
May 30, 2002	Emory Researchers Seek Patients with Parkinson's Disease for Chinese Exercises Study Researchers at Emory University are seeking local patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) to participate in a research study of the effects of two Chinese mind-body exercises, Tai Chi and Qi Gong, on the signs and symptoms of PD. Investigators also want to compare whether the potential benefits of these "eastern" exercise forms (Tai Chi and Qi Gong) differ from those observed with traditional "western" exercises (e.g., aerobic exercises). FULL STORY
May 30, 2002	Emory Researchers Seek Patients with Osteoarthritis for Drug Study Emory University researchers are recruiting African American patients with osteoarthritis of the knee for a study involving a new COX-2 inhibitor, a drug targeted at reducing arthritis pain, inflammation and stiffness. Researchers are trying to determine if the newly marketed drug works as well in African Americans as in the general population. Osteoarthritis is described as the degenerative wear and tear of the bone and cartilage in one or more joints. FULL STORY
May 24, 2002	Sepsis on the Increase in U.S., According to Emory University and CDC Study ATLANTA-- The incidence of sepsis — a severe, whole-body immune response to infection — is increasing by an average of 16% a year in the U.S., according to research by investigators at Emory University School of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During the 20-year period from 1979 to 1999, the incidence of sepsis increased by more than 329%, from 78 to 259 cases per 100,000 people. Sepsis is a major public health problem, consuming more than $15 billion in healthcare costs annually in the U.S. FULL STORY
May 24, 2002	Coated Stent Research at Emory: First Results of SIRIUS Trial Bolster Evidence New Treatment Keeps Arteries Open Stents are tiny wire mesh tubes used to prop arteries open after angioplasty clears them of potentially heart attack causing plaque. Unfortunately, in many cases, stented arteries eventually close back up with fatty deposits, a process called restenosis. Now there's hope restenosis can be eliminated or greatly reduced in the not-too-distant future, thanks to stents coated with pharmaceutical agents that prevent excess tissue growth. FULL STORY
May 24, 2002	Seven Years Later: Emory Patient With Rare Cancer Has Proven the Experts Wrong Julie Whitehead has shown a lot of doctors that they were wrong. She is proud of it, and her doctors couldn't be happier. FULL STORY
May 21, 2002	Emory Nursing Students Take Health Care to Migrant Farm Workers and Their Families Nursing faculty and students from Emory University will travel next month to the south Georgia city of Moultrie and the surrounding area to provide health care services to migrant farm workers and their families. FULL STORY
May 21, 2002	Nerve Stimulation Procedure Is Promising Option for Treating Bladder Control Problems Urinary urge incontinence patients who have not responded favorably to traditional therapy options have an option for an alternative treatment that is proving to be effective in patients treated at Emory University. An implanted stopwatch-sized device acts as a 'pacemaker' by determining the rate of firing of the muscles in the pelvic floor and can change the way the bladder and bowel behaves. FULL STORY
May 20, 2002	Emory Doctors Relieve Chronic Heel Pain with New Shock Wave Therapy System – A First in Atlanta Chronic heel pain, known as plantar fasciitis, affects some 2.5 million people each year in the United States. It is a common injury among runners and others who spend a lot of time on their feet. Those who are overweight or have high-arched feet also face a higher risk of developing plantar fasciitis. FULL STORY
May 20, 2002	Sickle Cell Website For Children Launches, Becoming the First of Its Kind in the World The first phase of an innovative web site designed for children with sickle cell anemia was recently launched, making it the first web site of its kind specifically designed for youngsters suffering from the debilitating disease. It is targeted at children ages 5 to 13. The site, www.SickleCellKids.org, is designed by Atlanta artist Cynthia Gentry, and launched May 1. Various components will be added to the site over the next several months with the final launch coming at the end of 2002. FULL STORY
May 20, 2002	Janssen Pharmaceutica Endows Psychiatry Chair at Emory University Janssen Pharmaceutica, L.P. is committing $1.5 million to endow the Paul Janssen Chair in Neuropsychopharmacology at the Emory University School of Medicine. The gift commitment from Janssen honors the company's 75-year-old founder Paul Janssen, PhD, MD. Emory has one of the nation's largest and most rapidly growing research groups in the study of drugs and their effects on the human mind, brain, and behavior. FULL STORY
May 20, 2002	Look and Feel Healthy? That's No Guarantee Your Blood Pressure Is In The Healthy Range What does someone with high blood pressure look like? If you describe a middle-aged person who is inactive and overweight, you are only partially right. While it is true that risk factors such as lack of exercise and obesity greatly up the odds someone may have high blood pressure (also known as hypertension), that doesn't mean people who are young, slim and work out regularly can ignore the possibility they have a blood pressure problem. FULL STORY
May 17, 2002	African Americans Have Special Reasons To Take National High Blood Pressure Awareness Month To Heart, Says Emory Cardiothoracic Surgeon William Cooper May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month, a perfect time to learn about some numbers that could save your life – your blood pressure. Nearly 50 million Americans have high blood pressure and almost a third don't know it. And African Americans have reason to be particularly concerned about whether their blood pressure is in the normal or high range, according to Emory Heart Center Cardiothoracic Surgeon William Cooper, MD. FULL STORY
May 17, 2002	Atlanta Researchers to Launch Clinical Trial of Progesterone for Treatment of Brain Injury Researchers from Emory University and Morehouse School of Medicine soon will begin enrolling patients in the world's first clinical trial of the hormone progesterone as a treatment for moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, which annually claims the lives of 50,000 Americans and disables 80,000 more, at an estimated cost of $56 billion. Currently, there is little that doctors can do for this condition beyond providing supportive care. FULL STORY
May 14, 2002	Emory University Will Conduct Clinical Trial of Anthrax Vaccine Regimen Emory University is one of five sites nationwide selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct a clinical trial of an anthrax vaccination regimen. The study, which is now enrolling volunteers, will use the anthrax vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1970. The new trial is designed to test whether changing the injection method from subcutaneous (under the skin) to the muscle or decreasing the number of doses affects the quality of the immune response or local reactions to the vaccine. FULL STORY
May 10, 2002	Emory Doctor Named First Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering Roderic Pettigrew, MD, PhD, professor in Emory School of Medicine's Departments of Radiology and Medicine (cardiology), and in the Emory/Georgia Tech Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, will be the first permanent director of the NIH's National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). His appointment comes following a long and detailed search by a blue ribbon panel. He will begin work in late August or early September at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. FULL STORY
May 9, 2002	John Fox Promoted to CEO of Emory Healthcare Dr. Michael M.E. Johns has announced the promotion of John Fox, president and chief operating officer of Emory Healthcare since April 1999, to president and chief executive officer. The appointment was approved this morning (Thursday) by the Emory University Board of Trustees Executive Committee. FULL STORY
May 9, 2002	Emory's RB Picnic Promises a Heartwarming Celebration of Life Along With Colorful, Fun Activities for Children Who Have Survived RB, Cancer of the Eye ATLANTA) The fourth annual RB Picnic, coordinated by the Emory Eye Center, will be held from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at WD Thompson Park, off Mason Mill Road in Decatur. This very special event promises a day of fun and celebration for both the young patients and their families who have faced this formerly fatal childhood cancer of the eye called retinoblastoma. FULL STORY
May 8, 2002	Emory Vaccine Study in South Africa Achieves Significant Reductions in Pneumonia In a recent clinical trial conducted in 40,000 children in Soweto, South Africa, scientists from Emory University and the University of Witwatersrand found that a new version of a pneumococcal vaccine reduced the incidence of pneumonia in vaccinated children by more than 20%. In addition, the vaccine reduced the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease— pneumococcal bacteria that can be measured in the bloodstream — by more than 80% in these children not infected with the HIV virus and by more than 50% in HIV-infected children. FULL STORY
May 8, 2002	Emory University Professor Training Public Health Professionals In Peru and Chile About Environmental and Occupational Research Emory University public health professor Howard Frumkin, M.D. has been awarded a five-year grant for approximately $150,000 per year by the Fogarty International Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to train health professionals from Peru and Chile in environmental and occupational health research. FULL STORY
May 6, 2002	Emory Vaccine Center Sending Riders to Europe to Cycle for AIDS-Free Future Emory University scientists, students and staff will cycle almost 500 miles carrying their vision of an AIDS-free future during the European AIDS Vaccine Ride. For seven days, the Emory team will trek from Amsterdam to Paris to raise money for HIV vaccine research. FULL STORY
May 2, 2002	Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program at Emory Conducts New Medication study for Trauma Victims Debilitating anxiety and depression can result from experiencing or even witnessing a traumatic event such as the attack of September 11, a physical assault, or a serious car accident. Barbara Rothbaum, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine and director of the Trauma and Anxiety Program, is conducting a study using two separate medications to treat victims of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). FULL STORY

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WHSC News Releases for May

`WHSC News Releases for May`