Physicians from across the world came to Birmingham to observe urologic procedures at St. Vincent’s Birmingham. The event, hosted by American Medical Systems, provided training for physicians from Australia, Canada and China.
Brian Christine, MD, a urologist at St. Vincent’s Birmingham, performed the procedures which included the implantation of medical devices to treat male urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Throughout the surgeries, Christine shared insight with the physicians from his experience in the field.
“St. Vincent’s Birmingham is honored to host physicians from around the world,” said Andy Davis, president and COO of St. Vincent’s Birmingham.
CRMC Opens Wound Care Center
Cullman Regional Medical Center has opened a specialized Wound Care Center® through a partnership with Healogics, the largest provider of wound care and related disease management in the country with a network that manages over 500 Wound Care Centers® in more than 10 percent of the hospitals in the nation.
This service will offer a comprehensive wound care program to manage chronic or non-healing wounds caused by diabetes, circulatory problems and other conditions. The center houses two new hyperbaric oxygen chambers and three treatment rooms and is located on the back side of Professional Office Building One with a separate entrance.
The CRMC Center for Wound Healing is an outpatient program that works in conjunction with the patient’s primary care physician. The program operates by appointment and requires a referral from the primary care physician.
Lorie Strane, BS, CMA is the Center’s Program Director and Brad Moody, MD is the Medical Director.
Cyclists Ride in Support of Prostate Cancer Awareness
The Urology Health Foundation held its 5th annual Tour de Blue: Cycling for Prostate Cancer Awareness event on April 28. Cyclists from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Ohio participated in the event, which took them through portions of Jefferson, Shelby, and St. Clair counties. This year’s Tour de Blue honored the memory of Dennis Goodwin and his courageous fight against prostate cancer.
Proceeds will benefit the Urology Health Foundation, a Birmingham-based non-profit organization which provides free prostate cancer screenings across Alabama, especially in underserved areas at highest risk. Its President, Thomas E. Moody, MD was recognized in 2011 as a WebMD Health Hero for his prostate cancer work in Alabama. For more information, visit UrologyHealthFoundation.org.
Jackson Thornton Technologies Receives IBM Leadership Award
Jackson Thornton Technologies (JTT) was recently awarded the IBM Mid-Market Leadership Award. The award recognizes IBM Business Partners who demonstrate the most impressive year-to-year growth in the small to medium-size business market, and who offer innovative business solutions to their clients.
“The IBM Award recognize outstanding performance by IBM Business Partners in driving client satisfaction using our combined technology capabilities,” said Wilfredo Sotolongo, Vice President, IBM Business Partners & Midmarket Sales, North America.
JTT experienced tremendous growth in 2011 and obtained IBM’s highest partnership level identification, IBM Premier Business Partner. “We are honored to be recognized by IBM with this award. We take great pride in our client relationships and this honor confirms JTT’s commitment to excellence,” said Danny Jeter, Senior Manager and leader of Jackson Thornton Technologies.
Marshall Medical Centers Joins UAB Cancer Network
Marshall Medical Centers in Guntersville and Boaz, Alabama has joined the UAB Cancer Care Network as its newest and sixth affiliate.
The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and UAB Medicine developed the UAB Cancer Care Network in June 2011 to offer community health-care providers access to exceptional cancer research and enable patients to receive care close to home.
“We look forward to working with the Marshall Medical Center Cancer Care Center to leverage each other’s strengths and offer access to leading-edge care and research to Marshall County,” says Edward Partridge, MD, director of the UAB Cancer Center.
UAB is home to Alabama’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and the only one in a six-state region. Its Cancer Center treats an estimated 5,000 new patients annually.
The UAB Cancer Center works closely with each network affiliate to provide local access to best practices in cancer care, innovative clinical trials and support services, physician and nursing education and research expertise and resources.
“We are excited about our affiliation with UAB and what it means for our ability to bring quality cancer care close to home for the residents of Marshall County,” says Gary Gore, CEO of Marshall Medical Centers.
The other five UAB Cancer Care Network affiliates are the Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center in Anniston, Russell Medical Center in Alexander City, Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, Georgia, and Gulf Coast Medical Center in Panama City.
DCH Names Abbott Special Event Manager
Natalie Thompson Abbott has been named special events manager for The DCH Foundation. She will replace Casey Johnson, who has been promoted to director of development. As special events manager, Abbott will manage the signature events of the DCH Health System, including BBQ and Blue Jeans and The DCH Foundation Golf Tournament. She will focus on increasing supporters through events, as well as enhancing the message of The Foundation, which supports the DCH Health System’s community efforts in West Alabama.
Before joining The Foundation, Abbott coordinated events throughout the Tuscaloosa community, including the Lincoln-Reagan Dinner and the West Alabama Leadership Prayer Breakfast. Abbott is a Tuscaloosa native and a graduate of The University of Alabama.
CVA Promotes Mundy
Cardiovascular Associates of the Southeast (CVA) has promoted Amanda Mundy to Director of Business Development. Before the promotion, Mundy served as the CVA Physician Relationship Manager.
After earning a B.S. degree from Birmingham-Southern in 2000, Mundy worked at MEDA Pharmaceuticals before joining Brookwood Medical Center as a Territory Business Manager.
UAB Named One of 11 Centers of Excellence in Pain Education
UAB has been named one of 11 Centers of Excellence in Pain Education by the National Institutes of Health Pain Consortium. The centers will be hubs for the development and distribution of pain-management-curriculum resources for medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy schools to better educate healthcare professionals about pain and its treatment.
The UAB program will develop pain-management curricula for UAB’s schools of Medicine and Nursing, along with the departments of Occupational and Physical Therapy; Samford University’s schools of Pharmacy and Nursing; and the Auburn University School of Pharmacy.
Particular focus will be on pain-management for vulnerable populations, including persons with multiple illnesses, dementia, HIV and cancer. Elizabeth Kvale, MD, the medical director of the Supportive Care and Survivorship program at UAB, and Cynthia Brown, MD, MSPH, Director of the Geriatric Medicine Section in the Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care, are co-principal investigators of the UAB center.
Chronic pain affects approximately 100 million Americans, yet pain treatment is not taught extensively in many health professions schools, and clinical approaches can be inconsistent. The curricula developed by the centers will advance the diagnosis and safe treatment of a variety of pain conditions, while minimizing the abuse of opioid pain relievers.
Types of pain of particular interest to the NIH Pain Consortium are rehabilitation pain, arthritis and musculoskeletal pain, neuropathic pain and headache pain. In addition, the curricula will teach about the pathophysiology and pharmacology of pain and its treatment, the latest research in complementary and integrative pain management, factors that contribute to both under- and over-prescribing of pain medications and the ways pain manifests itself differently by gender and in children, older adults and diverse populations.
Andrews Honored With Distinguished Award For Service
James R. Andrews, MD, founder of Andrews Sports Medicine, received the Greater Birmingham Auburn Club’s Award for Distinguished Service.
“Dr. Andrews is a leader in our practice, as well as throughout the sports world,” said Jeff Dugas, MD. “He has been an amazing mentor and partner over the years Nationally and internationally, Dr. Andrews is well-respected for his talent and we are proud of his many accomplishments, including the honor of receiving this award.”
Alacare’s Becky Williams named Top Hospice Nurse in Alabama
Becky Williams, RN of Alacare Home Health and Hospice has been named Alabama’s Hospice Nurse of the Year by Caring magazine.
“It is an honor to represent not only Alacare but all Hospice nurses throughout our state,” said Williams, who has been with Alacare for over five years.
“We are so proud of Becky and all of our nurses, homecare aides, therapists, social workers and chaplains for all that they provide to every one of our patients,” said Susan Brouillette, CEO of Alacare.
Wilk Named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow.
Kevin Wilk, PT, DPT, of Champion Sports Medicine, has been named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).
Wilk, who received his PT degree from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago and his DPT degree from Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of HealthCare Professions in Boston, is currently the National Director of Education for Physiotherapy Associates and the Director of Rehabilitative Research at the American Sports Medicine Institute. In addition, his professional career has included: Associate Clinical Director for Champion Sports Medicine (a Physiotherapy Facility) in Birmingham; Rehabilitation Consultant for the Tampa Bay Rays’ Baseball Team; president of the sports section of the APATA; Education Program Chairman and Editor of the Home Study Course for the Sports Physical Therapy Section of the APTA; publisher of over 125 journal articles and over 75 book chapters; he has lectured at over 400 professional and scientific meetings and is on the review boards of 7 journals. Kevin was also the first non-physician named to a committee for the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM).
RESEARCH NOTES
UAB Study Finds Sigmoidoscopy Reduces Colorectal Cancer Rate
Research conducted at UAB reveals that flexible sigmoidoscopy — a screening test for colorectal cancer that is less invasive with fewer side-effects than colonoscopy — reduces deaths due to colorectal cancer.
Overall, colorectal cancer deaths were reduced 26 percent and new cases were reduced 21 percent as a result of screening with sigmoidoscopy, according to findings of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO) that appeared online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
As part of the PLCO trial, a total 154,900 men and women ages 55-74 were randomly assigned to receive flexible sigmoidoscopy screening (intervention group) or usual care (control group) between 1993 and 2001. Control group participants were screened only if they asked for it or if their physician recommended it. Members of the intervention group were screened upon entering the study to collect a baseline measure and again three to five years later. All participants were followed for 12 years.
UAB enrolled more than 6,000 participants. Compliance was one of the highest among all 10 sites — 96 percent at baseline and 75 percent at five years.
Sigmoidoscopy involves examination of the lower colon using a thin, flexible tube-like instrument, called a sigmoidoscope, to view the anus, rectum and sigmoid colon. It requires less bowel preparation, does not require sedation and poses a lower risk of bowel perforation than colonoscopy, in which a similarly flexible, but longer tube is used to view the entire colon.
“The most effective screening test for colorectal cancer is the one people are willing to take,” says Mona Fouad, MD, principal investigator of the UAB PLCO site
In the PLCO trial, researchers compared the overall colorectal cancer mortality and incidence in the two groups and also analyzed incidence and mortality according to the location of the cancers that developed. After an average 12 years, participants in the screening group had a 21 percent lower incidence of colorectal cancer and a 26 percent lower mortality rate than participants in the usual-care group.
Study identifies key regulator of brain-tumor growth
New research from UAB identifies a key regulator of brain-tumor growth that holds potential for targeted therapy and can be a predictor in patient outcomes.
In a study, published online in Clinical Cancer Research on May 22, Christopher Willey, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the UAB Department of Radiation Oncology, examined a protein called Myristoylated Alanine Rich C-Kinase Substrate, or MARCKS, in the context of glioblastoma multiforme, the most common cancer originating in the brain.
Based on studies in glioblastoma cell cultures and in human glioblastoma tumors implanted in mice, the research team found that when MARCKS levels are low, glioblastoma behave very aggressively, but when MARCKS levels are high, glioblastoma are much less aggressive, suggesting that MARCKS may behave like a tumor suppressor.
“When we reduced MARCKS levels in the cancer cells, the tumor cells grew more rapidly and became resistant to the standard treatment of GBM — radiation therapy,” Willey says. “Conversely, when we overexpressed MARCKS in aggressive GBM cells with low basal levels of MARCKS, we were able substantially to slow their growth and make them enter a dormant state.”
These findings were not limited to cell culture and animal models. The research team also investigated The Cancer Genome Atlas, and they discovered that patients with higher levels of MARCKS expression lived longer than patients with lower levels.
“We found that high MARCKS expression was protective to younger patients even when they had other poor prognostic markers. We also found that some patients had vastly improved survival when MARCKS expression was high — going from a median survival of less than 11 months up to an astounding 65-month median survival,” Willey says.
The results from this study suggest that MARCKS may be a biomarker for prognosis and could serve as a potential target for therapy in glioblastoma multiforme. “
New coating for pancreatic islets may offer new hope for diabetics
A novel type of multi-functional, cyto-protective material developed by UAB researchers allows pancreatic islets in mice and humans to maintain viability and b-cell functionality for at least 96 hours in vitro. The ultrathin polymeric coating, based on hydrogen-bonded polyphenol, also demonstrates the ability to modulate pro-inflammatory cytokine synthesis, according to a study published in the online edition of Advanced Functional Materials.
Islets are clusters of cells in the pancreas that release insulin that enables the human body to maintain normal blood-sugar levels. There are an estimated one million islets in an adult pancreas, but they make up only one to two percent of the entire organ. These are the cells that are attacked in Type One diabetes.
“This eventually could lead to a new way to treat diabetes that would require only one initial surgery to transplant healthy pancreatic islets into the patient and replace the need for lifelong daily insulin injections,” says Eugenia Kharlampieva, PhD, lead author of the study. “The coating is nano-thin so it does not increase the volume of the islets. It is permeable so the islets receive nutrients and secrete insulin, and the coating is friendly so it doesn’t kill the cells.”
Other researchers’ previous attempts to extend the lives placed the islets in thick hydrogels. The UAB team, however, developed a layer-by-layer method by which individual polymer coatings are placed on top of each other much like stacking pancakes. Each layer is two to four nanometers thick with the optimal goal being a coating that is 20-40 nanometers thick. This approach allows the researchers to control the thickness and the behavior of the polymers.
“The advantage of our technology is that our polymers are not charged so they do not have the electrostatic drive to penetrate the membrane, which would eventually kill the cell,” Kharlampieva says.
If you need more, at the end add, after Kharlampieva says:
“These neutral polymers are neutral and bio-compatible and can interact with the membrane by hydrogen-bonding interaction, which allows layers to be stacked and retain permeability.”
