More In Briefs...
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Dye me anticancer yellow
Acridine yellow G, a fluorescent dye used to stain microscope slides, can inhibit an aggressive form of brain cancer—glioblastoma with a deletion in the tumor-suppressor gene PTEN, Emory researchers have found.
Tumors with this deletion do not respond to currently available therapies.
Pathologist Keqiang Ye and his team found that the dye decreases tumor volume in both subcutaneous and intracranial models and extends the life span of brain tumor-inoculated mice. They also found that the dye has potent antitumor effect against human lung cancers.
Ye says that since the acridine family of compounds can damage DNA, more toxicology studies are needed before a new anticancer drug can be developed.—Quinn Eastman
Hybrid treatment spares the need for major GI surgery
An Emory team of surgeons and gastroenterologists recently treated patients with tumors of the upper gastrointestinal tract without major surgery, using a minimally invasive approach combining endoscopy and laparoscopy.
The team treated seven patients who with standard procedures would have needed removal of all or part of the esophagus, stomach, or intestine. The tumors were removed without any open incisions or removal of any major organs.
The hybrid technique was successful in five out of seven cases. The remaining two patients had more extensive GI stromal tumors, and conventional laparoscopic procedures were used to remove the tumors. Follow-up treatment was variable because not all the tumors had the same level of malignancy.
Emory Starts Neurohospitalist Program
Emory’s hospitalist program, first launched in 1998 and now the largest academic hospital medicine program in the country, has helped improve quality of inpatient care.
Emory recently launched a neurohospitalist program to focus exclusively on inpatients with neurologic conditions.
“Early data from programs across the country point to decreased length of hospital stays, lower cost of hospitalization, and better outcomes for patients as a result of neurohospitalist care,” says James Greene, director of hospital neurology at Emory.
Emory currently has two neurohospitalists at Emory University Hospital and two at Emory University Hospital Midtown and plans to expand the program to other Emory hospitals.—Kerry Ludlam
$5 Million Gift to Fund Pediatric Facility
The Marcus Foundation, chaired by Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, has donated $5 million to the Department of Pediatrics to create the Marcus Society in Pediatrics.
The society is comprised of 15 Marcus Professors in Pediatrics—six existing ones and nine who are newly funded—and an annual visiting scholar. The 15 Marcus professorships represent the greatest concentration of distinguished academic positions funded by a single donor in any one area at Emory.
Emory to help improve critical care in north Georgia
Emory received a $10.7 million award from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for its plan to build a telemedicine network supporting ICUs in North Georgia.
By combining training for nurse practitioners and physician assistants with telemedicine intensive care services, the collaborative will improve critical care for patients in rural and underserved areas.
Funding to Emory and 25 other awardees across the country was made possible by the Affordable Care Act and will support projects that expect to save money, improve quality of care, and enhance the health care workforce. The awardees expect to reduce health spending by $254 million over the next three years.
Emory Healthcare will partner with Saint Joseph’s Health System, Northeast Georgia Health System, Southern Regional Medical Center, and telemedicine provider Philips Healthcare to train nurse practitioners and physician assistants at Emory for six months and to integrate telemedicine ICU services into community hospitals to allow remote support by experienced critical care doctors and nurses. The program is expected to save more than $18 million over three years.
