,
Week of 6/1/97; “BREAKTHROUGHS IN HISTORY: Pacemaker,” Show #106, Week of
7/6/97; “Pallidal Stimulation (Parkinson’s),” Show #104, Week of 6/22/97,
Show #144, Week of 3/29/98; “Vagus Nerve Stimulator (Epilepsy),” Show #151, Week
of 5/17/98; “Vibrant Soundbridge (Hearing Loss),” Show #146, Week of 4/12/98;
“Guglielmi Detachable Coil (Brain Aneurysms),” Show #127, Week of 11/30/97;
“Neuroperfusion (Stroke),” Show #117, Week of 9/21/97 |
SHOW #220
|
October 11, 1998 |
ALS Drugs |
ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s
Disease, is a fatal neurological disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of
motor cells in the spinal cord and brain. As it progresses, voluntary muscular control is
increasingly lost, ultimately affecting even breathing, chewing, and swallowing, while
leaving the mind and senses unimpaired. The cause of ALS is unknown, and there is no cure,
but two new drugs under investigation have shown promise in extending patients’
survival. One of the drugs, myotrophin, slowed the decline in function experienced by
patients 26% in a recently completed study. The other, known at this point by its
experimental compound designation SR57746A, appears to enhance the body’s nerve
growth factors, thereby theoretically improving the survival of the remaining motor
neurons and promoting nerve cell regeneration. It is being studied both as single
treatment and in combination with an existing medication for ALS, riluzole. While a cure
for this devastating disease seems distant, the hope is that eventually a combination of
drugs will be effective in halting the progression of the condition. CONTACTS: Kathy
Major, Senior Communications Specialist, Baylor College of Medicine, (713)798-4712,
website: www.bcm.tmc.edu/neurol/struct/als/als1.html;
ALS Association, (800)782-4747 (patients only), (818)340-7500, website: www.alsa.org |
| |
|
EVERYDAY BREAKTHROUGHS: Endovascular Repair |
A new procedure called an endovascular repair is being tested by surgeons
at fifteen medical centers around the country. It’s used to repair dangerously
enlarged blood vessels called aortic aneurysms. One small incision is made in an artery in
the groin, through which a state-of-the-art graft is threaded up to the diseased area,
where it is attached inside the damaged vessel. X-ray guidance is used for precise
placement of the graft. Patients are usually ready to go home within three days. This
repair procedure could replace conventional surgery, which involves making a large
incision in the abdomen, leading to a typical hospital stay of ten days, followed by six
to eight weeks of recovery. CONTACTS: Nancy Kochuk, UNC Hospitals Marketing & Public
Affairs, (919)966-6046; Boston Scientific Corporation (graft manufacturer), website: www.bsci.com |
| |
|
Fetal Surgery/Spina Bifida |
Astonishing progress has been achieved in recent years in surgeons’
ability to operate on fetuses in utero. Until recently, these procedures had only been
used to repair life-threatening conditions. Now, fetal surgery has been employed to
correct or reduce the severity of non-life-threatening birth defects, most particularly
spina bifida. Spina bifida is the most common neurologic birth defect in the US. It’s
a condition in which one or more of the vertabrae fail to develop completely, leaving a
portion of the spinal cord exposed to damaging amniotic fluid. Although not considered
fatal, it is often severely handicapping. By surgically closing the opening in the spine
while the fetus is still in the womb, it is thought that the severity of the disease can
be reduced. Two types of fetal surgery are currently practiced: endoscopic, in which a
television camera and tiny instruments are inserted directly into the uterine environment,
and open, in which the fetus is partially removed from the womb. CONTACTS: John Howser,
Media Director, Vanderbilt University Medical Center News & Public Affairs Office,
(615)322-4747; Dr. Joseph Bruner, Director of Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy, Vanderbilt
University Hospital, (615)322-0122; email: joe.bruner@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu at
+inet; Spina Bifida Information Contacts: National Information Center for Children and
Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY), (800)695-0285 (Voice/TT), email: nichcy@aed.org,
website: www.nichcy.org; Spina Bifida Association of
America (800)621-3141, email: spinabifda@aol.com,
website: www.sbaa.org; Spina Bifida Association of
Canada, (800)565-9488, website: www.sbhac.ca; March of
Dimes Birth Defect Foundation, (914)428-7100, email: resourcecenter@modimes.org, website: www.modimes.org; National Center for Education in
Maternal and Child Health, (703)821-8955, ext. 254 or 265; National Easter Seal Society,
(800)221-6827, email: nessinfo@iseals.com,
website: www.seals.com; National Rehabilitation
Information Center (NARIC), (800)346-2742, website: www.naric.com/naric;
Usenet Newsgroup: alt.support.spina-bifida; Children with Spina Bifida: A Resource Page
for Parents, website: www.waisman.wisc.edu/~rowley/sb_kids.htmlx;
National Hydrocephalus Foundation, (800)431-8093; Guardians of Hydrocephalus Research
Foundation, (800)458-8655 |
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