HOPKINS MEDICINE e-NEWS (October 2005)
A round-up of news from Johns Hopkins Medicine for busy executives.
GIFTS THAT COUNT
The transformation of our medical campus comes closer to fruition with gifts for our Heart Institute and for a new School of Medicine education building. Increasingly, medical research also depends on support from donors. Recent donations have spurred creation of a unique institute on computational medicine, a study of the link between the nervous system and autism, and an acupuncture program for cancer patients.
Votes of confidence for our faculty and staff came recently from the federal government, other health professionals and from Maryland consumers: Hopkins is one of only three centers funded by the NIH as a Specialized Center for Cell-Based Therapy for Heart, Lung and Blood Diseases, and the only one dedicated to new stem cell therapies for heart problems. For the 10th consecutive year, the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins has been named the best overall ophthalmology program in the country by Ophthalmology Times. And The Johns Hopkins Hospital again received the Baltimore area Consumer Choice Award – based on household surveys.
Research reports this month deal with the best ways to raise “good” cholesterol; the proven effectiveness of “paired donation” kidney transplants; the advantages of digital mammography for certain women, and the best indicators for predicting a recurrence of prostate cancer and heart attacks.
We welcome your suggestions and hope you enjoy reading these reports.
-- Edward D. Miller, M.D., Dean of the Medical Faculty, CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine
-- Ronald R. Peterson, President, Johns Hopkins Health System, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
THE BUSINESS OF MEDICINE
TRUSTEE PROVIDES $20 MILLION FOR EDUCATION BUILDING
With a major gift from the chairman of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Board of Trustees, the School of Medicine will proceed with planning for a new education building.
GRASMICKS GIVE SECOND $1 MILLION GIFT TO HEART INSTITUTE
Lou and Nancy Grasmick donate another $1 million to the Johns Hopkins Heart Institute, a key part of the $300 million Cardiovascular and Critical Care Tower opening in 2008.
$8 MILLION SPURS INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTATIONAL MEDICINE
The first institute to blend potent computing technologies with medical research – bringing together Hopkins’ schools of medicine and engineering – focuses on identifying the earliest stages of diseases and finding new therapies.
ANONYMOUS GIFT PROMPTS STUDY OF NERVOUS SYSTEM AND AUTISM
A donor’s $7.5 million grant lets researchers study the link between flaws in the nervous system and autism with a goal of developing new ways to treat the disorder.
KIMMEL GRANT HITS RIGHT NERVE WITH ACUPUNCTURE PROGRAM
With a $100,000 pilot grant, the Hopkins Complementary and Integrative Medicine Service offers acupuncture pain therapy and a mind-body course for oncology patients.
HEART INSTITUTE GAINS $12 MILLION FOR STEM CELL THERAPIES
Cell-based therapies to treat heart attacks are the focus of two major Hopkins Heart Institute projects receiving a five-year, $12 million federal grant. Clinical trials for one of the projects already are under way.
WILMER EYE INSTITUTE NAMED TOP PROGRAM 10TH TIME
For the 10th year running, the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins has been named the best overall ophthalmology program in the country by Ophthalmology Times, based on a poll of ophthalmology department chairmen across the United States.
HOPKINS IS “CONSUMER’S CHOICE” FOR 10TH YEAR IN A ROW
The Johns Hopkins Hospital again receives the Baltimore area Consumer Choice Award – based on household surveys – and shares the same award in Bethesda with Shady Grove Adventist Hospital and in Hagerstown with Washington County Hospital.
POST-KATRINA RESPONSE FROM HOPKINS VOLUNTEERS
A second team of Hopkins physicians and nurses run a walk-in health clinic to aid victims of Gulf Coast hurricanes. Also read about “the group that never went.”
SCIENCE REPORT
EXPERTS OFFER BEST WAYS TO RAISE “GOOD CHOLESTEROL” LEVELS
Hopkins cardiologists issue guidelines on raising helpful HDL cholesterol, which they say may be more important than lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol.
LIVING KIDNEY “PAIRED DONATION” PROVES EFFECTIVE
Research confirms effectiveness of living kidney “paired donation” transplants, paving the way for a national matching registry for those who can’t receive a relative’s kidney.
DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY BETTER CHOICE FOR YOUNG WOMEN
In a large breast cancer screening study, researchers find digital mammography works better than X-ray mammography for young women and those with dense breasts.
PSA REMAINS BEST INDICATOR OF PROSTATE CANCER PROGRESSION
A Hopkins study confirms measuring blood-protein prostate-specific antigen (PSA) remains best measure of the likelihood of cancer reoccurrence after prostate surgery.
CARDIAC STRESS TEST HELPS PREDICT CORONARY PROBLEMS
Cardiac stress tests measuring exercise capacity and heart rate recovery greatly improves on existing techniques that predict who is most likely to suffer a heart attack or die from coronary heart disease, a team of cardiologists at Johns Hopkins reports.
COMMENTARY
FOR CLINICIANS, “CONFIDENTIAL” MEANS JUST THAT
When clinical trials hold the potential to impact stock prices, clinicians can best avoid legal troubles by keeping all information confidential. Even casual conversations with colleagues about the trials should be avoided, notes University President Bill Brody.
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