| Show Number |
Air Week |
Title |
Program Description |
| SHOW #110 |
August 3, 1997 |
Old Heart Transplants |
UCLA's Alternate Transplant Program is performing heart transplants with
older patients who previously would have falled outside established guidelines to be
candidates for the procedure. Patients well into their seventies are getting new hearts,
and so far the results have been promising. Also, the program uses older donor hearts than
the guidelines call for, sometimes hearts that have been repaired surgically in the past.
As more data emerges on this program, the protocol may spread to other facilities around
the country. CONTACT: Ruthie Marek, UCLA Public Affairs, 310-206-2283 |
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FUTUREX: Telemedicine |
Telemedicine promises to be an increasingly important method of linking
remote or rural medical facilities with the expertise and resources available in urban
areas through the use of fiber optic networking. This piece showed an example of the
life-saving potential of the technology, as a neonatal expert remotely reads a sonogram on
a new-born infant, determining that she does not have a suspected heart defect, and can
safely be transported to the children's hospital for attention to her other medical
disorders. CONTACT: Bowman Gray/Baptist Hospital, 1-800-446-2255 |
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Breast Density |
Thanks to a research study that has been in continuous progress since
World War II, scientists at the University of Minnesota have discovered an important
genetic link to breast cancer. Breast density is the relative proportion of fat,
connective, and glandular tissue present in a woman's breast. It can be measured by a
mammogram, but this team has also developed a computer-aided method of measuring breast
density. Increased breast density is, like the more well-known breast cancer genes, a
genetic marker for increased risk of the disease. It is also more common, and may account
for more of the total breast cancer risk in the population. CONTACT: Colleen Southwell,
University of Minnesota Cancer Center Public Relations, 612-626-1107 |
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EVERYDAY BREAKTHROUGHS: Numby Stuff |
Numby Stuff is a new method of numbing skin tissue, allowing pain-free
needle sticks. Local anesthetic is transferred to the skin from a patch through the use of
a small electric current. Painless injections, IV starts, phlebotomies, skin biopsies, and
other minor dermatological procedures can usually be performed from seven to fifteen
minutes after Numby Stuff is used. Website: www.iomed.com.
CONTACT: Iomed, Inc., 1-800-621-3347 |
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Sick Building Syndrome |
Sometime simply identifying a condition can be a breakthrough, leading to
new resources and research being allocated. That is the case with the condition that's
come to be known as Sick Building Sydrome, in which people are made ill by the very
buildings in which they work and live. Sometimes the ventilation systems can be at fault,
sometimes it's construction materials, sometimes a combination of many factors. Now,
researchers and entrepreneurs are increasingly focusing on Sick Building Syndrome, and are
finding new solutions to this sometimes elusive problem. CONTACT: John Walls, Texas Tech
News & Publications, 806-743-2143 612-228-8323 |
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| SHOW #111 |
August 10, 1997 |
Singing Surgeon |
Dr. Robert Bastian of Chicago's Loyola Medical Center is an Ear, Nose and
Throat specialist who is also a trained singer. Part of his practice consists of treating
professional singers who have developed problems with their vocal cords. In some cases,
Dr. Bastian performs laser microsurgery on singers' vocal cords. This is not a widely used
or accepted procedure, but his results have been very favorable, and the majority of his
patients who have had the microsurgery have gone on to resume their active singing
careers. CONTACT: Mike Maggio, Director of Media Relations, Loyola University Medical
Center, 708-216-6700 |
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EVERYDAY BREAKTHROUGHS - Warm Surgery |
For a variety of reasons, operating rooms are kept very cold. Anesthesia
also tends to chill patients. Now it's been discovered that when a surgical patient's body
gets too cold, there is an associated risk of cardiac arrest. The solution has proven to
be simple - a forced air warming system consisting of a generator which blows warm air
into a baffled blanket, keeping the patient at an acceptable temperature. The system is
currently being studied, and may soon be warming patients everywhere. CONTACT: Johns
Hopkins Public Relations, 410-955-8665 |
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Uterine Fibroids |
Doctors at UCLA have developed a new, minimally invasive procedure for
removing uterine fibroids, a condition that afflicts hundreds of thousands of women every
year. More than one-third of the hysterectomies in the US each year are necessitated by
the presence of these benign growths, and it is hoped that this new procedure, called
embolization, will prevent many of them. Presently, the procedure is only being performed
experimentally at UCLA and City Hospital in Philadelphia. CONTACT: Roxanne Yamaguchi
Moster, Public Information Office, UCLA, 310-206-1960 |
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BREAKTHROUGH PROFILES: Shari Lichtenstein |
Shari is a social worker in the Chicago area who has counseled cancer
patients for years. Perceiving a need, she has published a book entitled My Mom Has
Cancer. Illustrated and with text by the children of cancer patients, the book is designed
to provide education and comfort to other children facing such a situation. CONTACT:
Publisher: Ruby's Ink, PO Box 697, Deerfield, IL 60015 (cost of book is $12.50 + 3.00
shipping & handling), website www.theramp.net/Rubyt Story contact is: Loyola Medical
Center, 708-216-6700 |
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Bloodless Surgery |
For a variety of reasons, many surgical patients prefer not to receive
blood transfusions, unless it's their own blood. Such practices are increasing in
popularity, and now there are three methods being explored for accomplishing this
so-called "bloodless" surgery. The first method involves the use of a blood
booster, a human hormone that increases the blood supply. As much as two extra pints of
one's own blood can be generated this way, then extracted for use as necessary during
surgery. Another method is called hemodilution. Blood is removed from the patient and
replaced with salt water solution or plasma expander, so the patient's blood volume
remains constant, but there are fewer red blood cells in it. Red blood cells can then be
re-introduced as necessary during surgery, or afterward to prevent anemia. The third
method is blood substitutes, which would work with hemodilution. As these methods are
perfected, it is likely they would be used in combination, and could represent a
significant addition to the nation's blood supply, since donated blood would then be
reserved more for emergency situations. CONTACT: Joni Westerhouse, Office of Medical
Public Affairs, Washington University School of Medicine, 314-286-0100 |
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| SHOW #112 |
August 17, 1997 |
Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation |
A new electronic device restores the use of some hand muscles in people
with spinal cord injuries, giving patients the ability to grasp and pinch. Our story
featured Jim Jatich of Akron, Ohio, who in 1986 was the first person in the world to
receive the implant, and now has become the first person to receive a second device,
restoring function to his other hand as well. CONTACT: NeuroControl, Susan Krebs, Media
Relations, 216-231-6812 |
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FUTUREX: Artificial Retina |
The so-called artificial retina is an implantable microchip designed to
replace the light-sensitive screen at the back of the human eye. Images focused on the
chip would stimulate the undamaged nerve endings in a diseased retina. The story featured
the developer of the device, Dr. Wentai Liu of NC State University. CONTACT: NC State
University, 919-515-3848 |
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Artificial Skin |
Developed for use with severe burn patients, artificial skin, trade name
Integra, is designed for application when natural skin grafts are impossible, as when a
patient has lost too much skin surface to burns. It has the unique ability to stimulate
the regeneration of the dermis, which is the layer of skin under the surface layer (the
epidermis). The dermis does not naturally grow back when injured, and is replaced by scar
tissue. The artificial skin prevents scarring. CONTACT: Integra LifeSciences Corp., Judy
Brenna, Public Relations, 609-936-2398 |
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EVERYDAY BREAKTHROUGHS: Auto External Defibrillator |
Automatic external defibrillators are gaining increasing usage in public
places, such as commercial airliners. They are designed to restart the heart of a person
undergoing sudden cardiac arrest. Since time is so critical in those situations, the
advance is that they can be used, if necessary, by non-medical personnel. CONTACT:
Heartscan, Inc. 1-800-263-3342 |
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Bladder Cancer Detection |
A new molecular technique of detecting bladder cancer could allow much
earlier detection of the disease, and lead to earlier and more effective intervention.
Analysis of a simple urine sample allows researchers to identify abnormal genetic
patterns, so-called "fingerprints," which are tell-tale warning signs of the
presence of bladder cancer. CONTACT: Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Karen Twilde, Office
of Public Affairs, 410-955-1287 |
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