New Migraine Help for Women
(Published: 08-16-2007, 6ABC) An FDA decision is expected that would allow the drug Frova to become the first to prevent
the migraines that come with a woman's monthly cycle. Headache experts said during a migraine attack the nerves on the surface
of the brain are overly excited. One of the triggers is hormonal that's why more women than men suffer from these debilitating
headaches. And many women, like Jennine Fabioneri, get the worst migraines with their periods. Jennine helped Dr. Stephen
Silberstein of the Jefferson Headache Center test the migraine medication Frova in a whole new way. Instead of waiting for
the menstrual migraine to hit Jennine and other women took a double dose of Frova a couple days before their period and then
regular daily doses for the next five or six days.
Jefferson Headache Center
Department of Neurology
Media Coverage:
6ABC
Consulting may prevent depression after vision loss
(Published: 08-16-2007, Scientific American) Patients with age-related macular degeneration, a frequent cause of vision loss
in the elderly, are less likely to develop depressive disorders in the short-term if they're taught problem-solving skills,
new study findings suggest. However, the benefits don't seem to be maintained over time. Age-related macular degeneration
often leads to "irreversible vision loss, disability, and depression," write Dr. Barry W. Rovner, of Jefferson Medical College,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and colleagues. However, depression in these patients is rarely diagnosed or treated in during
visits to the eye doctor.
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Geriatric Psychiatry Program
Media Coverage:
Scientific American
Jefferson Medical School Holds ''White Coat Ceremony'' for Freshmen
(Published: 08-10-2007, KYW Newsradio) Thomas Jefferson University medical school's annual "donning of the white coats" took
place Friday morning in center city Philadelphia: first year medical students were initiated into their journey toward becoming
physicians. Jefferson Medical College dean Tom Nasca says the doctors' white coat symbolizes hard work and trust.
Jefferson Medical College
Media Coverage:
KYW Newsradio 1060AM
Lending Support
(Published: 08/07/07, Reading Eagle) Nancy Graffius of Muhlenberg Township, who was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma in
1994, and was treated at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, leads a group in Berks County to help others
with the same problem.
Department of Neurological Surgery
Media Coverage:
Reading Eagle
A 3-D View of the Brain
(Published: 08-06-2007, Technology Review) Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, in Philadelphia, have developed
software that integrates data from multiple imaging technologies to create an interactive 3-D map of the brain. The enhanced
visualization gives neurosurgeons a much clearer picture of the spatial relationship of a patient's brain structures than
is possible with any single imaging methods. In doing so, it could serve as an advanced guide for surgical procedures, such
as brain-tumor removal and epilepsy surgery.
Department of Radiology
Department of Neurosurgery
Department of Neurology
Media Coverage:
Technology Review
Jeff Docs On The Hunt For A Revolutionary Epilepsy Helper
(Published: 08-03-2007, Evening Bulletin) "My condition has made me so limited," Ronnie Gorelick confided, although she's
a mother, wife, artist, teacher and exercise buff. She ran her fingers across her very short hair, tilting her head slightly
to the side. "You can barely tell it's there. It's just a tiny bump. Here, feel it," she half-whispered, still sounding amazed,
though she's probably felt it a hundred times.
It is virtually unnoticeable, but feeling that "tiny bump" on her head leaves no mistaking that there is something quite alien
lying just beneath her skin, something that might give this woman, who has suffered with epilepsy since she was 17, her first
chance to live seizure-free in about 40 years. In May, Gorelick became Thomas Jefferson University Hospital's first patient
to receive the Responsive Neurostimulator System (RNS) implant. She is part of a nationwide study of the new device that may
be capable of predicting and preventing epileptic seizures, which are caused by unusual electrical activity in the brain.
Department of Neurological Surgery
Jefferson Comprehensive Epilepsy Center
Department of Neurology
Media Coverage:
Evening Bulletin
Brain electrode stimulates new life
(Published: 08-02-2007, The Philadelphia Inquirer) Six years after he was mugged while walking home one night -- beaten and
kicked and left for dead, with his skull partway caved in -- a man regained the ability to talk, chew and swallow after slender
electrodes were implanted deep in his brain. The operation described in the new study -- the first such implant in a minimally
conscious patient -- could offer hope for the families of untold thousands who have similar brain injuries. The results are
encouraging, said Ashwini Sharan, a neurosurgeon at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital who was not involved with the study.
Doctors have long told families that there is no effective treatment for brain injuries, he said.
Department of Neurological Surgery
Jefferson Comprehensive Epilepsy Center
Media Coverage:
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Miami Herald
Detroit Free Press
Kansas City Star
Hormones Might Help Treat Colon Cancer
(Published: 08-01-07) A Hormone deficiency is a prime cause of colon cancer, which means that it may be possible to treat
the disease with hormone replacement therapy, a new study suggests.
In experiments with mice, a team at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson focused on GCC (guanylyl cyclase C), a protein receptor
on the surface of intestinal epithelial cells. They looked specifically at two hormones, guanylin and uroguanylin, which regulate
the growth of intestinal epithelial cells. Reporting in the Aug. 1 issue of Gastroenterology, the researchers found that GCC
helped suppress colon tumor formation in mice.
Study author Scott Waldman, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics at Jefferson Medical
College, noted that early in colon cancer development, the hormones guanylin and uroguanylin are "lost" and not expressed.
This disrupts the activity of GCC. The finding "converts colon cancer from a genetic disease, which is the way we've all thought
about it, to a disease of hormone insufficiency," Waldman said. "Not only does this give a new paradigm in how we think about
the disease, but it give us a new paradigm for treating the disease -- that is, by hormone replacement therapy."
Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
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