Category Archives: Medical School

Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the United States. According to theSudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, there are more than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests annually in the U.S. and nearly 90% of them are fatal.

For National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month in October,Demetri Yannopoulos, MD, with the University of Minnesota Medical School and M Health Fairview, talks about cardiac arrest symptoms and care innovation in Minnesota.

Q: What is sudden cardiac arrest?Dr. Yannopoulos:Sudden cardiac arrest is a mechanical malfunction of the heart that is immediate and unexpected. The result is that blood stops pumping throughout your body and the ability to bring oxygen to vital organs such as your brain is compromised. This results in someone becoming suddenly unresponsive and requires immediate action, such as calling 911 and providing CPR. According to the American Heart Association, survival from sudden cardiac arrest is approximately 10% nationwide. In areas such as Minnesota, where the Center for Resuscitation Medicine has focused efforts to improve outcomes through a systemwide approach, survival can be as high as 40% in cases where early recognition and bystander CPR are present.

Q: What are the symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest? Are they different from a heart attack?Dr. Yannopoulos: The primary symptom of a sudden cardiac arrest is the sudden loss of consciousness with an absence of breathing or pulse. Some patients have heart attacks before or during their sudden cardiac arrest. As such, heart attacks blocked arteries of the heart are a common cause for sudden death. A person suffering from a heart attack can have chest pain; weakness; discomfort in the jaw, neck or back; and shortness of breath. A heart attack can trigger an electrical malfunction that leads to cardiac arrest.

Q: Are the symptoms of cardiac arrest different for men and women?Dr. Yannopoulos: The symptoms of cardiac arrest are the same for both men and women, however, heart attack symptoms can vary. Most heart attack symptoms are the same and include chest pain and weakness or lightheadedness. Women may be more likely to have back pain, nausea and shortness of breath. With any symptoms, you should be examined, or if symptoms are obvious, call 911. In the event of a cardiac arrest, recent studies have shown that women are less likely to receive bystander CPR and have lower overall survival rates. Currently, there are several campaigns to improve CPR response for women.

Q: How is the University advancing care for cardiac arrest in Minnesota?Dr. Yannopoulos:The University of Minnesota has been at the forefront of major scientific developments in the constant battle against sudden cardiac death. We have invented new ways to improve blood flow during CPR, better ways to ventilate and new drugs to treat cardiac arrest. We have collaborated with all EMS agencies in the state and organized together a best-in-the-world advanced resuscitation program that treats all victims of sudden cardiac arrest with the most advanced and skilled team that is currently available. We use a machine called ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) that acts like the heart and lungs through the major blood vessels to allow time to find the underlying cause, treat it and then continue to support the patients in an intensive care unit.

With this novel strategy that is now the standard of care in our community, patients that have primary electrical storm related sudden death have a six to seven times higher survival rate compared to the national standard of care. We are in the process of spreading the knowledge and process to be applied nationwide, and we are working tirelessly to even further improve the outcomes for patients surviving neurologically intact.

Q: How have the collaborations with The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust forwarded our care to patients in rural areas?Dr. Yannopoulos:The Helmsley Charitable Trust has been a strong supporter of cardiac care improvement in Minnesota. They have supported the mobile ECMO project in the metropolitan area that continues to expand further into rural Minnesota. Recently, the Helmsley Charitable Trust supported an AED project through the Center for Resuscitation Medicine to place new AEDs in all law enforcement vehicles throughout Minnesota. Law enforcement officers are often the first responders on scene, especially in rural communities, and these devices will help them provide critical lifesaving care.

Demetri Yannopoulos, MD, is a professor in the Center for Resuscitation Medicine in the Medical School on the Twin Cities campus and a cardiologist at M Health Fairview. His clinical interests include emergent cardiac care, coronary-artery disease and congenital and peripheral intervention.

In collaboration with The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Dr. Yannopoulos is the University lead in increasing access to cardiac care in Minnesota through the Minnesota Mobile Resuscitation Consortium by launching the ECMO truck, three ECMO SUVs and outfitting law enforcement agencies and first responders statewide with state-of-the-art automated external defibrillators. Law enforcement agencies interested in participating in the AED program can enroll at [emailprotected]

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About Talking...with U of MTalking...with U of M is a resource whereby University of Minnesota faculty answer questions on current and other topics of general interest. Feel free to republish this content. If you would like to schedule an interview with the faculty member or have topics youd like the University of Minnesota to explore for future Talking...with U of M, please contact University Public Relations at [emailprotected].

About the University of Minnesota Medical SchoolThe University of Minnesota Medical School is at the forefront of learning and discovery, transforming medical care and educating the next generation of physicians. Our graduates and faculty produce high-impact biomedical research and advance the practice of medicine. We acknowledge that the U of M Medical School, both the Twin Cities campus and Duluth campus, is located on traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and scores of other Indigenous people, and we affirm our commitment to tribal communities and their sovereignty as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with tribal nations. For more information about the U of M Medical School, please visitmed.umn.edu.

Minnesota Mobile Resuscitation ConsortiumUnder the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs, the Minnesota Mobile Resuscitation Consortium (MMRC) is a non-profit community resource that is an extension of the Universitys ECMO resuscitation program that started in 2015. The U of M has more ECMO experience than any other organization in the U.S., having treated more than 300 cardiac arrest ECMO cases since its inception, with a 40% survival rate comparatively higher than the average survival rate of less than 10% at other locations that treat similar patient populations.

This is a collaborative initiative funded by an $18.6 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and in-kind donations from industry and private donors. Other recognized donors are Zoll Medical, Stryker Emergency Care, Getinge Incorporated and General Electric. Health care system partners include Fairview Health Services, Regions Hospital (HealthPartners) and North Memorial Health Care System, with contractual partnership for physician services with M Health Fairview, Health Partners, U of M Physicians, Hennepin Healthcare and Lifelink III for clinicians

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Talking cardiac awareness with U of M - UMN News

Recent Supreme Court decisions are weighing heavily on many caregivers, and our nations political polarization makes it more complicated to navigate different belief systems and our roles as patient advocates.

Join the Office for Health Equity & Inclusion and the Office for Medical School Education as we partner with various leaders and subject matter experts to host the second in a series of four Community Conversations where faculty, staff and students have the opportunity to share information, experiences and thoughtfully consider how we demonstrate and practice our institutional values.

This second session will provide tools and ideas for consideration when we are navigating a space with those we disagree with.Speakers will lead us in dialogue about navigating polarizing topics and finding the balance between tolerating difference and potentially providing implicit support to ideas that may be dangerous or leave community members feeling isolated or marginalized.

Thoughtfully and carefully navigating challenging topics like climate change, war, poverty, gun violence, an ongoing pandemic, intractable racism, provider shortages and healthcare disparities can make our lives and our work more difficult but also make our work more important, meaningful and impactful.

Navigating Polarity

When: Oct 17, 6:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

Where: Med Sci I M3330

Event will be livestreamed

RSVP here

Speakers include:

Julia Minson, PhD, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Kevin Hawkins, Commissioner, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

Moderator: Whitney Peoples, PhD, UM School of Public Health, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

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Join OHEI and OMSE for community conversations Michigan Medicine Headlines - Michigan Medicine Headlines

(Washington, DC) Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Universal Health Services(UHS)cut the ribbon on the new Cedar Hill Urgent Care, GW Health. Owned and operated by UHS and inpartnership with the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the GW Medical Faculty Associates,the $1.8 million full-service urgent care will provide comprehensive services for a wide range of illnesses. Cedar Hill Urgent Care, GW Health is the first location to open as part ofa partnership between theDistrict and UHSto createa comprehensive system of healthcare serving communities east of the Anacostia River.

We were very proud, earlier this year, to break ground on the new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, but we also know that it is not just about building one hospital it is about the entire health care system. This new urgent care is a critical piece of that system,said Mayor Bowser.The new urgent care facility will help ensure more Washingtonians are getting the right care at the right place at the right time.

When complete, the system will include two urgent care facilities, an ambulatory center,and the new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health. Thenewfacility, located on the ground floor of the Mapleview Flats building at 2228 MartinLuther King Jr Avenue SE, will open its doors to patients on Monday, October 10. The urgent carecenterwill be opensevendays a week, 8 am to 8 pm,and serve all District residents.

Cedar Hill Urgent Care, GW Health will offer comprehensive services for a broad range of illnesses including:

In addition, x-rays and basic lab work will be offered.

We are thrilled to be embarking on the development of these vital health services East of the Anacostia River so that we can better serve all residents across the District of Columbia, said Kimberly Russo, MBA, MS, Group Vice President of the Washington, DC Region for UHS and Chief Executive Officer of GW Hospital. Opening Cedar Hill Urgent Care is the next step in creating a comprehensive, academic medical network which will enhance health access, equity and outcomes and elevate healthcare in our nations capital.

Cedar Hill Urgent Care, GW Health will be fully integrated with the new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center opening in early 2025 as well as a second urgent care facility opening in 2024 in Ward 7.

Providing access to high-quality health care to all citizens of the District is a 200-year tradition for GW, said Barbara L. Bass, MD, Vice President for Health Affairs, Dean of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and CEO of the GW Medical Faculty Associates. In this new urgent care facility, we will have the ability to provide convenient, on-the-spot care to our patients and partner with our neighbors to improve the health and wellness of our great city.

In February, Mayor Bowser, UHS, George Washington University and Childrens National Hospital broke ground on the new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health in Ward 8 at the St. Elizabeths East Campus. Last month, the Mayor and UHS announced a plan to expand the size of the new hospital to include a fourth floor. The expansion is made possible through a $17 million investment from UHS.

Social Media:Mayor Bowser Twitter:@MayorBowserMayor Bowser Instagram:@Mayor_BowserMayor Bowser Facebook:facebook.com/MayorMurielBowserMayor Bowser YouTube:https://www.bit.ly/eomvideos

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Mayor Bowser and Universal Health Services Cut Ribbon on Cedar Hill Urgent Care, GW Health in Ward 8 | mayormb - Executive Office of the Mayor

This week: A chance to network with health care marketing professionals, bike riders hit the streets to benefit cancer research and a medical student turned author pens a book for young adults.

Hull College of Business will host a business showcase and lecture featuring Dentsu Health from 4-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11 in the Dr. Roscoe Williams Ballroom in the Jaguar Student Activities Center. Dentsu Health specializes in health, wellness and pharmaceutical marketing and will network with students during the event.

Weve lost sight of care: care of ourselves, care of our loved ones and friends, the care that we received and the real care that we need, said Ken Groves, the firms global head of strategy. Two years since the pandemic outbreak, we keep hearing about the acceleration of tech adoption in health care. However, our new outlook on care cannot be limited to a broader set of services and devices.

The opening ceremonies for PaceDay 2022 will be from 4-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15 to benefit the Georgia Cancer Center. The event will take place at SRP Park in North Augusta with food, fun, live music and cancer stories being told. Those participating in Sundays ride can also drop off their bikes. The 25-, 50- and 70-mile rides will start at 8 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 16 with the finish line at the Augusta Common. Since 2019, over $700,000 has been raised and invested in cancer research thanks to Paceline.

Cancer research is very competitive. Less than 10 percent of grants submitted get funded. A lot of people will be eventually impacted by cancer during their lifetime or have family members suffer from the disease, so its a fight that needs everyones involvement, said Huidong Shi, PhD, a cancer researcher at the Georgia Cancer Center.

Tyler Beauchamp, a fourth-year medical student at the Medical College of Georgia, has published his first book, Freeze Frame. Beauchamp has been working on the book since the beginning of the pandemic and would unwind from his studies by writing.

The story follows high school junior Will Horner, an introverted, avid filmmaker trying to move on from the horrors of his past.

I dont think I could do medicine without letting my creative side out every now and then. It just makes me feel human, Beauchamp said. There is something about creativity I really find beautiful, thats exciting.

Interview opportunities are available for these story ideas. Call 706-522-3023 to schedule an interview. Check out the Augusta University Expert Center to view our list of experts who can help with story ideas.

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What's happening at Augusta University? Week of Oct. 10-16 - Jagwire Augusta

Investigators from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the states leading cancer center and only National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, together with RWJBarnabas Health, examined the microbiome of pancreatic tumors and identified particular microorganisms at single cell resolution that are associated with inflammation and with poor survival. According to the researchers, these microorganisms may be new targets for earlier diagnosis or treatment of pancreatic cancer, which is the fourth leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the United States. The findings are published in the online version of Cancer Cell (10.1016/j.ccell.2022.09.009).

Microbes are living things that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. We have more microbes living in our body than the total number of human cells, and can be found in organs like the pancreas, which at one time was considered microbe-free. Subhajyoti De, PhD, principal investigator at Rutgers Cancer Institute and senior author of the study along with graduate student Bassel Ghaddar, a student in the MD/PhD program at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, began exploring if there are microbes residing in pancreatic tumors, and if they have consequences for cancer progression or treatment. However, studying microbes in tumors is difficult, in part since every patient is different, and because microbial footprints are too subtle to detect reliably.

To explore further, the researchers teamed up with Martin Blaser, MD, Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome at Rutgers University and world-renowned microbiome expert. The investigators developed a genomic approach called SAHMI (Single-cell analysis of Host-Microbiome Interactions) to identify microorganisms associated with individual human cells. Sifting through millions of RNA sequences using sophisticated software, they identified which ones likely represent human genes, and which ones are microbial in origin. This new technique allowed us to identify tumor-associated microbes and measure the activity of the host cells at the same time, which is a significant technical advance, and the results were stunning, notes Dr. De, who is also an associate professor of cancer systems biology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Studying two independent groups of pancreatic tumors, the team found that some had bacteria that associated with specific cell-types within the tumor, which were essentially absent in normal pancreatic tissues. These bacteria were predominantly located within tumor cells, and their abundance correlated with cancer-related cell activities. The specific signatures of the microbes that were found predicted particularly aggressive cancer progression and poor prognosis.

The microbial footprints within the pancreatic tumors raised the question of whether the immune cells that were present were responding to the cancer or to the microbes. The study findings suggested that the immune responses were mostly responding to the microbes in the tumor and not to the cancer cells. Our observations provide a new view about why pancreatic cancers are so difficult to treat, notes Dr. Blaser, who is also a research member at Rutgers Cancer Institute and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Rutgers School of Public Health. But better understanding these interactions may identify new approaches for therapies.

Along with Drs. De, Ghaddar, and Blaser, other investigators include: Antara Biswas, PhD, Center for Systems and Computational Biology, Rutgers Cancer Institute; Chris Harris, PhD, Department of Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center; M. Bishr Omary, PhD, Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University and Darren R. Carpizo, MD, PhD, Department of Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center.

About Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

As New Jerseys only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rutgers Cancer Institute, together with RWJBarnabas Health, offers the most advanced cancer treatment options including bone marrow transplantation, proton therapy, CAR T-cell therapy and complex surgical procedures. Along with clinical trials and novel therapeutics such as precision medicine and immunotherapy many of which are not widely available patients have access to these cutting-edge therapies at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey at University Hospital in Newark, as well as through RWJBarnabas Health facilities. To make a tax-deductible gift to support the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, call 848-932-8013 or visitwww.cinj.org/giving.

Observational study

Cells

Tumor microbiome links cellular programs and immunity in pancreatic cancer

10-Oct-2022

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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Researchers find tumor microbiome interactions may identify new approaches for pancreatic cancer treatment - EurekAlert

Apurv Soni, MD, PhD21

Researchers from UMass Chan Medical Schools Program in Digital Medicine are leading an innovative study with virtual health care company Wellinks to improve management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at home.

The study, Healthy at Home, aims to assess the feasibility of app-based consumer technology and comprehensive virtual disease management to improve quality of life and achieve better health outcomes among people with COPD. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COPD is the third leading cause of death by chronic disease in the United States and the fifth most costly chronic disease.

The study plan fits into a broader vision of innovation for health care at home. It will enhance our ability to understand what patients are going through in their home environment surrounding social determinants of health and use that information to predict and try to avert urgent care needs such as emergency room visits or hospitalization, said principal investigator Apurv Soni, MD, PhD21, assistant professor of medicine and co-director of the Program in Digital Medicine. Partnership with UMass Memorial Health and newly formed Center for Digital Health Solutions is critical for growth of innovative programs like this.

John P. Broach, MD, MPH, MBA, FACEP, associate professor of emergency medicine, and Laurel Caren O'Connor, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine, are co-principal investigators on the study. Healthy at Home will plug in via the Wellinks study app to the mobile integrated health service paramedic response team set up by Drs. Broach and OConnor.

OConnor said COPD patients tend to be very complex with multiple factors affecting their disease progression. When a patient gets admitted to the hospital, the chance of readmission for that person is one in three. COPD patients utilize much more health care services and have nearly double the mortality odds at a given time than a similar person without COPD.

Pulmonary rehabilitation exercise along with care management is among the most effective treatments, but Broach said there is a shortage of respiratory therapists, and the service is underprescribed and underutilized.

Working with the Wellinks disease management model and CareEvolution health data platform, the Healthy at Home program will enroll in the pilot study 100 adults diagnosed with COPD who are part of the UMass Memorial Medicare Accountable Care Organization and at risk of requiring acute care within the next six months.

The study will follow patients over six months, evaluating the impact of components of the program including: mobile integrated health service, a physician-supervised team of paramedics available 24/7 to perform in-home medical care; mobile integrated health dashboard that displays biometric data from wearable sensors, results of patient-reported outcomes and relevant clinical data from the electronic health record; and Wellinks virtual-first COPD management solution, which combines virtual pulmonary rehabilitation, personalized health coaching, monitoring through connected devices to measure spirometry and pulse oximetry, and an easy-to-use patient app.

The UMass Memorial ACO will work with its partners to scale the intervention model with a larger patient population to increase clinical impact, if the study results demonstrate its effectiveness, according to Thomas Scornavacca, DO, chief medical officer for UMass Memorial Healths Office of Clinical Integration, the program that operates the ACO.

Soni said Healthy at Home differs from other COPD research in a few ways. One, were focused on maintenance of health at home prior to ER visits and hospitalizations, he said. And second, were increasing our ability to capture and understand data of patients from their home environment to improve our ability to predict what their medical needs are going to be.

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UMass Chan and Wellinks study mobile tools to keep COPD patients healthy - UMass Medical School