Welcome to the latest JHMUpdate. Please take a tour of the stories below and tell us what you think. And please feel free to pass along to colleagues, friends and other interested individuals who want to keep up with Johns Hopkins Medicine news in education, research, and patient care.

November 8, 2010

FEATURED STORY: CARDIAC SURGERY

Pushing the Boundaries of Cardiac Surgery for Seniors

Back in action, Fisher Howe says the only thing that stops him from playing tennis again is a recently acquired condition he calls FOF, “fear of falling.”

A heart valve repair in your 90s doesn't always have to be out of the question. Read story

PSYCHIATRY

Brain Interrupted

Assessing and planning for cognitive changes in children treated with chemotherapy and radiation makes all the difference. Read story

OPHTHALMOLOGY

No Worse for Wear

Cataract surgery doesn't appear to accelerate AMD.

For years, it’s been thought that patients with both cataracts and earlier stages of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) presented the proverbial no-win situation: Operate to remove the cataracts and you risk accelerating progression of AMD. Read story

Bressler and colleagues used fluorescein angiography to tease apart a presumed case of cause and effect.

PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGY

Autism: An Immune Connection?

Recent findings from two Johns Hopkins labs suggest yet another culprit in the development of autism—the immune system. Read story

Antibodies give Carlos Pardo and Harvey Singer a common focus in their search for autism’s cause and cure.

EDUCATION

Johns Hopkins Will Help Malaysia Develop a Medical School and Teaching Hospital

Malaysia’s first four-year graduate medical school and fully integrated private teaching hospital will soon begin to take shape thanks to a collaboration agreement signed on Nov. 2 in Kuala Lumpur. Read story

Weisfeldt

Under the Dome

Johns Hopkins Hospital

Women Treating Women
Of the myriad reasons that diversity has become a hot topic in medicine, the ability to empathize with patients may rank supreme. Read story

Bayview Medical Center

Early Alzheimer's diagnosis is crucial, yet accurate test elusive
The Memory and Alzheimer's Treatment Center at Johns Hopkins Bayview educates patients with Alzheimer’s Read story (USA Today)

Suburban Hospital

Are You Getting a Good Night’s Sleep?
Dr. Carolyn Wang, medical director of the Suburban Hospital Sleep Disorders Center Listen to story (podcast)

Howard County General Hospital

New LifeNet system speeds treatment of heart attack
Ambulances are using a new communications system that enables some heart attack victims to get faster, more informed treatment when they arrive at Howard County General Hospital. Read story (Baltimore Sun)