Princess Health and Donna Arnett, new UK public-health dean, says research is important to reducing Kentucky's huge health disparities. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Donna Arnett, new UK public-health dean, says research is important to reducing Kentucky's huge health disparities. Princessiccia

epidemiology public health research University of Kentucky

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Donna Arnett, dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky, says research is essential to reducing Kentucky's huge health disparities, as illustrated by the recent release of data showing a wide range in life expectancy among counties.

In a UK news release and video, Arnett, a genetic epidemiologist and native of London, noted the "devastating impact" that obesity, diabetes, cancer, drug-abuse and overdose deaths have in her native state.

�Public health is at the heart of answering the challenges of those critical diseases in Kentucky, " Arnett said. "We in public health are really at the forefront of first detecting these epidemics, and then finding strategies and interventions to help eliminate those disparities.�

Arnett's passion for research began during her early career as a nurse when she was working next to a dialysis clinic at a Department for Veterans Affairs hospital and noticed that more African-American men were sent to the clinic than men of other races.

�I�ll never forget, in my hallway in this VA hospital, every day men would be coming down the hallway, and they�re almost all African American,� Arnett said. �I said, �You know, there has to be something about being African American and having kidney failure.��

This prompted her to create an informal hypothesis that this was linked to a genetic code in African American men that put them at a higher risk of kidney failure. She was right. While her original hypothesis evolved, it was validated after numerous studies.

Arnett obtained a doctorate in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina and built a career in public health. She has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health for more than 20 years, and brought three active NIH projects to UK when she became dean of the public-health college in 2015. Among other leadership roles, she has served as the president of the American Heart Association.

Serving as AHA president showed Arnett that "solving the most urgent health problems in the nation requires the collaboration among different professionals and organizations devoted to health and uniting the research efforts and knowledge of diverse investigators," and she is working to establish partnerships across the state, the UK release and video say.

"Science now is really multi-disciplinary," Arnett said, "so we have to function in a team."

Princess Health and UK pays big to settle a health-care debacle but keeps almost all details under wraps; Herald-Leader says trustees should worry. Princessiccia

Princess Health and UK pays big to settle a health-care debacle but keeps almost all details under wraps; Herald-Leader says trustees should worry. Princessiccia

hospitals Medicaid Medicare open government open records University of Kentucky

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"The University of Kentucky has spent more than $5 million in the last year to fix federal billing issues involving a Hazard cardiology practice it acquired three years ago, but UK officials have declined to provide documents detailing problems that led to the payments," including an audit of the Appalachian Heart Center that UK calls "preliminary" though the issue has been resolved, Linda Blackford reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Most of the money went to Medicare and Medicaid, but $1 million went to a Washington lawyer whose billing records the university largely refused to release, citing attorney-client privilege. The university's trustees were told about the matter at a dinner meeting, which the Herald-Leader said it didn't cover because the agenda for the meeting did not include the matter. UK says no minutes were taken at the meeting, normally a social event that precedes formal meetings the next day.

The Herald-Leader said it would file an appeal with the attorney general, whose decisions in open-records and open-meetings matters have the force of law unless a court rules to the contrary. �We have strong concerns about the overall lack of transparency by the university in this case,� Editor Peter Baniak said. �Records about the issues involving this clinic should be public, as should the information presented and discussion that took place in an open meeting of the board of trustees.�

In an editorial, the newspaper attacked UK officials' secrecy about the case and other health-care issues, such as appealing an AG's decision that that the Kentucky Medical Services Foundation isn't a public agency. "Their imaginative legal arguments and bizarrely incomplete responses to requests for information by the Office of the Attorney General, this newspaper and a private individual should embarrass and trouble the trustees," it said, noting that a UK official said the university paid back "more than what was required."

"Who pays an attorney $1 million to settle a dispute by paying more than was owed?" the editorial asked. "If this were a one-off we might think that UK HealthCare and KMSF, which handles billing for UK physicians, are just muddling around to avoid admitting their deal went bad. But it�s only the latest in a series of stories that indicate a pattern of secretiveness in UK�s vast health-care empire."

Princess Health and Public is invited to join discussion about food sustainability systems at UK April 7; will help shape UK's food-systems studies. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Public is invited to join discussion about food sustainability systems at UK April 7; will help shape UK's food-systems studies. Princessiccia

food nutrition University of Kentucky

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The public is invited to a discussion about sustainable food systems at the 2016 Food Studies Symposium at the University of Kentucky April 7 to "share current learning, build collaborations, identify opportunities, stimulate research and envision an interdisciplinary foods program," a UK news release says.

The panel discussion, "Building a Campus-wide, Multi-stakeholder Initiative/Program on Sustainability and Food Systems Studies: Learning from Our Leaders in the Field," will be held from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7 in the E. S. Good Barn, followed by a reception.

"Participants will help shape the future of food systems studies at the university," says the release.

Invited speakers include Peggy Barlett, faculty liaison to Emory University's Office of Sustainability Initiatives; Tom Kelly, founding executive director of the Sustainability Institute at the University of New Hampshire; and Jane Kolodinsky, former chair of the University Food System Initiative Steering Committee and chair of the Department of Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont.

The symposium is co-sponsored by the Sustainability Challenge Grant, The Food Connection at UK and the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment. Click here for more information.

Princess Health and Did you know that smoking can lead to Type 2 diabetes?. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Did you know that smoking can lead to Type 2 diabetes?. Princessiccia

diabetes smoking University of Kentucky

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Smoking can lead to diabetes, and then cause more complications from the disease. So writes Dr. Laura B. Hieronymus, associate director of education and quality services at the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes Center at the University of Kentucky, in a column in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Laura Hieronymus

Smoking can cause resistance to insulin, which helps control levels of sugar in the blood. "Insulin resistance can occur if you have a family history of it, are overweight and/or have a sedentary lifestyle," Hieronymus writes. "Experts report smokers are insulin resistant and the more you smoke, the greater your chances of Type 2 diabetes. Data suggest if you smoke 16 to 25 cigarettes a day, your risk for Type 2 diabetes is three times higher than if you don�t smoke. In contrast, if you quit smoking and stay quit, your risk for Type 2 diabetes actually decreases."

If you have diabetes, smoking can make complications from it more likely, Hieronymus writes: "Damage to the blood vessels and nerves in your body is more common and often to a greater degree than if you have diabetes and don�t smoke. The heavier and the longer you smoke the greater your risk for complications. The bottom line is that smoking and diabetes are a dangerous combination. The good news is that by quitting smoking and keeping your blood glucose optimally controlled, you can greatly lower your chances for diabetes complications."

Princess Health and Co-workers with CPR and AED training save Lexington man from 'widow maker' heart attack; now he's fine and cheering Wildcats. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Co-workers with CPR and AED training save Lexington man from 'widow maker' heart attack; now he's fine and cheering Wildcats. Princessiccia

cardiovascular disease health education heart disease University of Kentucky

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Tim Hayden (UK photo)

This time last year, co-workers' quick actions saved a Kentucky man who suffered from a usually fatal type of heart attack because they knew how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation and how to use an automatic external defibrillator (AED). They were able to keep him alive until he could get medical help, according to a University of Kentucky news release.

Tim Hayden, a big UK basketball fan who works at Lexington's Southern Wine and Spirits, was at a work meeting last March, hoping it would end before the Southeastern Conference Tournament games started that day, when he had the heart attack.

His doctor, Adrian Messerli, director of the heart catheterization laboratory at the UK Gill Heart Institute, said it was the type of heart attack that is often called the "widow-maker" because fewer than half of its victims survive.

"Dr. Messerli told us if Tim had been at home, or if the meeting had been scheduled later, or if he'd been in his car, this type of heart attack isn't something that people typically survive," said Harold Nikirk, Southern Wine and Spirits' field sales manager and Tim's boss.

Upon realizing that Hayden wasn't just goofing off and pretending to be snoring so they would wrap up the meeting, two of the co-workers trained in CPR immediately began it. One who was trained on the AED, a portable device that checks heart rhythm and can send an electric shock to the heart to try to restore a normal rhythm, used it.

Everyone in the office pitched in, Nikirk said, calling 911, waving down the ambulance and moving cars and furniture out of the way to make room for the paramedics.

"I think Tim was fortunate for many reasons," Messerli said. "He was surrounded by co-workers who knew how to perform CPR and knew how to use an AED. Those critical first steps sustained Tim until we could get him the treatment he needed."

Paramedics took him to UK, where his wife Catherine works and where Dr. Messerli was waiting for him in the catheterization lab.

"With a heart attack, especially one like Tim's, every minute literally counts," Messerli said. "We were the first hospital in Lexington to allow paramedics to bypass the emergency room and go directly to the cath lab, which buys us precious time and hugely increases the patient's chances for survival."

Hayden's co-workers created
a Heart Walk team. (UK photo)

Messerli restored blood flow by inserting two stents with a catheter and placing him in a type of medically induced coma to cool his body temperature, which is "thought to protect the vital organs from damage and improves healing," Messerli said. Tim spent three weeks in the hospital.

"What's so gratifying about Tim's case is that the healing has really been complete and absolute," he said. "When I see him in the office, he's in wonderful spirits, minimal complaints, and he's doing really well."

Since then, about a dozen of SWS's 40 staffers have received CPR certification and AED training, says the release.

They have also been honored by the Lexington Fire Department for their bravery, quick thinking and knowledge of CPR and have participated in the American Heart Association's 2015 Heart Walk on #TimsTeam and raised $3,500 on his behalf.

Princess Health and Biotech firm buys UK professor's anti-overdose nasal spray.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Biotech firm buys UK professor's anti-overdose nasal spray.Princessiccia

drugs food and drug administration heroin University of Kentucky

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Pharmacy Professor Daniel Wermeling at the University of Kentucky invented a nasal spray to fight heroin overdoses, and a biotech firm has bought the product, which may be on the market within six months, pending approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The device "contains a single dose of a mist form of naloxone and delivers the drug in a way similar to how Flonase is used to treat allergies," Mary Meehan reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The product is on a fast track for approval because of the rising rates of heroin overdoses across the country, said UK Provost Tim Tracy, former dean of UK's pharmacy school. Wermeling doesn't know exactly when his product will be on the market, but he said the FDA approved another fast-track, anti-overdose therapy after only 14 weeks. The fast-track program speeds development of drugs to treat serious or life-threatening conditions. "Last year, 233 people [in Kentucky] died with heroin in their systems, according to the state medical examiner's office," Meehan notes.

Wermeling has been developing the project at UK since 2009 with the help of more than $5 million in federal and state tax dollars. Tracy said Indivior PLC, the spinoff pharmaceutical company that bought the nasal spray, will be able to manufacture, market and distribute the product. Right now, emergency responders and hospitals must draw naloxone, branded as Narcan, in a syringe to provide the correct dose.

Princess Health and Retired UK professor Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven elected first female chair of World Medical Association.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Retired UK professor Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven elected first female chair of World Medical Association.Princessiccia

awards elections Kentucky Medical Association University of Kentucky

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Retired University of Kentucky professor Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven, who was the president of the American Medical Association in 2013-14, was elected the first female chair of the World Medical Association at the organization's 200th council meeting in Oslo, Norway

For the past few years, Hoven was the chair of the AMA's delegation to the WMA and will now serve as the chair of the WMA for a two-year term. WMA represents physicians from 111 national medical associations.

"I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to do this," Hoven said in a UK news release. "I see myself not so much as a woman in this role but as a leader of a global organization of physicians who are working to support their peers around the the world and improve the lives of their patients."

Hoven earned an undergraduate degree in microbiology then a medical degree from UK. She finished her internal medicine and infectious disease training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Now she is a member of the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Disease Society of America.

Hoven has received the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award and the Kentucky Medical Association Distinguished Service Award, and in 2015, she was inducted into the Hall of Distinguished Alumni for UK. "Hoven hopes for the WMA to raise its profile internationally and increase the impact of its policies and advocacy on behalf of physicians and patients," the release says.

"I want to make our footprint bigger and our voice stronger," Hoven said.

Princess Health and UK research project will create strategies to improve respiratory health for those living in Appalachian Kentucky.Princessiccia

Princess Health and UK research project will create strategies to improve respiratory health for those living in Appalachian Kentucky.Princessiccia

air pollution Appalachia asthma chronic disease environment public health research respiratory illness University of Kentucky

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Public health researchers at the University of Kentucky will undertake a five-year long research project called "Community-Engaged Research and Action to Reduce Respiratory Disease in Appalachia," Sarah Noble writes in a UK press release.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the project will involve creating strategies to improve respiratory and environmental public health. Kentuckians living in Appalachian counties have the state's highest rates of serious respiratory illness.

"Adults in Appalachian Kentucky are 50 percent more likely to develop asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than the overall U.S. population," Noble writes. "As many as one in five adults in the region have received a diagnosis of asthma, and rates of COPD are nearly two-and-a-half fold the incidence of the disease in other parts of the country.

Although studies show associations between respiratory health problems and environmental contaminants, data doesn't yet include individual-level assessments or behavioral risk factors common in the area�such as smoking, poor diet and insufficient physical activity. The "Community Response to Environmental Exposures in Eastern Kentucky" project will fill those gaps.

The CREEEK project will include three steps. A community-based assessment will "identify the relationships between indoor air pollutants, behavioral and social determinants and the effects these factors have on risk of respiratory disease," Noble writes. That information "will be shared with local stakeholders in an effort to increase understanding of the environmental exposures present in the region," then the project will put in place "an environmental public health action strategy and will evaluate that strategy's ability to impact short-and long-term outcomes for respiratory health."

Princess Health and UK students in national program to educate kids about oral health .Princessiccia

Princess Health and UK students in national program to educate kids about oral health .Princessiccia

dental care dental health dental school University of Kentucky youth

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A University of Kentucky undergraduate dental group was recently spotlighted by the National Children's Oral Health Foundation for their passion to share oral-health education with elementary and middle schools in Kentucky, according to a UK news release.

UK Students United with America's ToothFairy was founded in 2014 and is made up of more than 100 UK undergraduates interested in dentistry, who are also part of the UK Pre-Dental Society.

The America�s ToothFairy� program is the branch of the National Children�s Oral Health Foundation that works to prevent childhood dental disease through community-based prevention, education and treatment services.

"At a young age, these children can lose and permanently damage their teeth," Nabeela Rahman, a first-year UK College of Dentistry student and former UKPDS president, said in the release. "Being able to help these children, even slightly, was a very rewarding experience for me."

Already this year, UK's SUAT chapter has held six community outreach events reaching more than 500 students, targeting schools in Lexington and some rural Kentucky areas. It is considered one of the largest and more active chapters in the nation, the release says.

At each event, SUAT members share oral health and nutrition information and demonstrate proper tooth brushing and flossing. They also share information about the effects of tobacco on oral health and send the students home with toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss.

Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease in children and adolescents ages 6 to 19, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And a 2001 Kentucky oral health survey found that 29 percent of third- and sixth-grade students screened had untreated tooth decay and 75 percent had not seen a dentist in more than a year, according to the release.

Princess Health and Markey Cancer Center honors those who have battled cancer by displaying art by or about them: Expressions of Courage.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Markey Cancer Center honors those who have battled cancer by displaying art by or about them: Expressions of Courage.Princessiccia

cancer University of Kentucky

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To celebrate National Cancer Survivorship Month, the Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky held an art exhibit June 6 to showcase personal artistic expressions crafted by or in memory of a Markey patient whose battle had ended.

UK patient Phillip Meeks brought
a drawing by his daughter, inspired
by the story of his cancer treatment.

The Expressions of Courage event �honored the experiences of those who have battled cancer with a day of recognition and celebration,� a UK news release said.

"We sent out over 6,000 letters," Cindy Robinson, a Markey nurse practitioner and one of the organizers, said in the release. "And we asked people for any type of creative modality that they wanted to share with us, to share their cancer journey, whether it be positive or negative."

More than 30 artists responded and shared a vast array of talents, from paintings, sculptures and quilting to dancing, singing, and readings of poetry and short stories, just to name a few.

"The artwork is very moving and inspiring, and actually will bring tears to your eyes if you read some of the pieces," Robinson said. "We have some pieces here from patients that are no longer with us, and we personally know those people."

Shawna Cassidy Quan of Richmond was one of the survivors in attendance, having been diagnosed with four different primary cancers over 15 years. Her expression of courage was an essay about her struggles with her multiple diagnoses.

"You figure out the answers to a lot of your problems even while you're sitting down writing," Quan said in the release. "It's just been a wonderful, therapeutic thing for me."

Norton Cancer Center and Markey patient Phillip Meeks traveled nearly two hours from Jeffersonville, Ind., to attend the event. His art piece was a drawing by his daughter, who was inspired by the story of his treatment.

In 2012, Meeks' was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, which required a bone-marrow transplant to survive. The odds of getting one were not in his favor because as an African American, only 7 percent of the bone marrow registry is African-American, and as an adoptee he did not have any biological siblings or parents to be tested.

The day he was admitted to the hospital, Meeks said in the release that they found a token underneath his hospital bed: one side said "Believe in Miracles" while the other side said "Faith."

"To me, that was God's way of saying that I'm there with you, you know, don't be scared," Meeks said.

A donor match was found for him, and he received his life-saving transplant in January 2013.

Meeks, along with many survivors and their families, said that the Expressions of Courage event was not only a day to showcase talent, but a day that survivors could show their appreciation to the staff of Markey.

"I just want to give back," Meeks said. "That's my big thing. How can you thank so many people that are involved in saving your life? There's not a gift that you can give that's big enough. Hopefully this is my one little piece to say thank you for everything that everybody has done for me."

Princess Health and University of Kentucky rural health expert, Ty Borders, appointed to national advisory committee on rural health.Princessiccia

Princess Health and University of Kentucky rural health expert, Ty Borders, appointed to national advisory committee on rural health.Princessiccia

Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky health policy rural health University of Kentucky

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University of Kentucky College of Public Health Professor Ty Borders was recently appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services.

Ty Borders

This committee is part of the Health Resources and Services Administration and includes a 21-member panel of nationally recognized rural health experts that is responsible for making recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services on issues related to rural health. Borders's appointment will continue until April 2019.

�This appointment is an honor not only for Dr. Borders and his family, but also for Kentucky,� Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., said in a UK news release. �Dr. Borders possesses a broad and deep understanding of the health care challenges facing rural Kentucky and America. His unique insight about evidence-based strategies that could improve rural health and health care delivery will greatly benefit the committee.�

Borders is the chair of the Department of Health Services Management and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky endowed chair in Rural Health Policy. He also serves as a founding co-director of the UK Institute for Rural Health Policy and is the editor of the Journal of Rural Health, an academic publication devoted to rural health research.

Princess Health and Clay County 4th and 5th graders participate in UK research of circadian rhythms and obesity, little studied in children.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Clay County 4th and 5th graders participate in UK research of circadian rhythms and obesity, little studied in children.Princessiccia

child obesity childhood obesity children's health chronic disease education obesity research University of Kentucky

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The University of Kentucky recently partnered with over 100 fourth and fifth grade students in two Clay County schools to study the relationship between circadian rhythms and weight in children.

Sydney Sester, a fifth grade student at Manchester Elementary School, said in a UK news release that in addition to learning more about science and helping others by contributing to research, participating in the study showed her the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and eating well.

"It made me want to be more responsible with food and be patient with what I eat and only eat when I'm hungry," she said.

The project, "Circadian Rhythm Parameters and Metabolic Syndrome Associated Factors in Young Children," also known as the Clay County Clock Study, is led by Dr. Jody Clasey, associate professor of kinesiology and health promotion, and Dr. Karyn Esser, professor of physiology.

The research team says it hopes to learn about the relationship between circadian rhythms, eating, and activity behaviors and the incidence of overweight and obesity in children.

And while the team is in the process of analyzing the data, Esser told a group at the 10th annual Center for Clinical and Translational Science conference in March that early data show 33 percent of the students in the study are considered obese, their initial blood pressure measurements are on the high end of normal, and the students are less active on weekends and nights than during the school week.

The data was gathered through electronic devices that the students wore for seven days to measure activity, heart rate and skin temperature. The students also kept a daily journal to record their sleep and eating activities each day.

Previous studies have shown that disrupting an adult's circadian rhythm is associated with increased risk for metabolic disease, which is a combination of chronic health conditions that puts a person at a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes. Similar research with children has been limited.

Esser noted that "Clay County and many of the counties in Appalachia have a much higher rate of these chronic diseases."

She also said that while it is known that light exposure affects the body clock, recent findings show that the time that we do activities, like exercising and eating, also contribute to circadian health, and that this is also likely true in children.

This research "could not only influence an individual, but school start times, activity intervention, just so many different areas from personal practice or behavioral choices to public policy, all for the metabolic or physiological good of the individual or collective body," Clasey said.

Princess Health and'Mind Matters' Health Fair in Lexington May 18 will focus on brain and nutrition; famous chef will make free "brain healthy" food.Princessiccia

Princess Health and'Mind Matters' Health Fair in Lexington May 18 will focus on brain and nutrition; famous chef will make free "brain healthy" food.Princessiccia

aging memory loss nutrition prevention University of Kentucky

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Ouita Michel

Nationally known Bluegrass chef Ouita Michel of Midway, who owns seven Lexington-area eateries, will be cooking up free "brain healthy" food at the seventh annual "Mind Matters" Health Fair Monday, May 18 at the Fayette County Extension Office, 1140 Red Mile Place, Lexington.

The fair, sponsored by the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Its focus of this year is proper nutrition for a healthy brain, providing information on how diet can help promote healthy brain aging and prevent age-related brain disease.

In addition to Michel's free "brain healthy" food, the event will also feature interactive exhibits, health and memory screenings, and presentations about healthy brain aging, Alzheimer's and music therapy.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Sarah Tarrant at (859) 323-1331.

Princess Health andYou can volunteer for medical research by signing up through a national registry that connects volunteers and researchers .Princessiccia

Princess Health andYou can volunteer for medical research by signing up through a national registry that connects volunteers and researchers .Princessiccia

research University of Kentucky

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Have you ever wondered how you could volunteer for medical research?

ResearchMatch provides this opportunity through a national registry that brings together volunteers who are interested in research, and researchers who are looking for participants for their studies, University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto said in a letter of invitation to participate.

"Too often, studies end early because there are not enough volunteers, leaving important questions unanswered and new treatments undiscovered. But you can help make a difference," Capilouto said in the letter.

ResearchMatch is an easy-to-use, secure registry where anyone can sign up to volunteer to participate in studies. It needs both healthy participants as well as those with medical conditions to sign up. Specific medical conditions and studies can be searched for on its "About" or "Volunteer" pages. The list of current research studies at UK can be found by visiting UKclinicalresearch.com or e-mailing ukclinicalresearch@uky.edu.

Participation might involve filling out a questionnaire, maintaining a diary, taking new medications or using a new device. The choice to participate in the study is always up to the volunteer and your name can be removed at any time. The registry has more than 74,000 participants and is operated by Vanderbilt University, a partner of the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science.  

Princess Health and Princess Health andLexington auto mechanic becomes neurosurgeon; now researching traumatic brain injury diagnosis and treatment.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andLexington auto mechanic becomes neurosurgeon; now researching traumatic brain injury diagnosis and treatment.Princessiccia

research traumatic brain injuries University of Kentucky

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In the early 1980s, Geoff Manley was a mechanic, and some of his clients were University of Kentucky faculty. That is how he met microbiology professor Shelly Steiner and started on the road to a new career: neurosurgery and a multi-million-dollar research project.

"Some kids are polite�you know, 'Yes, yes, sir'�but disengaged. Geoff was clearly intelligent and focused," Steiner told Laura Dawahare of UKNow. "You can talk to someone for just a few minutes and know right away how bright they are. Geoff was like that."

Because no one in Manley's family had gone to college, Steiner's suggestion that he finish his GED and attend UK, was a "transformative moment," Manley said. He graduated in 1988 then earned his MD-PhD at Cornell University. Now he is the vice chair of neurosurery at the University of California-San Francisco.

"Manley's earlier work with Steiner and a colleague in the lab influenced his decision to pursue a career in the neurosciences; his particular interest is in traumatic brain injury, or TBI," Dawahare writes.

Though the public often hears about athletes' concussions, TBI results even more often from auto accidents or slips-and-falls. Every year at least 1.7 million people in the U.S. get medical attention for TBI. "I did a lot of bench work earlier in my career, but I was torn between my interest in the basic sciences and my desire to do something directly relevant for TBI patients," Manley said. "So I began to explore a new translational research approach to TBI."

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) gave him $18.8 million over five years to do worldwide research about concussion and traumatic brain injury. TBI is complex, which makes diagnosis and therapy development difficult. Dr. Manley and his colleagues want to change the current TBI measures. "Here we are in the 21st Century, and we classify TBI in one of three ways: mild, moderate or severe," Manley said. "Cancer, by comparison, can be characterized in a very precise way, and treatments are customized to each patient's needs." Therefore, Dr. Manley wants to establish a set of classifications for TBI that are as detailed as the ones used for cancer.

"We expect that our approach will permit researchers to characterize and stratify patients more effectively, will allow meaningful comparisons of treatments and outcomes and will improve the next generation of clinical trials," Manley said. "Advancing our understand of TBI will ultimately lead to successful, patient-specific treatments."

Manley said that Steiner's encouragement helped him not only finish his GED and college but also get where he is today. Steiner said, "Geoff would have made it anyway�he had the intellectual octane and the motivation. He may think others helped him, but it really was his trip." (Read more)

Princess Health and Princess Health andUK researchers work to improve identification of lung cancer patients eligible for participation in clinical trials for new treatments.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andUK researchers work to improve identification of lung cancer patients eligible for participation in clinical trials for new treatments.Princessiccia

cancer clinical trials lung cancer research University of Kentucky

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At the University of Kentucky, researchers are developing better strategies to identify lung cancer patients who could participate in clinical trials for new treatments. Lung cancer causes more deaths than any other kind of cancer worldwide, and Kentucky's rates of lung cancer and mortality are the highest in the nation.

Unfortunately, fewer than 1 percent of lung cancer patients participate in clinical trials in part because identifying and recruiting eligible participants is difficult and time-consuming, Mallory Powell writes for UK. The disease is often diagnosed so late that there is little time for clinical trials.

"The combination of the burden of lung cancer in Kentucky and the urgency of identifying patients who are eligible for clinical trials motivated Dr. Eric Durben and his team to devise a more efficient method for screening patient eligibility," Powell writes. Durben is director of the Cancer Research Informatics Shared Resource Facility at UK's Markey Cancer Center and an assistant professor in the division of biomedical informatics in the College of Public Health.

Durbin and his team are using unique electronic data sources managed by UK's Center for Clinical and Translational Science, the Institute for Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, the Markey Cancer Center and the Kentucky Cancer Registry to create system system to identify patients who for clinical trials. The two-year project is in its seventh month.

"Clinical trial recruitment is critically important to the Markey Cancer Center if we're going to get lifesaving therapeutics to our patients," said Dr. Susanne Arnold, associate professor in medical oncology and radiation medicine at Markey. "It's also how we make progress in cancer treatment."

While the project is geared toward lung cancer, its results could address other cancers. "What's really exciting about Dr. Durbin's study is that it has the potential to greatly improve clinical research not only in the lung cancer but in other cancers and disease conditions as well," said Dr. Nathan Vanderford, assistant director for research at Markey. (Read more)

Princess Health and Princess Health andMorehead State, UK and Morehead hospital sign agreement to form Appalachian Health and Research Center.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andMorehead State, UK and Morehead hospital sign agreement to form Appalachian Health and Research Center.Princessiccia

Appalachia hospitals medical education research rural health University of Kentucky

Gusty 05:57 Add Comment

Morehead State University, St. Claire Regional Medical Center and the University of Kentucky's Institute for Rural Health Policy signed a memorandum of understanding April 30 to form the Appalachian Health and Research Center.

�The primary mission of the AHRC is to increase the capacity for innovative, collaborative research based out of Morehead, which directly addresses health issues faced by residents of Appalachian Kentucky and beyond,� said Dr. Michael Henson, Morehead State's associate vice president for research and graduate-school dean. �AHRC will seek to improve local educational opportunities related to health research and to facilitate the translation of research findings into local health policy.�

From left: Reynolds, Andrews and hospital CEO Mark Neff

Dr. Brady Reynolds, UK's Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky Endowed Chair in Rural Health Policy and co-director of the Institute for Rural Health Policy, said, �This partnership stands to greatly increase capacity for health-related research in the Morehead area and northeastern Kentucky, with the ultimate aim of improving health and health policy in the region. Through this partnership we will be able to accomplish research and community health goals that may not otherwise be possible.�

Morehead President Wayne Andrews said the agreement will �allow us to focus on some areas of research that will help us improve the lives of the citizens in East Kentucky.� The specific AHRC goals are to:

• Create new and productive research partnerships with regional colleagues at the two universities and the hospital in the areas of health and wellness;
• Increase infrastructure for health research in Morehead and the surrounding area;
• Enhance opportunities for faculty, students, and medical residents to participate in cutting-edge biomedical research;
• Streamline the required review process for collaborative projects and increase the number of behavioral and clinical trials into which local residents and patients may be enrolled;
• Promote dialogue with the public about health, wellness and biomedical research; and
• Actively work to identify and translate specific research findings to local health policy to improve health in the region.

The research center will be housed in Morehead State's Center for Health, Education and Research, which was created in 2010 as the first such partnership involving a regional public university, a land-grant research university and a nonprofit hospital corporation. The $30 million, 90,000-square-foot facility is the largest construction project in the history of Morehead State, according to a university press release. 

Princess Health and Princess Health andUK's advanced ventricular-assist device program for heart patients saves and improves lives.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andUK's advanced ventricular-assist device program for heart patients saves and improves lives.Princessiccia

heart disease heart health heart transplant hospitals pneumonia University of Kentucky

Gusty 07:13 Add Comment

Two years ago, John Doty was diagnosed with walking pneumonia, and though antibiotics originally helped, the pneumonia came back with a vengeance, and he went to see a cardiologist. He found out his heart was severely weakened with an ejection fraction of less than 10 percent. "The ejection fraction is a measure of how effectively the heart can pump blood volume into the body, and in a healthy heart, that number falls between 50-65 percent," Allison Perry writes for the University of Kentucky, where Doty received a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) because his heart was so weak.

UK Chandler Hospital is Lexington's only hospital, and one of two in the state, that can perform emergency VAD procedures. "When Mr. Doty was transferred to UK, he was very sick, on a ventilator and requiring two medications to support his blood pressure," said Dr. Navin Rajagopala, a heart failure cardiologist at the UK Gill Heart Institute. "He was going into kidney and liver failure. It was clear that he needed an assist device as soon as possible before the damage to his body was irreversible."

VADs partially take the place of the function of a failing heart. They're more often used for the left ventricle, but some patients need the device for the right ventricle or even two devices to help both ventricles (BiVAD). Because VADs can help the heart rest and heal, some patients receive them after a heart attack or a surgery. People suffering from congestive heart failure might need a VAD for the rest of their lives.

A viral infection damaged Andy Baker's heart, and though he originally resisted the idea of a VAD, now he says he's "happy to keep the device and has no interest in getting a heart transplant," Perry writes. "I had mixed feelings about it," Baker said about getting the VAD, "but it's given me life again."

VAD treatment can save money for the both the patient and the hospital and allow at-home recovery. VADs can allow people to return to their normal lives, participating in many of the same activities they did previously. in about 5 to 10 percent of cases, the VAD even helps the heart to heal to the point that the device can be removed. That was the situation for Doty, whose device was removed 16 weeks after he got it. "I almost feel like I never had it," Doty said. "It wasn't that great of an imposition, considering that it was keeping you alive."

UK performs about 20 to 30 VAD procedures per year, and recently received its third straight biannual Certificate of Distinction from The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of U.S. health-care organizations. That "shows just what an outstanding job our physicians, nurses and support staff are doing when it comes to treating patients who require these assist devices," said Dr. Maya Guglin, director of UK's Mechanical Assisted Circulation Program. (Read more)

Princess Health and Princess Health andTelemedicine can help delay Alzheimer's, especially in rural areas, where it starts sooner, Appalachian health conference is told.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andTelemedicine can help delay Alzheimer's, especially in rural areas, where it starts sooner, Appalachian health conference is told.Princessiccia

Alzheimer's disease Appalachia dementia rural health rural-urban disparities telemedicine University of Kentucky

Gusty 14:07 Add Comment

By Melissa Landon
Kentucky Health News

Telemedicine is a strategy that can be used to help prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease, especially in rural areas, where the disease comes sooner in life, Dr. Gregory Jicha, clinical-core director of the University of Kentucky's Disease Center, said today at the fourth annual Appalachian Translational Research Network Summit in Lexington.

Dr. Gregory Jicha

While mortality rates for prostate cancer, breast cancer, heart disease and HIV are going down, the rates for Alzheimer's are going up, and by 2020, it is estimated that 5.6 million Americans could be affected by it. Rural areas have higher incidents of the condition, and the onset of dementia averages four years younger in rural areas than in urban areas, Jicha said.

The university's Telemedicine Cognition Clinic offers appointments that involve video interaction with patients and caregivers in remote areas. In rural areas in general, telemedicine can be particularly helpful for patients who live great distances from the nearest specialist. "I cannot drive to Paducah and fill an entire clinic every week," Jicha said. But he explained that he can "travel" to a different city every hour and provide care to patients. "Telemedicine really is the wave of the future," he said. 

During telemedicine appointments, medical experts can talk about the patients' history, administer cognitive tests, and even observe patients walking or performing tasks to diagnose them. The goal of the program is to provide high level care and cognitive evaluations in rural areas by partnering with primary care physicians and clinics in rural areas, Jicha said.

Another important aspect of the growing program is education, both for patients and for physicians. Alzheimer's disease has no sure, but some risk factors associated with it�such as hypertension, alcohol use and depression�are treatable. If rural residents had better access to specialists who can detect the early symptoms of the disease, its onset could be delayed.

The conference was a forum for hundreds of research efforts. Among the topics discussed during the conference were the connection between physical fitness and academic performance in children, and environmental enrichment to promote healthy aging brains.

Todd Gress, a professor at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., presented a study about a pilot test of a text-message reminder system to advance diabetes awareness, compliance, and education�particularly in remote areas where cell phone service might be unreliable.

The advancing telemedicine strategy and these other research agendas should serve as a reminder that gifted researchers are searching for ways to improve rural health.

Such conferences "represent the best of what's happening out there in the world of universities and the world of communities," UK Provost Christine Rirodan told one session. She said the Appalachian gathering "represents the passion of people who are dedicated to solving these problems" in the region, "which require a great deal of collaboration to solve. . . . They're not small problems."

Princess Health and Princess Health andUK hospital tells 1,079 former patients that a laptop computer with their medical records was stolen in early February.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andUK hospital tells 1,079 former patients that a laptop computer with their medical records was stolen in early February.Princessiccia

electronic health records hospitals medical records privacy University of Kentucky

Gusty 09:55 Add Comment

The University of Kentucky reported Wednesday that personal health information of 1,079 people who had been patients at its hospital was on a laptop computer that was stolen in early February.

UK HealthCare said the computer, which was password-protected, belonged to one of its pharmacy billing management vendors. The computer contained dates of birth, medical records and perhaps some patients' insurance carriers and ID numbers, but not Social Security numbers or bank information, UK said.

"We have no reason to believe at this time that any data has been compromised, but under federal privacy regulations we are required to notify people whose information was on the computer in question," UK spokesman Jay Blanton said. "We are also notifying those individuals directly about what has occurred. In that communication, we provide information about where people can contact UK HealthCare for further information." For coverage from WKYT-TV, click here.