WHSC News Releases for June 1998

Jun 30 '98	QUINTILES AND EMORY UNIVERSITY TO COLLABORATE ON CLINICAL RESEARCH "Quintiles Transnational Corp. announced today the signing of an agreement with Emory University to collaborate on clinical research opportunities. The non-exclusive agreement also calls for Emory to participate in Quintiles' Select SitesTM program." Full Story
Jun 30 '98 *Previously Embargoed*	TB DIAGNOSIS ALSO MEANS FIRST HIV DIAGNOSIS FOR MANY PATIENTS A large percentage of tuberculosis patients who were HIV positive before developing TB only find out about their HIV status when they are diagnosed with active TB, and another substantial number of HIV-positive patients contract tuberculosis partly because they fail to obtain available prophylactic care after their HIV diagnosis. Full Story
Jun 29 '98 *Previously Embargoed*	UNSAFE SEX PRACTICES AND MISINFORMATION PLACE STUDENTS AT HIV RISK IN REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA Unsafe sexual practices combined with misconceptions about HIV/AIDS and homophobic attitudes are contributing to a dangerous situation for adolescents in The Republic of Georgia, which, like many of the former Soviet Union's republics, already is considered a country at high risk for a rise in HIV infection. Full Story
Jun 29 '98	NEW MULTIFOCAL LENS IMPLANT AVAILABLE AT EMORY BENEFITS CATARACT PATIENTS Patients who have cataract surgery at the Emory Eye Center now have a new option for improving their view of the world. More than 1.4 million individuals each year have cataract surgery. In most cases, the eye's cloudy lens -- the cataract -- is surgically removed and the focusing power of the eye is restored with an artificial lens. Full Story
Jun 27 '98	EMORY'S NANETTE WENGER NAMED PHYSICIAN OF THE YEAR BY THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION The Board of Directors of the American Heart Association (AHA) has named Emory University cardiologist and advocate for women's health, Nanette Kass Wenger, M.D., AHA Physician of the Year. Dr. Wenger received the award June 26 during the AHA's 50th annual Delegate Assembly. Full Story
Jun 22 '98	BONE GROWTH GENE IDENTIFIED BY EMORY SURGEON IS BASIS FOR BUSINESS AGREEMENT WITH SOFAMOR DANEK The 1997 discovery of a gene that induces bone growth makes possible today's announcement that Sofamor Danek Group Inc. has entered into an agreement with Emory University to develop and market advanced biomedical products with the potential to treat bone disorders. Full Story
Jun 18 '98 *Previously Embargoed*	NATIONAL INTERVENTION STUDY SHOWS BEHAVIORAL CHANGES ARE POSSIBLE IN THOSE AT HIGHEST RISK FOR HIV Sexual behaviors that place individuals at high risk for contracting HIV and AIDS can be voluntarily and significantly modified, even in underserved, lower socioeconomic groups, through the use of an intervention that includes group education, role playing, communications skills, motivation and goal setting, according to results from a nationwide study published in the June 19 Science. Full Story
Jun 18 '98	ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT ORGANISMS HAVE GEOGRAPHIC LINKS Emory University and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) epidemiologists have cited new data indicating that the spread of at least some antibiotic-resistant organisms may be linked to geographic areas as well as to individual health care systems. Full Story
Jun 18 '98	FDA ADVISORY PANEL RECOMMENDS APPROVAL FOR LASIK AT EMORY The FDA's Ophthalmic Devices Advisory Panel recommended June 5 the Emory Vision Correction Center in Atlanta for FDA approval for the LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis) procedure using a surgical system developed by Emory researchers. This is the first time the federal agency, which typically approves devices or drugs for manufacturers, has granted approval directly to a physician team for a surgical system. Full Story
Jun 18 '98	FEAR OF FLYING? Fear of flying is a serious problem which often adversely affects sufferers' personal and occupational lives, according to Barbara O. Rothbaum, Ph.D., principal investigator. Fear of flying is also widespread; an estimated 10-25 percent of the population suffers from this fear. The Emory study will examine the effectiveness of a new treatment, Virtual Reality Exposure (VRE) therapy, compared to standard exposure treatment. Full Story
Jun 18 '98	THE DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP: Enhanced through the Kaleidoscope of a Multicultural Perspective T-R-U-S-T... That, according to Emory's Donald W. Brady, M.D., is the foundation upon which the doctor-patient relationship is built -- and may just be the magic bullet spurring patients to do the "impossible": quit smoking, give up the French fries, take medication as directed, start walking. Full Story
Jun 18 '98	THE EMORY CLINIC BUCKHEAD CELEBRATES NEW FACILITY OPEN HOUSE The Emory Clinic Buckhead celebrates its expanded facility grand opening today at 1938 Peachtree Rd., NW, Suite 705, in Buckhead. This site is conveniently located between Buckhead and Midtown and serves as a valuable component of The Emory Clinic outside the main clinic facility on the Emory University campus in DeKalb County. The clinic is also welcoming the addition of two new internal medicine physicians, Kelleen Fitzgerald, M.D. and Nan Monahan, M.D. Full Story
Jun 1 '98	EMORY TESTS PROMISING NEW CYSTIC FIBROSIS DRUG "Emory University researchers have been testing a new drug that has demonstrated promising results in treating cystic fibrosis (CF) this country's most common fatal inherited disease among Caucasians. Approximately 1,000 new cases of CF are diagnosed each year in infants, children and young adults, and 30,000 Americans currently are living with the disease. Although the life expectancy for CF patients has risen dramatically within the past 30 years, from 10 years to 31 years, lives are now cut short just as people are settling down to their prime adult years." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	GEORGIA WOMEN PIONEERS IN HEALTH CARE' HONOREES INCLUDE MANY ASSOCIATED WITH EMORY "Among the 50 extraordinary women honored during Women's History Month as Georgia "Women Pioneers in Health Care" were several nurses, midwives, doctors, medical researchers and other health care professionals associated with Emory University." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	OTOLARYNGOLOGY BECOMES NEW MEDICAL DEPARTMENT AND GAINS NEW CHAIRMAN "Douglas E. Mattox, M.D., former director of OtolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery at the University of Maryland Medical System, is the first chair of the new Department of Otolaryngology in the Emory School of Medicine, effective March 1. The Division of Otolaryngology within the Department of Surgery became a full-fledged medical school department this spring." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	STEALTH TECHNOLOGY MAKES COMPLEX SINUS SURGERY SAFER AND MORE EFFECTIVE"A computer-assisted technology for complicated sinus surgery cases is giving surgeons much more confidence in the safety and effectiveness of what can sometimes be a dangerous procedure." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	ENT TIPS FROM EMORY Learn about: Quick, Painless Procedure Reduces Habitual Snoring; New Technology Provides Effective Relief for Chronic Stuffy Noses; Stealth Technology Makes Complex Sinus Surgery Safer and More Effective; Cochlear Implants Make Deaf Children Into "Listening, Speaking Communicators;" Ear Damage Can Mean Brain Damage Also; Effects of Tinnitus Range From Mere Annoyance to Significant Impairment; and Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Is Cumulative and May Be Permanent Full Story
Jun 1 '98	NEW OUTPATIENT PROCEDURE PROVIDES QUICK, EFFECTIVE RELIEF FOR CHRONIC STUFFY NOSES"Emory University ENT physicians are using a quick, new outpatient procedure to relieve stuffy noses in people suffering from enlarged turbinates the mucous membrane-covered bony structures that protrude into the nasal airway and help cleanse and humidify air. Emory surgeons John DelGaudio, M.D., and Todd Kingdom, M.D., using a new technology called somnoplasty, reduce the enlarged tissue in a stuffed-up nose using a small electrode that emits very low levels of radiofrequency energy to heat and reduce tissue." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	ANNUAL RESEARCH FORUM NEWS FROM EMORY EYE CENTER"Preliminary results from a Phase III evaluation of a tiny, transparent ring inserted into the cornea -- called an intrastromal corneal ring -- to correct moderate nearsightedness show that the device is very effect and does not require an incision in the central optical zone, the area on the cornea most critical for vision. Emory cornea specialists R. Doyle Stulting and George O. Waring III participated in the six-month study, which found that 75 percent of patients were corrected to 20/20 or better and 97 percent were 20/40 or better. Emory was one of only 10 centers in the country approved by the FDA to participate in the Phase III evaluation." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	NATION'S FIRST HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE SOCIETY OF AMERICA CENTER OF EXCELLENCE OPENS AT EMORY"The nation's first Huntington's Disease Society of America Center of Excellence recently opened at Emory University. The center's clinical services are based primarily at Wesley Woods Health Center and research will be conducted in the Department of Neurology of the Emory University School of Medicine." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	LEWINE NAMED MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR BY NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR THE MENTALLY ILL "The Georgia affiliate of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI Georgia) has chosen Richard R. J. Lewine, Ph.D., to receive its Mental Health Professional Award. Dr. Lewine is a clinical psychologist and professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Emory University School of Medicine." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	PANIC ATTACKS & DEPRESSION ARE SUBJECTS OF TWO EMORY STUDIES NOW SEEKING VOLUNTEERS "Persons over 18 years of age who are troubled either by panic attacks or depression are being recruited by psychiatric researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	NEW TECHNOLOGY HELPS DIAGNOSE EYE TUMORS, OTHER BLINDING DISEASES IN CHILDREN"The Emory Eye Center recently acquired a new camera that is the most advanced technology available for detecting blinding retinal diseases in children. The technology provides a high-resolution, 120-degree view of the retina. Standard cameras, which provide 30- to 60-degree views, miss the periphery of the retina." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	CHILDREN WITH TOURETTE SYNDROME OR CHRONIC TICS AS WELL AS ADHD SOUGHT FOR EMORY STUDY "Neurology researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine are seeking children between the ages 7-17 years who have chronic tics or Tourette syndrome AND attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	INDIVIDUALS WITH SEVERELY LIMITED VISION BENEFIT FROM VIRTUAL REALITY SYSTEM OFFERED AT EMORY EYE CENTER"Individuals whose sight has been severely impaired by macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy or other blinding diseases have new hope for independence." Full Story
Jun 1 '98	MAX "THE MOUSE" NOW AT EMORY TO HELP LOW VISION PATIENTS READ "A new hand-held device that looks like a computer mouse is helping individuals with severely limited vision read books, letters, newspapers, or labels -- print they cannot read with standard spectacles. Dubbed "Max" by its maker, this electronic magnifier mouse is available at the Emory Eye Center for patients with low vision due to macular degeneration, glaucoma or other blinding diseases." Full Story

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