VCU Health Sciences

VCU Medical Center recognized for achievements in stroke care

2009-11-17T20:50:56Z

The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center has received the American Stroke Association's Get with the Guidelines -Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes the VCU Medical Center's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. The award is meant to acknowledge the importance of time. VCU Medical Center has a system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. To receive the award, the VCU Medical Center consistently complied for a year with the requirements in the Get with the Guidelines- Stroke program. These include aggressive use of medications for stroke care, cholesterol reduction and smoking cessation. VCU Medical Center will continue with self-evaluations to ensure the 85 percent compliance level needed to sustain the award. According to the American Stroke Association, each year approximately 795,000 people suffer a stroke -- 610,000 are first attacks and 185,000 are recurrent. This condition accounts for one out of every 18 deaths in the United States. See VCU News Release.

STATEMENT FROM VCU BREAST IMAGING EXPERT REGARDING MAMMOGRAMS FOR WOMEN AGES 40 - 49

2009-11-17T18:44:58Z

Studies and an editorial published in today's Annals of Internal Medicine suggest that mammograms are not beneficial to women ages 40 - 49. These reports contradict volumes of science with regards to mammography's proven record of saving and extending lives. Gilda Cardeñosa, M.D., director of breast imaging at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and a world-class clinician, researcher and medical textbook author, has thoroughly reviewed the reports and provides important insight on this topic. She is also a key member of the Breast Health Center at VCU Massey Cancer Center. Dr. Cardeñosa's Statement: The current best standard of care for women ages 40 - 49 who are at average risk for breast cancer is to get annual screening mammograms. A new report runs counter to the scientific information that the worldwide breast imaging research community has acquired over the last several decades. The report relies on computer models for its data and includes many assumptions. The gold standard for medical research is through clinical trials on human subjects in which one group of participants are randomly assigned a treatment or procedure, and another group, the control group, is not. Data from seven randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that screening mammography in women ages 40 - 74 reduces breast cancer mortality. For the 50 years prior to the introduction of mammography in 1990, breast cancer mortality rates were flat. Since routine screening guidelines were adopted in the United States in 1990, we have seen mortality from breast cancer decrease by 30 percent. I join many other physicians, researchers and breast cancer awareness advocates in urging women to not be alarmed by this new report, and to continue to get annual mammograms. For additional information or to see a video of Dr. Cardenosa addressing this topic, visit http://www.vcubreastimaging.com. See VCU News Release.

Resuscitation and Survival Rates from Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Nearly Double with Comprehensive Treatment Protocol

2009-11-17T15:16:40Z

Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and the Richmond Ambulance Authority have improved resuscitation and survival rates dramatically for cardiac arrest patients by training and equipping paramedics to begin lowering a patient's body temperature in the field during resuscitation and following up at the hospital with a host of high-tech strategies to improve the odds of survival. The VCU and RAA initiative, known as the Advanced Resuscitation Cooling Therapeutics and Intensive Care Center, or ARCTIC, is the most comprehensive program of its kind in the United States, and its strategy resulted in an almost two-fold improvement in the return of spontaneous circulation, from 25 percent in 2001 using conventional treatments to 46 percent in 2008. In turn, the survival rate to hospital discharge improved from 9.7 percent in 2003 to 17.9 percent at the end of 2008. The national average is less than 7 percent. ARCTIC has two goals: to restart the heart as quickly as possible following onset of cardiac arrest, and to protect the brain by starting cooling as early as possible and bringing resuscitated patients to a single specialized post-resuscitation facility. Between 2001 and 2008, the team evaluated 1,598 cases of adult, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest events in Richmond, Va., and concluded that a building block strategy comprised of a unique combination of mechanical chest compressions, airway management, drugs that restart the heart, and cold saline given during resuscitation prior to the return of spontaneous circulation, sequentially improved patient outcomes. "What we now know is that we have to protect the brain and vital organs during resuscitation and after the heart is restarted and this has led to a totally new strategy for how we treat cardiac arrest patients," said Joseph P. Ornato, M.D., chair in the Department of Emergency Medicineat the VCU School of Medicine and operational medical director of the Richmond Ambulance Authority. "Richmond Ambulance Authority paramedics are the first in the country to initiate the cooling process during resuscitation. RAA's treatment strategy includes using a combination of drugs given early to support circulation and restart the heart, and performing high quality CPR using a mechanical device - available in all RAA ambulances - that squeezes the chest to achieve better blood pressure and oxygen delivery than that achieved with just standard CPR," he said. "The Richmond Ambulance - VCU Medical Center partnership is so successful because it provides a continuum of care for the cardiac arrest patient from the time the 911 call is received until the patient walks out of the hospital. We are constantly sharing and assessing detailed data to improve the clinical and operational process, and the dramatic increase in our survival rate reflects this," said Chip Decker, chief executive officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority. Decker continued, "The EMS system in the city of Richmond is a team approach between the Richmond Ambulance Authority and Richmond Fire Department, with Fire as first responder, and it works extremely well. Our rapid response times, combined with leading-edge clinical protocols like the cooling process implemented under Dr. Ornato's guidance, have enabled us to deliver a more viable patient to VCU." VCU Medical Center is continuously staffed with a team of specially trained physicians and nurses experienced in post-resuscitation care who continue the rapid cooling process by placing a high-tech plastic coil into a large vein soon after arrival at the emergency department. Patients are treated by specially trained coronary care unit nurses and physicians who administer complex "goal-directed" treatment protocols and maintain the patient's body temperature at 93° F for at least 24 hours, following which the patient is gradually rewarmed in a computer-controlled sequence. In previous work, researchers have found that patients who undergo controlled hypothermia using simple techniques such as cooling blankets and ice packs, have a better chance of brain recovery and survival following cardiac arrest than those whose body temperature is not lowered. However, such techniques are crude and often result in large temperature swings. The catheter technique used at VCU allows precise control of the cooling and rewarming process in an attempt to minimize brain injury following the cardiac arrest. The comprehensive ARCTIC approach is showing greater benefit than that which was seen using just conventional resuscitation and simple cooling techniques alone. "One of the novel things about VCU's ARCTIC program is that we have been able to seamlessly incorporate the care of the cardiac arrest patient from the time they arrest in their home to the time they return home with good neurologic survival," said Mary Ann Peberdy, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Emergency Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the VCU School of Medicine. "We have been able to develop a partnership with our EMS system as well as our referring hospitals and initiate therapies that are unparalleled in the country. The care that this multidisciplinary team provides gives patients better outcomes than we have seen with traditional cooling alone," she said. The team presented their findings on Nov. 14 and 15 during the Resuscitation Science Symposium at the American Heart Association Meeting in Orlando, Fla. In a second study of 181 consecutive, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients who were successfully resuscitated in the field and brought to VCU from various EMS agencies or other hospitals throughout Central Virginia between 2001 and 2009, the study showed survival to hospital discharge was 19% in 2001-3 when standard post-resuscitation care was provided. It increased to 38% in 2004-7 when simple cooling techniques were added, but further improved to 49% in 2008-9 using the full ARCTIC strategy. Additionally, patients whose cardiac arrest was caused by the abnormal rhythm, ventricular fibrillation (VF), now have a 72% chance of surviving to hospital discharge if treated in the ARCTIC program. The aggressive ARCTIC treatment also improved the neurological outcomes for VF patients over simple cooling alone. Additional Background Cardiac arrest is a condition in which the heart suddenly stops beating, most commonly due to a rhythm disturbance known as ventricular fibrillation (VF). Within 10-20 seconds, the brain and other vital organs are deprived of oxygen, and the victim collapses to the ground unconscious and pulseless. Delivering an electrical shock to the heart promptly with a defibrillator can often start it beating again, but a defibrillator is not often available immediately. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can provide life sustaining blood flow and oxygen delivery to vital organs until trained rescuers can arrive and administer standard resuscitation techniques such as defibrillation, drug therapy, and other treatments. Unfortunately, survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest averages only 6-7%, claiming the lives of approximately 350,000 Americans each year using standard techniques. In many communities, paramedics can initially resuscitate cardiac arrest victims, but the majority will never regain consciousness and die due to brain injury. It has long been thought that the brain can only survive without blood and oxygen for 4-6 minutes before irreversible damage occurs. That is now known to be incorrect. Brain cells begin to show signs of abnormal function soon after they are deprived of oxygen, but recent studies show that permanent damage begins after the heart restarts and oxygen returns to the brain. The cells try to consume the oxygen, but their injured machinery converts the oxygen into poisonous chemicals called "free radicals" which kill the cells. Cooling the brain as quickly as possible, ideally before the heart even restarts, slows its metabolism so it can't generate a large quantity of "free radicals". Maintaining precise temperature control for 24 hours and rewarming gradually using the catheter device is designed to prevent large swings in the body temperature which can result in a surge of metabolism and "free radical" production. See VCU News Release.

VCU Receives $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations Grant for Innovative Global Health Research

2009-11-09T20:02:19Z

Virginia Commonwealth University announced today that it has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support an innovative global health research project conducted by Luiz Shozo Ozaki, Ph.D., associate professor in VCU Life Sciences' Center for the Study of Biological Complexity. The project is called "Bacterial viruses as tool for blocking transmission of the malaria parasite." Ozaki's project is one of 76 grants announced late Tuesday by the Gates Foundation in the third funding round of Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to help scientists around the world explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve health in developing countries. The grants were provided to scientists in 16 countries on five continents. To receive funding, Ozaki showed in a two-page application how his idea falls outside current scientific paradigms and might lead to significant advances in global health. The initiative is highly competitive, receiving almost 3,000 proposals in this round. "The winners of these grants show the bold thinking we need to tackle some of the world's greatest health challenges," said Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Gates foundation's Global Health Program. "I'm excited about their ideas and look forward to seeing some of these exploratory projects turn into life-saving breakthroughs." Ozaki and Gail Christie, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, will genetically engineer bacterial viruses (phages) to express inhibitors of the malaria parasite in the mosquito gut upon phage infection of gut bacteria, and test the engineered phages as a biological tool for controlling the transmission of the disease. "The award is important in that it will enable us to contribute one more gun for the arsenal to combat malaria, which at this moment is tiny," Ozaki said. "This tool will be first tested with malaria and if efficient, it will be adapted to other diseases that are transmitted through an invertebrate vector such as Lyme disease transmitted by ticks, leishmaniasis transmitted by sand flies, filariosis transmitted by mosquitoes, babesiosis transmitted by ticks, just to name a few." Gregory Buck, Ph.D., director of VCU's Center for the Study of Biological Complexity, said it is clear that "novel strategies, like those encouraged by the Gates Foundation and proposed by Doctors Ozaki and Christie, are required to combat the disease. This award by the Gates Foundation to VCU adds further recognition to the university as a center of excellence in the study of important infectious diseases." About Grand Challenges Explorations Grand Challenges Explorations is a five-year, $100 million initiative of the Gates Foundation to promote innovation in global health. The program uses an agile, streamlined grant process - applications are limited to two pages, and preliminary data are not required. Proposals are reviewed and selected by a committee of foundation staff and external experts, and grant decisions are made within approximately three months of the close of the funding round. Applications for the current round of Grand Challenges Explorations are being accepted through November 2, 2009. Grant application instructions, including the list of topics for which proposals are currently being accepted, are available at http://www.grandchallenges.org/explorations. See VCU News Release.

Quincy Byrdsong, Eds, CIM, CIP, CCRP

2009-07-29T19:04:39Z

Virginia Commonwealth University Health Sciences has named Quincy Byrdsong as the new Executive Director of Research Administration for VCU Health Sciences and VCU Health System.

As the executive director, Byrdsong will lead the efforts on the MCV Campus to strengthen research administration and increase compliance with federal and industry research standards. He will also assist other University leadership in identifying best practices for research administration and customizing research administration educational programs for faculty and staff on the MCV Campus.

"We are extremely pleased that Mr. Byrdsong is joining VCU Health Sciences," said Alan D. Johns, assistant vice president for Health Sciences - Financial and Administrative Affairs. "His expertise in research administration and leadership in the profession will serve to be a tremendous asset to the MCV Campus as we continue to expand our research agenda."

Byrdsong, who was selected based on his extensive qualifications in research administration and clinical trials management, will work with Johns and others to develop the infrastructure needed to support Health Sciences' growing and increasingly complex research programs. Byrdsong will also work closely with VCU's School of Medicine as they continue implementing their research strategic plan.

Most recently, Byrdsong served as the administrative program director for clinical and translational research for the School of Medicine and chair of the Institutional Review Board at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn. He has served in several capacities in academic medical centers including director of the Meharry Institutional Review Board, department administrator for neurology and fiscal officer for the Meharry Center for Women's Health Research. Additionally, he served as a research services consultant for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Byrdsong earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees at Middle Tennessee State University, and he is currently working towards a doctorate of education at Tennessee State University.

See VCU News release.

High schoolers get head start on health professions

2009-07-14T12:55:16Z

Students at Cosby High School in Midlothian have a particularly interesting - and potentially rewarding - opportunity in the school's Health Science Specialty Center. Since Cosby's center was established in September 2007, its teachers and administrators have worked closely with VCU faculty to offer programs for students who want to prepare for and pursue careers in the health-care industry. The School of Pharmacy's representative is Thomas Reinders, associate dean for admissions and student services. Beginning in the spring of 2008, each of the MCV Campus schools have offered modules as part of a course coordinated by Seth Leibowitz, director of pre-health sciences advising for VCU University College, and Donna Jackson, director of outreach for the School of Medicine. The course includes in-class exercises, lectures and lab experiences for the high-school students. Reinders says the pharmacy module consists of didactic and experiential approaches to educating students about the role of pharmacists in healh care. During the spring 2009 module, Ron Ballentine, associate professor of pharmacy and assistant director of admissions and student services, and Tyler Stevens, assistant professor of pharmacy, served as lecturers. The session was followed by special laboratory exercises in the R. Blackwell Smith Jr. Building. Trish Horning, instructor of pharmacy; Donna Francioni-Proffitt, assistant professor of pharmacy; and about 15 SOP students assisted Stevens and Ballentine. When the center opened, Cosby Principal Brenda Mayo noted that the opportunities to visit local health-science facilities and to work with college students and health professionals in a "real-world environment" would be the program's most important components. Every Chesterfield County high school has a specialty center; the topics range from the arts to technology. Read the article from the School of Pharmacy.

VCU Libraries Workshop: RefWorks

2009-07-14T12:32:55Z

Tompkins-McCaw Library presents a RefWorks workshop on Friday, July 17, from noon to 12:45 p.m. in Sanger Hall, Room B1-020, for those interested in learning more about this online citation management database. Topics include importing citations from databases, organizing citations and correctly formatting citations for a manuscript. For more information and to register, visit http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/training/course_detail.asp?ID=6775.

Small Grants for Service-Learning

2009-07-14T12:32:08Z

VCU Health Sciences and Social Sciences faculty may apply for a one-time small grants program sponsored by the Health Disparities Service Learning Collaborative. Grants of up to $3,000 are available for faculty training, classroom materials, software, etc., that will support service-learning in the health sciences. Application deadline is July 24. Contact Lisa Anderson, lsanders@vcu.edu, for more information and an application.

NIH Submission to Grants.gov using the VCUeRA

2009-07-13T13:37:29Z

Thursday, July 16, 2009 9a Biotech 1, Suite 113 The Office of Research has been preparing for the electronic age of research administration by installing and configuring a system for the electronic submission of proposals to NIH utilizing Grants.Gov call the VCUeRA (VCU electronic Research Administration). This class will give you details about the electronic submission process including how to prepare your proposal for electronic submission, how to create your budget within the VCUeRA system, and the electronic approval process. This class is required for the electronic submission of the following mechanisms to NIH: R01, R13, R15, R18, R21, R25, R33, R34, R36, S10, U13, U18, X01, X02. Click here for more information.

VCU researchers study the molecular underpinnings of what makes the heart tick

2009-07-13T13:36:27Z

A team of Virginia Commonwealth University researchers is studying cells found in the heart to determine the underlying causes of abnormal heart rhythms - those acquired and those due to genetic factors. Gea-Ny Tseng, Ph.D., professor of physiology and biophysics in the VCU School of Medicine, hopes that her work may help researchers develop drugs that can target specific molecular regions in heart cells to treat patients with acquired or congenital arrhythmias. Tseng and a VCU research team, together with investigators from Columbia University in New York, Shiga University of Medical Science in Japan and Tonji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, have been working to better understand how ion channels in heart cells function and regulate the heart. In the human heart, the slow delayed rectifier channel, or IKs, is one of the major ion channels responsible for regulating the organ's action potential configuration and duration. According to Tseng, heart cells constantly go through excitation-resting cycles. In the resting phase of the cycle, the heart is in a relaxed state and the chambers are being filled with blood. In the excitation phase of the cycle, the heart is in a contractile state to pump the blood into vessels. "Action potentials are responsible for initiating the excitation/contractile state. The shape or configuration, and the duration of action potentials need to be tightly regulated by hormones, neurotransmitters and many other factors, so that the heart can exert appropriate force to pump the blood in a synchronized fashion," explained Tseng. In a study published in the June 12 issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry, the team reported that cells in the heart may dynamically regulate the current amplitude of the IKs channel in response to their changing environment so that they can produce appropriate electrical and mechanical outputs to support the rhythmic activity and pump function of the heart. This is achieved by IKs regulating the action potential configuration and duration. Tseng said that the team continues to build on this research. They are investigating how conditions of the heart such as aging, chronic hypertension and myocardial infarction can impact the ion channels. They are also studying the molecular mechanisms of these ion channels, and specifically where these proteins bind to each other. The team plans to build 3-D molecular structures of the ion channels, which will be helpful in the drug discovery process and help determine potential target compounds that can interrupt interactions of these channels and potentially prevent arrhythmias. This work was supported by grants from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Read the press release.

VCU Allied Health Occupational Therapy Students travel to Ghana for course in disability culture

2009-07-13T13:33:38Z

A group of Virginia Commonwealth University occupational therapy graduate students recently returned from two weeks in Ghana, West Africa, as part of a study aboard course called "Disability Culture in West Africa." The course focused on understanding Ghanaian disability laws, the experiences of those living with disabilities and the influence of Ghanaian culture and the environment on the development of children with and without disabilities. The team of five was led by Stacey Reynolds, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy. "For the students, the trip provides an opportunity to grow as professionals and stretch themselves beyond their Western comfort zone," Reynolds says. "One two-week trip is not going to have a lasting impact in the country, but our goal at VCU is to develop and cultivate ongoing relationships that may help provide better services for people with disabilities in the future." By partnering with Sovereign Global Missions, a non-governmental organization, the students had service and educational experiences in the country and even before take-off. Prior to departure, students collected book donations and were able to ship more than 500 pounds of books to the SGM community library. Phi Theta Epsilon, the OT student honor society, raised funds for shipping the books. Once in Ghana, students and faculty helped professional painters paint the interior and exterior of the community school building, which is scheduled to open to children in the Adoteiman community this fall. This service project was a continuation of the efforts initiated by the VCU School of Social Work, which has worked to clear the land and build both the SGM Adoteiman School and library. The team members also used their occupational therapy skills to provide consultation and evaluation to village and street children with disabilities and their families. They provided training to staff at a school for children with developmental disabilities, conducted an in-service for teachers and aides on safe transfer techniques and adapted school, self-care and play materials for children with disabilities. Students also interviewed community leaders on the perception of disabilities in Ghanaian culture and the role a new disability law will play in changing the conditions for people with disabilities in Ghana. In addition, the team visited an orphanage for children with special needs, including HIV/AIDS, and a government sponsored rehabilitation center in the city of Accra. Read the article and learn more about the study abroad experiences.

School of Medicine receives grant to support scholarships for disadvantaged students

2009-07-13T13:32:48Z

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine has received a Department of Health and Human Services grant totaling more than $250,000 to help students who might otherwise be unable to attend medical school take a step closer to achieving their goals. The scholarships, totaling $10,000 each, will be awarded to 25 medical students whose entire family income is equal to or less than twice the national poverty level for the number of family members. Students can be at any level of their medical school careers to be eligible. According to Glenda Palmer, Ph.D., assistant dean for student affairs and financial aid in the School of Medicine, most medical students nationwide borrow at least some of the money to complete their education and end up $150,000 or more in debt by graduation. In 2008, 91 percent of medical students at the VCU School of Medicine had to borrow some of the money for education, she said. "For all students this is a tremendous financial burden, but for students from families that are already strapped, borrowing is an absolute necessity and a particularly difficult burden," said Palmer. "Families with greater financial assets often help their students to some extent so they can borrow less. Receiving this grant for financially disadvantaged students will enable them to borrow less this year," she said. Read press release.

Researcher on hunt for Parkinson's cure

2009-07-13T13:31:26Z

By Tammie Smith Published: July 1, 2009 Virginia Commonwealth University's new Parkinson's initiative will be led by a veteran researcher who believes no single thing triggers the disease that causes debilitating, gradually worsening tremors. While much of Dr. James P. Bennett Jr.'s research focuses on the role of the energy-producing components of cells called mitochondria, those working with him are pursuing a range of theories and possible treatments -- even a type of low-level light therapy studied so far in cells in laboratory dishes. "Biologically, there is not going to be one thing wrong," Bennett said. "It's going to be very complicated and multifactoral that could be quite different across individuals. There is no reason to assume there will be a single cause" of Parkinson's, a condition associated with aging. Bennett, 60, starts today as chairman of the neurology department at VCU and as director of VCU's new $10 million Parkinson's disease research and treatment initiative. The ambitious effort aims to raise VCU's profile in research and patient care for such neurological conditions as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's diseases. Bennett has spent the past 29 years at the University of Virginia, where he brought in millions of dollars in research grants. Lest anyone think VCU "stole" him from U.Va., Bennett sent the first e-mail, contacting the medical school dean after reading about the initiative on the VCU Web site and saying to himself, "Hey, I can do that." "I responded to that e-mail within five minutes of getting it," said Dr. Jerome Strauss III, dean of the VCU School of Medicine. "I knew he was one of the leading figures in the field. I was just thrilled he was interested in exploring the opportunity," Strauss said. . . . Bennett cites multiple reasons for coming to VCU. He said he liked Strauss' vision of VCU becoming a "translational powerhouse" where researchers work toward discoveries that can be moved to the market sooner as therapies for patients. He also liked the university's overall "very positive, forward-thinking vision for the future," he said. The thing that helped seal the deal, however, was the interactions with a group of Richmond-area men who humorously call themselves the Movers and Shakers. "They are a highly passionate, devoted, astute group of individuals who have been working together for years to make something happen without a director, without a designated space," Bennett said. "It was all an idea. They kept to that idea. I met with them a couple of times. Each time, I was more impressed with their commitment." The Movers and Shakers, including group member Charles F. Bryan Jr., were featured in a 2006 story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "My attitude is, Parkinson's is the enemy. I am fighting it tooth and nail," said Bryan, diagnosed five years ago. "I try to reach out to those who have it and help them in every possible way. I like to say when I am gone, Parkinson's is going to be so glad I am gone." News stories about the Movers and Shakers caught the eye of Strauss at VCU, who met with them to talk about a possible research initiative. In the 2006 story, Bryan had described how as a veteran he was able to get comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for his Parkinson's at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, but there was nothing similar in the community for nonveterans. "Since [Strauss] announced he would create such a center, my colleagues and I have been very active in raising money," Bryan said. "It's a $10 million effort." Strauss committed $5 million from the VCU School of Medicine, and the Movers and Shakers are matching that through fundraising. "We are about $8.4 million toward the full $10 million. . . . It's not the best time to be raising money. I think despite that, we have done well. We have picked up two $1 million gifts and a goodly number of six-figure gifts," Bryan said. The funds raised so far include $1 million for an endowed chair in neurodegenerative diseases made possible through a gift from FitzGerald and Margaret Bemiss. Bennett will occupy that chair. Interest on the endowment will support his salary. . . . At U.Va., Bennett is director of the Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence for Parkinson's Disease Research. The center is one of 14 such facilities named for the congressman who died from the disease in 1998 and funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health. An exclusive list of universities have such centers, including Harvard, UCLA, Northwestern and Johns Hopkins, where Bennett earned his medical degree, a Ph.D. in pharmacology, and also did postdoctoral study in neuropharmacology. Funding for the centers comes in five-year allotments, averaging about $1 million a year for each institution. Bennett said he will submit an application this fall for continued Udall Center funding for 2010 and beyond. Initially, Bennett said he will travel between VCU and U.Va., where his lab will remain until spring when the current Udall grant ends, and then the program relocates to VCU with him. At VCU, Bennett will do research, teach and see patients. VCU's research initiative will work closely with the Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center at the McGuire VA Medical Center, where some VCU researchers also have appointments and are looking for clues to what causes the disease. An estimated 500,000 people in the U.S. have Parkinson's disease. With the aging of baby boomers, the number diagnosed is expected to increase. Medications can control symptoms, but there is no cure, and over time drugs may stop working. Read Richmond Times-Dispatch article.

That Noise Wasn't Just Tinnitus

2009-07-13T13:29:45Z

What It Turned Out to Be Might Have Killed Him Roger Luchs recalls feeling intense gratitude when he finally got an accurate explanation for the pulsating sound in his ear. By Sandra G. Boodman Special to The Washington Post Tuesday, July 7, 2009 The noise, an incessant loud whooshing in his left ear, was driving Roger Luchs crazy -- literally. For six months the real estate lawyer who lives in Bethesda had struggled to cope with a problem relieved only by sleep. The emergency room physician who examined him shortly after the problem surfaced in August 2000 had assured him that the noise, inaudible to everyone but Luchs, would probably clear up on its own. Three otolaryngologists had told Luchs he had tinnitus, a harmless but annoying condition typically characterized by a ringing sound, less often by the pulsating noise Luchs heard. That was not reassuring. To Luchs, then 49, the prospect of living with his own private version of "The Telltale Heart," the classic Edgar Allan Poe story about a man who cannot escape the relentless sound of a phantom beating organ, had caused him intense anxiety and depression, driving him to see a psychiatrist. All his doctors gave him the same advice: There's no cure for tinnitus, nothing else is wrong, find a way to live with it. Which is why Luchs was shocked when a Richmond ear, nose and throat specialist, after listening with a stethoscope, informed Luchs that he, too, could hear the noise, which had a much more ominous cause than simple tinnitus. "It was very impressive," recalled Aristedes Sismanis, formerly chair of the department of otolaryngology at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Medicine. A constant barrage of noise, Sismanis adds, can be very distressing; some tinnitus sufferers have committed suicide because they could not bear the constant din. Luchs vividly remembers feeling a rush of gratitude so intense it initially trumped his fear about its underlying cause. "I can't believe no other doctors thought to put a stethoscope on the source of the problem," he said. "But they didn't." ad_icon His problem began one morning while he was taking a large dose of tetracycline to treat the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers. Luchs awoke shortly before 6 a.m. and began vomiting violently, a probable reaction to the antibiotic. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his neck and a loud noise inside his left ear that sounded like a pulse. A few hours later, the pain began to subside; the noise did not. Alarmed, Luchs went to a Maryland emergency room. A physician took his blood pressure, ran a CT scan and told Luchs she could find nothing wrong. She assured him that although she wasn't sure what was causing the noise, the sound would probably go away in a few hours. It didn't. A day or so later Luchs consulted an otolaryngologist. He couldn't find anything wrong, either, and told Luchs the vomiting and pulsing noise were unrelated. A second ENT thought the problem might be a blocked eustachian tube, which the doctor cleaned out. When that failed to diminish the noise, the physician prescribed a corticosteroid, which helped briefly. But soon the noise returned as loud as ever. Next stop was a third ENT. He suggested Luchs try a low-salt diet; that sometimes diminishes tinnitus, which can be caused by exposure to loud noise, aging or medication. The diet had no effect, nor did the over-the-counter remedies the doctor prescribed. Because imaging studies, including CT scans and MRIs, had ruled out a stroke, bleeding in the brain, atherosclerosis or malformed blood vessels, the otolaryngologist, who Luchs said had started avoiding his calls, told him he would need to learn to live with the condition that might be pulsatile tinnitus. Dissatisfied, Luchs said that at his request the third ENT referred him to Sismanis, a prominent tinnitus expert whose name Luchs had found in a medical book. Although he had bought a "white noise" machine that enabled him to sleep, Luchs said, he was constantly aware of the whooshing sound while awake. "I could maybe forget it for five minutes if I got involved in work," he said. "It's a horrible thing to have to listen to." He was acutely aware that other people thought he was imagining or exaggerating the noise audible only to him. Sismanis asked the third ENT to order an MRI angiogram, called an MRA, to check Luchs's head for blocked blood vessels or other problems. Records show that the radiologist reported that the exam, performed two weeks before Luchs saw Sismanis, was normal -- a finding that would soon be called into question. On Feb. 1, 2001, Luchs drove to Richmond to see Sismanis. The first thing the doctor did was take him into a quiet exam room and place a specially amplified stethoscope against Luchs's head, just below the left ear. The sound, recalled Sismanis, who has retired from VCU and now practices in his native Athens, Greece, was unmistakable: Luchs had been listening to his own heartbeat. After telling Luchs he could hear the noise, Sismanis told him "most likely it was a vascular problem in his head. It's an alarming thing for a doctor to find. But the moment you can tell a patient you can hear it, that relieves their anxiety." Sismanis suspected that the cause of the noise was a dissecting left carotid artery. The large vessel that brings blood to the brain had somehow torn, causing the area to fill with blood and resulting in a dangerous narrowing of the artery, which placed Luchs at high risk for stroke. A 2008 article in eMedicine, an online medical textbook, reports that dissection can occur as a result of trauma from a high-speed motor vehicle accident, sports injuries or even after yoga or overhead painting. Such dissections are among the most common causes of stroke in people younger than 50; a quarter of patients with a dissecting artery report pulsatile tinnitus. One of the best ways to detect a dissection is through an MRA. Although the first MRA was found to be normal, an angiogram performed a few weeks later at VCU clearly showed the problem. What caused it? Sismanis said he believes Luchs suddenly hyperextended his neck while vomiting, tearing the artery. The neck pain he reported to the ER physician is characteristic of such an injury, as is pulsatile tinnitus. Once the diagnosis was confirmed, Luchs faced the daunting task of sorting out conflicting recommendations from specialists. Some thought the best treatment involved placing one or more stents to open the nearly closed artery, while others worried such a procedure might trigger a stroke. Two months after meeting Sismanis, Luchs underwent a cerebral angioplasty at Inova Fairfax Hospital. A neuroradiologist inserted two stents in his carotid artery, which fixed the problem. The noise disappeared. A month after his operation, Luchs wrote to the Washington ENT who had told him he had done all he could and urged the lawyer to learn to live with the constant whooshing. "Unfortunately you never treated my case as a vascular problem," he wrote, "and did not do the simplest test that would have revealed that, i.e., placing the stethoscope behind my ear to determine if you could hear an unusual pulsation." A few weeks later he received a form letter from the doctor. "I appreciate you bringing this information to my attention and also appreciate your viewpoint on the subject," the letter said. "I hope that all goes well with you on your disorder." Read Washington Post article.

VCU Medical Center officials discuss hospital quality data

2009-07-13T13:27:55Z

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, recently released a report that compares hospitals across the country on heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia mortality rates. In this particular survey, the VCU Medical Center had a 3 percent higher mortality rate for heart attacks than the national average. Drs. George Vetrovec, Chair, Cardiology, and Ron Clark, Chief Medical Officer, explain that the difference lies in the Medical Center's mission to treat the most acutely ill patients with complex cases. Read press release and view videos.