| Show Number |
Air Week |
Title |
Program Description |
| SHOW #116 |
September 14, 1997 |
Facial Prosthetics |
This story profiles the work of the UCLA Maxillofacial Prosthetics
Clinic. A part of the UCLA School of Dentistry, the clinic is one of the few centers in
the world capable of giving a patient with significant facial disfigurement, many of them
head and neck cancer patients, a renewed chance at a normal life. Art and science come
together in the work of the prosthetists, who fashion extraordinarily life-like noses,
ears, and other facial prostheses for patients who have lost those parts to surgery.
CONTACT: Elaine Schmidt, Public Information Officer, UCLA School of Dentistry,
310-206-2106, Web site: www.dent.ucla.edu |
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|
GENEWATCH: Asthma Gene |
By studying the isolated population of the South Atlantic island Tristan
de Cunha, researchers with Sequana Therapeutics claim to have discovered the first gene
directly associated with asthma. The work has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed
scientific journal, and has not been replicated. The company hopes to use the discovery to
eventually develop a diagnostic tool, and perhaps ultimately a gene-based treatment for
the 100,000,000 asthma sufferers worldwide. CONTACT: Bob Giargiari, Sequana Therapeutics,
619-452-6550 |
| |
|
Anthrax |
Anthrax is one of the deadliest toxins on earth, used in biological
warfare applications. Now, researchers at Harvard are working on methods of stripping
anthrax of its toxic components, preserving the agent's remarkable ability to invade
cells. It appears to be a potentially valuable transport mechanism for a whole host of new
vaccines, whose success in generating immune response depends upon the ability to get into
cells. The anthrax carrier may have applications with vaccines under development for a
variety of cancers, AIDS, and other infectious diseases. CONTACT: Bill Schaller, Public
Relations, Harvard Medical School, 617-432-0441 |
| |
|
Gender Specific Medicine |
An emerging trend in medicine finds more attention being paid to the
physiological differences between the sexes. In the past, the standard for research has
been the 154 lb. male, with little attention being paid to the differing presentations of
disease or effects of medications on women. This has all too often resulted in gender
discrimination in medical treatment, however unintended. Now, the NIH has mandated that
research protocols include women. Also, the Partnership for Women's Health at Columbia has
been established to study gender specific medical issues, and to compile a data base of
knowledge on the subject. CONTACT: Dr. Marianne Legato, Director, Partnership for WomenÕs
Health at Columbia, 212-305-9514. Website: www.pg.com/womenshealth |
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|
EVERYDAY BREAKTHROUGHS: Tai Chi |
Physicians at Emory University Medical Center are studying the Oriental
martial arts discipline of Tai Chi as a potential method of helping elderly people
maintain their balance and improve flexibility and mobility, all in an effort to prevent
debilitating falls and fractures. One study found Tai Chi to be 47% more effective than
conventional exercise and balance training. CONTACT: Dr. Tingsen Xu (Shoo), Emory U.
Medical Center, 404-320-0055 |
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| SHOW #117 |
September 21, 1997 |
Emphysema |
As of now, the only treatment for emphysema able to effect a cure has
been a lung transplant. All other therapies are designed to alleviate symptoms. That's
because emphysema involves damage to the alveoli, the tiny air sacs in the lungs where the
exchange of gases takes place, and once destroyed, alveoli cannot regenerate. Now,
researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have been able to stimulate the
regeneration of alveoli in mice, fostering great hope that their method may be applicable
to humans. They administered retinoic acid to mice with emphysema, and with regenerated
alveoli, the mice were essentially cured of the disease. CONTACT: Nancy Whelan or Amy
Gianalto, External Affairs/PR, Georgetown University School of Medicine, 202-687-5100 |
| |
|
BREAKTHROUGHS IN HISTORY: Nobel Psychiatrist |
A short profile of Austrian psychiatrist Julius Wagner-Jauregg, the only
psychiatrist to ever win a Nobel Prize. In the years before World War I, he introduced
malaria into several syphilis patients. The resultant cycles of fever and treatment with
quinine effectively treated the patients syphilis. CONTACT: Dr. John Carbone, Virginia
Department of Corrections, 540-783-7154, ext. 237 |
| |
|
Neuroperfusion |
Retrograde Transvenous Neuroperfusion is a revolutionary new treatment
for stroke being studied at the UCLA Stroke Center. The procedure involves inserting a
catheter into the patient's groin to draw oxygenated arterial blood. A pump then forces
that blood into the brain through the veins, past the point of the clot causing the
stroke. Thus, the oxygen-starved parts of the brain are nourished, and sometimes the clot
itself is broken up. The procedure is still highly experimental, although results so far
have been very promising. RTN must be administered within seven hours of the stroke to be
effective. CONTACT: Roxanne Yamaguchi Moster, Office of Public Information, UCLA,
310-206-1958 or Xia Luo, MD, Neuroperusion Program Coordinator, 310-825-1820 |
| |
|
FUTUREX: Airbag Sensor |
Researchers at MIT are working on a technology that should lead to a smart
airbag, one that will sense what the passenger is doing, what sort of passenger it is, and
then make an intelligent decision about whether, or perhaps how, to fire. CONTACTS: Carey
Lundin, NEC Technologies, 773-935-8765 or Jane Goss, National Safety Council, 202-338-8700 |
| |
|
Westernized Acupuncture |
It turns out that Western physicians have actually been practicing a form
of acupuncture for a long time. An older therapy known as trigger point injections
involved injecting local anesthetics or steroids into muscles to make them relax, to treat
pain of primarily muscular origin. It was eventually discovered that what went through the
needle wasn't as important as the fact that the needle itself was going into the muscle.
So-called Westernized acupuncture combines trigger point injection with acupuncture,
injecting acupuncture needles into the trigger point locations on the body. It is used
mainly for chronic tension headache and back pain. CONTACT: Julie Rathbun, Public Affairs,
University of Washington Pain Clinical Research Center, 206-543-3620 |
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| SHOW #118 |
September 28, 1997 |
Diode Laser |
This story shows how diode laser surgery is the latest innovation in the
treatment of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a progressive eye disease that affects over
4,000 premature infants in the US every year. ROP results from the growth of abnormal
blood vessels in the retina, and in severe cases can cause blindness. Diode laser surgery
is used to destroy the part of the retina that has not received any blood supply, due to
the abnormal development that has taken place. It appears to be an improvement over
previous treatment methods. CONTACT: Kathy Ovnic, Emory University Medical Center, Health
Sciences News & Information, (404)727-9371 |
| |
|
Tobacco Pharming |
A California biotech company is now working with tobacco as a vehicle for
producing medically active compounds. With their process called "Geneware." the
tobacco plant serves as host to tobacco mosaic virus, which has been genetically
engineered to generate desired proteins. When the altered virus (which is completely
harmless to humans or animals) is applied to the plant, it multiplies and spreads within
the plant, producing large quantities of the desired protein. The tobacco plants are then
harvested, and the proteins are extracted. The company is currently experimenting with the
process for producing therapeutic agents against cancer, malaria, and other diseases.
CONTACT: Bruce A. Boyd, Executive VP & CFO, BioSource Technologies, Vacaville,CA,
(707)446-5501 |
| |
|
GENEWATCH: Heart Development |
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at
Dallas have identified several important genes that guide various stages of heart
development. They are hopeful that these discoveries will eventually lead to new therapies
to prevent or rectify the congenital heart anomalies that are present in one percent of
live births. CONTACT:Dr. Deeprak Srivastava (214)648-8695 |
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|
EVERYDAY BREAKTHROUGH: Sports Pain Patch |
There's now an alternative to pain pills for treating sports injuries:
it's a "pain patch," and it's been used in Europe for years. The medication
contained in the patch is absorbed through the skin, and does not enter the bloodstream,
which is a real advantage over ingested pain medicines, which often cause side effects.
CONTACT: Pain Clinical Research Center, University of Washington, (206)548-4476 |
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|
Sperm Injection |
ICSY, or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, was introduced in the US about
two years ago, and has become the most successful method of assisted reproduction in
couples experiencing severe male infertility problems. Used in conjunction with
traditional in vitro fertilization, very few sperm are needed for a potentially successful
outcome. Sperm are collected from the male through a microsurgical technique, and then are
injected into eggs retrieved from the female. CONTACT: Patrick Keefe, PR Writer,
University of Connecticut Health Center, (860)679-2447 |
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