UVA SOM Faculty News Weekly Round-Up
January 19, 2018
• Study Suggests Hope for a Longer Life for Patients with Rare Autoimmune Disorder
An unusual autoimmune disease that causes skin and lung damage can be treated effectively by stem cell transplant, a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine has found.
The experimental procedure uses chemotherapy and radiation to destroy the body’s malfunctioning immune system, then replaces it via a stem-cell transplant. The stem cells are taken from the patient’s own blood and given back to the patient after the chemotherapy.
In a multisite clinical trial, the approach proved more successful than the existing treatment, significantly improving survival and reported quality of life. “This is a major advance in the treatment of severe scleroderma,” said Karen Ballen, MD, Professor of Medicine, who is a co-investigator on the study and the director of stem cell transplantation at the UVA Cancer Center.
Read more: https://news.virginia.edu/content/study-suggests-hope-longer-life-patients-rare-autoimmune-disorder
• Narrowing the Health Care Gap for Latinos, One Visit at a Time
UVA’s Latino Health Initiative offers free medical care to the Latino community in Charlottesville. Every other week, Max Luna, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, and a team of six UVA medical students set up a medical station where they receive patients, conduct cardiovascular risk screenings, and offer counseling on how to prevent heart attacks and diabetes as well as how to access local, affordable health care.
The Initiative is two years old this month and has served more than 300 people.
Read more: https://news.virginia.edu/content/narrowing-health-care-gap-latinos-one-visit-time
• UVA Researchers Participate in Study to Assess Best Way to Move Injured Players off the Field
A study comparing cervical spine motion after immobilization with a traditional spine board and fully-body vacuum-mattress split has been published in Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine.
UVA School of Medicine faculty contributing to the study include the following:
– Stephen Brockmeier, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Medicine
– David Diduch, MD, AR Shands Professor, Vice Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Medicine
Read more: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29318167?dopt=Abstract
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Did we miss something? If you have UVA SOM faculty news to share, please email christa@virginia.edu.
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