The flu has become a greater concern this year because of the emergence of a completely new strain that has spread rapidly around the world, known as H1N1 or "swine" flu. Even though the symptoms caused by the new virus and the way it is spread are similar to seasonal flu viruses, there are some differences. In this podcast interview by Ellen Beth Levitt, you will hear the latest information from an infectious disease expert about H1N1 and seasonal flu, including how these respiratory illnesses are spread, treatments and the best way to protect yourself and your family.

Surgical treatment for mitral valve disease includes either repairing the patient’s diseased valve or replacing it with a metal, mechanical valve or an animal tissue valve. The majority of those procedures are open-heart operations that require a major incision in the chest. Now, after a six-year study, surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore conclude that minimally invasive mitral valve repair techniques, through only a two-inch incision in the right side of the chest, are safe, durable and effective. The results are published in the September 2009 Annals of Surgery.

Employees are embracing the fitness and wellness programs at UMMC, and the American Heart Association (AHA) has recognized the Medical Center for the second straignt year -- 2008 and 2009 -- with an award for its efforts to promote the health of employees.

Baltimore resident Michelle Middlekauf recently donated a kidney to her father at UMMC. She was among the first have a scarless, single-incision kidney removal surgery. UMMC is the third hospital in the United States to offer this procedure, in which the kidney is removed through the navel. Hear what Michelle, whose only sign of surgery when she left the hospital was a Band-Aid on her belly button, has to say about her experience.

Influenza expert Dr. Wilbur Chen, a clinical investigator and infectious disease physician at the University of Maryland's Center for Vaccine Development. where he is overseeing the clinical trials of the H1N1 vaccine. Below, Dr. Chen answers some frequently asked questions about the H1N1 (swine) flu.

Dr. Thomas Scalea, the physician-in-chief of the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, discusses his experience while flying on an aero-medical evacuation mission with the Air Force medics in Iraq in August to help shape future training for military medical teams worldwide.

Dr. Scalea flew on the mission as a lead contributor to the training for the Air Force's Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills, known as C-STARS. Col. Sid Brevard, M.D., the director of C-STARS, provides some background on Dr. Scalea's trip, the relationship between the UM Shock Trauma Center and C-STARS and more.

Watch University of Maryland Medical Center cardiac surgeon Johannes Bonatti perform a totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass operation using the da Vinci® surgical system. Dr. Bonatti performs this surgery through  four or five small holes for the insertion of the instruments.

The patient does not need a large chest incision, so there will be less pain, scarring and blood loss – resulting in a faster recovery. No foreign material is implanted and the bypass grafts will most likely stay open and supply the heart with blood for years to come.

Radiation oncologists at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center in Baltimore are now treating patients with a new technology called RapidArc that delivers radiation directly to a tumor two to eight times faster than conventional intensity-modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT.

University of Maryland physicist Cedric X. Yu, D.Sc., created the concept for the RapidArc technology and is working with the manufacturer, Varian Medical Systems, of Palo Alto, Calif., and other scientists in North America and Europe to develop new clinical applications for its use in treating cancer. The Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center is the first center in Maryland to offer the new technology.

The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center’s (UMGCC) Fairway to Life Breast Care Center has received a three-year full accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a program of the American College of Surgeons.  The Center is among the first in the nation to receive NAPBC Accreditation.

The University of Maryland Medical Center, which has performed more laparoscopic, or minimally invasive, kidney removals than any hospital in the world, did so by making three or four small incisions. On April 15, it became the third hospital in the U.S. to do this procedure through only one incision – in the belly button. Kidney donor Kristin McLoughlin, who required only a Band-Aid to cover her small incision -- was pleased with the result – and hopeful this would encourage others to donate.

The University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore is the first hospital in Maryland and only the third in the United States to perform a single-port, natural orifice kidney removal surgery through the navel for a living kidney donor. During the procedure, surgeons use a single opening in the navel (belly button) as they manipulate a camera and two laparoscopic instruments to separate the kidney from its attachments in the abdomen. The kidney is then removed through that same opening. Only a tiny bandage is required to close the navel, and there are no scars.

Drinking alcohol is a known risk factor for many types of cancer, but studies also have shown that moderate alcohol consumption may actually decrease the risk of developing certain cancers, such as lymphoma. Now, researchers at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center have identified a molecular mechanism that helps to explain how alcohol protects against non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the most common form of lymphoma.

Nearly 100 people will receive “Hero Awards” at this year’s University of Maryland Shock Trauma Gala for their roles in the rescue and lifesaving care of two Maryland residents. At the gala, on April 25 at the Baltimore Convention Center, the dramatic stories of these patients will be told in detail, showing the unique coordination between the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center and Maryland’s EMS system.

CNN's naming University of Maryland Medical Center physician Carnell Cooper as a CNN Hero for his violence prevention work in the Baltimore area produced a tremendous about of feedback on the UMMC Web site, some of which is listed here.

Advances in vaccines, robot-assisted surgeries, and treatments customized to your genetic makeup are among the medical advances will not only improve health care but may also lower costs, according to a book on the emerging megatrends on the medical frontier. “The Future of Medicine: Megatrends in Health Care That Will Improve Your Quality of Life,” was written by Stephen Schimpff, M.D.

Dr. Schimpff is a medical oncologist who was a leader in infectious diseases at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center. He also served as CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center before retiring in 2004. He continues to serve on the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Cardiac surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore have performed a rare triple bypass heart surgery using robotic assistance. This procedure, which does not require any large incisions, presents a durable alternative to open heart surgery for patients with multiple blocked coronary arteries. With this minimally invasive procedure, patients can have a much shorter recovery time and return to their normal life much sooner.

The University of Maryland Medical Center is only the second place in the United States to have performed robot-assisted triple bypass and the first in the world to achieve the triple bypass using an advanced, minimally-invasive heart-lung machine.  

The University of Maryland Medical Center’s Cardiac Care Unit has received the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). The award recognizes the top intensive care units in the country. To receive the award, intensive care units must meet rigorous criteria for excellence, exhibiting high-quality standards and exceptional care for patients and their families while fostering and sustaining healthy work environments.

Maryland researchers have developed a new exercise device called the Tailwind BATRAC device that aids mobility for stroke victims. Sandy McCombe Waller and Jill Whitall, both professors in the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, worked on the device and say it has tremendous potential.

Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center have adapted a small, portable artificial lung, using a newly approved catheter, so that end-stage emphysema patient, Ward Forsyth, can walk, talk, eat and even exercise on a treadmill while he waits for a lung transplant.

The first-ever Maryland Half-Marathon will be held on Sunday, May 31, 2009, in Timonium, Md., with the proceeds to benefit the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center. There also will be a Kids One Mile Fun Run and a post-race festival with live music at the Maryland State Fairgrounds at 2200 York Road.

Organizers hope to sign up 2,009 people to run in the inaugural race, which will start and end at the fairgrounds. The half-marathon will start at 7:30 a.m., and the kids’ race will begin at 8 a.m. Gov. Martin O’Malley will be on hand to welcome the runners and officially start the race.

Dr. Carnell Cooper, a Baltimore surgeon, is saving lives inside and outside the operating room.

Since becoming a trauma surgeon 16 years ago, he has dedicated himself to treating the many young African-American men who've been shot, stabbed or beaten, only to see them return to the ER with another severe injury just months later.

Cooper created the Violence Intervention Program (VIP) at the Shock Trauma Unit of the University of Maryland Medical Center, the state's busiest hospital for violent injuries. It became one of the country's first hospital-based anti-violence programs.

University of Maryland researchers are investigating a drug that can improve a patient's symptoms without the pain of a needle.

The drug is for patients who have relapsing remitting MS, a condition that affects at least 50 percent of patients who have the disease.

The University of Maryland Center for Weight Management and Wellness now offers the laparoscopic gastric banding procedure to patients who qualify for surgical weight loss.

Scientists have begun to solve some of the mysteries of the common cold by putting together the pieces of the genetic codes for all the known strains of the human rhinovirus. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have completed the genomic sequences of the viruses and assembled them into a “family tree,” which shows how the viruses are related, with their commonalities and differences. The study will be released on the online version of the journal Science (Science Express) at 2 p.m. EST on February 12.

The researchers say this work provides a powerful tool that may lead to the development of the first effective treatments against the common cold.

Neurologists from the University of Maryland Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center and the Baltimore VA Medical Center will be featured in the PBS show “Frontline” in a program called “My Father, My Brother, and Me,” which follows producer David Iverson’s personal journey with Parkinson’s disease. 

The documentary team traveled to Baltimore to see what the Maryland researchers are learning about the potential benefits of exercise for Parkinson’s patients. Now in its third year, the goal of  the study is to find out whether exercising several times a week can help people with Parkinson’s disease improve their walking and balance. 

The University of Maryland Medical Center was named a "Top Hospital to Work for" by Nursing Professionals Magazine.

The magazine surveyed 25,000 hospital nurses in the U.S. on their job satisfaction. The 100 winning hospitals were recognized as family-friendly employers with flexible working arrangements and a diverse nursing workforce.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified a common gene variant that appears to influence people’s risk of developing high blood pressure, according to the results of a study being published online Dec. 29, 2008 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

It's that time of year again when many people resolve to improve their health. The problem is that most good intentions get derailed within a few weeks.

Make this year the year you make good on your New Year's resolutions. This New Year's guide, which features advice from University of Maryland Medical Center experts, should help.

Feelings of sadness and depression are common during the holidays, but not inevitable. UM experts offer a variety of practical tips to help you keep the blues away.

Curt I. Civin, MD, a pioneer in cancer research who is known for developing a way to isolate stem cells from other blood cells, has joined the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Civin will become a professor of pediatrics in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, as well as associate dean for research and the founding director of the new University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.

Dr. Civin comes to the University of Maryland School of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he has served as a faculty member since 1979. Dr. Civin currently leads projects totaling $21.5 million in extramural research funding. He will bring to the School of Medicine his entire research team, including 15 postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and research technicians.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have discovered a novel gene mutation among the Old Order Amish population that significantly reduces the level of triglycerides in the blood and appears to help prevent cardiovascular disease. The results of the study will be published in the Dec. 12, 2008 issue of the journal Science.

The University of Maryland Center for Advanced Fetal Care specializes in the evaluation and treatment of fetal abnormalities, and provides state-of-the-art care for unborn babies with complex conditions such as heart defects, fetal growth problems and chromosomal abnormalities.

In this video, parents with complicated pregnancies, including twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), talk about their experiences at the Center and how our doctors gave them hope when they thought there was none. Drs. Ahmet Baschat and Christopher Harman of the Center for Advanced Fetal Care discuss the ways in which families can gain a better understanding of their issues and the options available to them, including first-trimester programs for the assessment of risk of anomalies and chromosome problems.

 In recent years, questions have arisen over whether or not childhood vaccines are safe. In this Medically Speaking Podcast, Dr. Virginia Keane addresses fears that vaccines are dangerous and can cause autism. She talks about how there are no studies that have shown a definitive link between vaccines and autism. Instead, she says, it is coincidental that autism symptoms manifest themselves at around the same age at which children are due for key vaccinations.

In an interview with Karen Buckelew, Dr. Keane details the importance of getting kids vaccinated against deadly diseases that once devastated the U.S., including measles, pertussis and polio. Dr. Keane speaks about how the U.S. could see a resurgence of these diseases if enough children are not vaccinated. She also discusses how the diseases still are prevalent in other areas of the world, putting children without vaccinations at risk when they are traveling.

Childhood obesity is an epidemic in America. In this Medically Speaking Podcast, Dr. Virginia Keane explains that increasingly sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy food choices are leading to rising numbers of overweight children. She talks about how obesity during childhood greatly increases the risk for obesity and other health problems in adulthood.

In an interview with Karen Buckelew, Dr. Keane also discusses how parents can help their kids lose weight or prevent obesity in the first place. Keeping kids moving with sports, active video games or even dancing is critical, Dr. Keane says.

When paramedics are transporting a sick child to the hospital by ambulance, every moment counts and every treatment decision is crucial. A University of Maryland School of Medicine study has found that a simple card printed with basic pediatric medication dosage information can save precious time and reduce dangerous errors when children are being transported to the hospital.

Listening to your favorite music may promote heart health. In this interview, cardiologist Michael Miller, M.D., director of preventive cardiologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, describes his research, which shows for the first time that the emotions aroused by joyful music have a healthy effect on blood vessel function.

Watch a laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal inguinal hernia repair, performed at the University of Maryland Medical Center. This operation is referred to as "a total extraperitoneal repair" because the operating surgeon will actually be going through multiple layers of the abdominal wall but not all the way into the abdominal cavity.

Heart patients have lower costs when treated at hospitals that are top-rated for quality, according to a review of claims by Blue Cross plans.

The patients also had lower readmission and infection rates in facilities that scored highest on objective standards for heart bypasses and artery-unclogging procedures, according to the study to be released today. The review of 41,000 heart patients was conducted by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, a health-plan federation with 102 million members made up of WellPoint Inc. and nonprofit organizations.

Listening to your favorite music may be good for your cardiovascular system. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have shown for the first time that the emotions aroused by joyful music have a healthy effect on blood vessel function.

You have a burning chest pain and a doctor looks at a squiggly-lined graph to determine the cause. That graph, an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), can help the doctor decide whether you’re having a heart attack or an acid attack from last night’s spaghetti. Correct interpretation may prompt life-saving, emergency measures; incorrect interpretation may delay care with life-threatening consequences. Currently, there is no uniform way to teach doctors in training how to interpret an ECG or assess their competence in the interpretation.

To address the lack of uniformity, a team of physicians from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the American College of Cardiology has developed the first Web-based training and examination program for reading ECGs. It is an interactive computer program to teach and assess the competence of doctors in training. Details of the new tool will be revealed on October 31, 2008, during the annual meeting of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine, in Orlando.

A total of 16 University of Maryland doctors, all members of the UM School of Medicine faculty, were selected in Baltimore Magazine's 2008 list of Top Doctors.

Dr. Anthony Gaspari, the chief of dermatology at the University of Maryland Medical Center, is credited with having diagnosed a 37-year-old Indonesian man named Dede Koswara -- dubbed the "Treeman" because of the astonishing root-like growths on his hands and feet -- with a type of wart. Dr. Gaspari talks about his experience with Dede, his condition, how to help and much more.

The University of Maryland Center for Advanced Fetal Care provides state-of-the-art care for the smallest of patients - unborn babies with complex conditions, such as heart defects, fetal growth problems and chromosomal abnormalities. This week, the center celebrates the opening of its expanded facilities, which double the size of the center and include upgraded equipment to provide cutting-edge diagnostic and treatment options for these babies and families.

A blunt traumatic injury to the aorta, the body’s main artery, is one of the leading causes of death following a vehicle crash. If it is not treated rapidly, the patient is at serious risk for artery rupture, which is nearly always fatal. Surgeons from the University of Maryland Medical Center have evaluated various treatments for this type of traumatic aortic injury, including a newer, less invasive procedure that enables them to fix the artery without making an incision. Their review appears in the October 16, 2008 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Cardiac surgeon Johannes Bonatti, M.D., who arrived at the University of Maryland Medical Center in July, has taken minimally invasive, heart bypass surgery to a new level. He performs what surgeons call “totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass” procedures. Using a surgical robot, Dr. Bonatti only needs to make 4 or 5 small holes the width of a dime to bypass blocked heart arteries. The operation accomplishes what conventional bypass surgery does, but without a large incision to open the chest.

Anthony A. Gaspari, M.D., chief of dermatology at the University of Maryland Medical Center, will be featured in an upcoming documentary about a 37-year-old Indonesian man with astonishing root-like growths on his hands and feet. The documentary – "TREEMAN: SEARCH FOR THE CURE" – airs on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery Health.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have received a $1.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to identify genes that may increase the risk of stroke in younger people and to determine whether smoking serves as a trigger to activate these genes.

“We’re not only searching for individual genes that play a role in causing stroke, but also looking at whether smoking modifies the effects of these genes. We know that smoking is a major risk factor for stroke for both men and women, particularly those who are age 49 or younger,” says Braxton D. Mitchell, Jr., Ph.D., M.P.H., the principal investigator who is a professor of medicine and of epidemiology and preventive medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

For a third year in a row, the Leapfrog Group has named the University of Maryland Medical Center as one of the nation’s best acute-care hospitals for patient safety and quality of care. This prestigious recognition was awarded to only 26 acute care hospitals and seven children’s hospitals nationwide.

An uncommonly used surgical procedure that bypasses a narrowed aortic valve, rather than replacing it, effectively restores blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body and gives high-risk patients a safe alternative to conventional valve surgery. That is the finding of a study conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. The researchers conclude that the procedure, called aortic valve bypass, is an important treatment option for high-risk elderly patients with a narrowed aortic valve, a condition called aortic stenosis.

Walking is now Maryland’s official state exercise, and this fall, thousands of Marylanders will be taking the first step toward better health by joining Get Fit Maryland, a 12- week walking and wellness program developed by the University of Maryland Medical Center, the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Merritt Athletic Clubs. Get Fit Maryland participants use pedometers to track how many steps they take each day, with a goal of increasing their steps and daily activity in order decrease their risks for health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.

Lisa M. Shulman, MD, has been named the first recipient of the Eugenia Brin Professorship in Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The professorship is the result of a generous $1.5 million gift from Eugenia Brin, Michael Brin, PhD, and their son, Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Dr. Shulman, a professor of neurology at the School of Medicine and a researcher in the University of Maryland Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center, will be invested in her new position in a ceremony Tuesday, September 16, at the School of Medicine campus in Baltimore.

High levels of physical activity can help to counteract a gene that normally causes people to gain weight, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. They analyzed gene variants and activity levels of the Old Order Amish in Lancaster County, Pa., and found that the obesity-related FTO gene had no effect on individuals who were the most physically active.

The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center has been selected as a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center, a distinction shared by only 63 other centers across the country.

The NCI bestows this special designation on the nation’s top cancer centers in recognition of their scientific excellence and outstanding patient care. NCI-designated centers are selected through a highly competitive, peer-reviewed process, made even more competitive in the wake of recent NCI funding cutbacks.

The University of Maryland is one of very few centers worldwide offering the totally endoscopic (no incision) minimally invasive coronary artery bypass grafting (TECAB) procedure. Dr. Johannes Bonatti, professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, is director of the coronary surgery program.

Dr. Bonatti, recognized as one of the world's most experienced in minimally invasive coronary operations using the da Vinci robot, has performed more than 300 minimally invasive robotic heart surgeries, most of which were completely endoscopic (without an incision).

Doctors at the University of Maryland Center for Advanced Fetal Care are testing a new fetal monitor that may provide valuable information about changes in an unborn baby’s heartbeat and movement over an extended period of time. The device, about the size of an iPod, measures the electrical impulse of the fetus’ heartbeat on the mother’s skin, detected with electrodes similar to an electrocardiogram (EKG). The system then uses special software to separate the maternal and fetal heartbeats. The monitor can collect data on fetal heartbeat and uterine activity for nearly 24 hours, much longer than ultrasound, which is generally used for a maximum of two hours.

Fans are invited to take a hands-on "test drive" of the da Vinci robot, the only surgical system of its kind, thanks to the University of Maryland Heart Center when the Baltimore Orioles host the Texas Rangers on Aug. 9 at 7:05 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

A new study from researchers at the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine answers a fundamental question relating to the cause of celiac disease and, possibly, other autoimmune disorders such as Type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

Johannes Bonatti, M.D., a heart surgeon recognized as one of the world’s most experienced in minimally invasive coronary operations using the DaVinci robot, has joined the Department of Surgery at the University of Maryland. He will be a professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a cardiac surgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Center as of July 15, 2008.

Minorities and residents of some rural areas in Maryland are participating at lower than expected rates in federally funded cancer treatment clinical trials, which may suggest growing racial, ethnic and geographic disparities in cancer treatment.

That’s according to a new study led by Claudia R. Baquet, M.D., M.P.H., a professor of medicine and associate dean for policy and planning at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of the school’s Center for Health Disparities Research and Outreach.

"Top Gun" meets "Top Doc": Surgeons and pilots from across the U.S. gather on Thursday and Friday, June 26-27, 2008, at a conference at BWI airport to explore what it takes to work in a high-stakes environment. An astronaut/physician reflects on the view from space, and conference participants will tour a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet and two helicopters specially equipped to transport patients.

Five trauma specialists from the R Adams Cowley Trauma Center have returned from China, calling their 10-day trip to help earthquake survivors in Sichuan Province “a great success.”

The group returned to the United States on June 17 after working for 10 days in a Chinese hospital, located about 50 miles from the epicenter of the May 12 quake. West China Hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, is a modern, 4,300-bed hospital, considered to be one of China’s top hospitals for trauma care. More than 2,000 critically injured survivors of the earthquake have been cared for in that facility alone.

A team of trauma specialists from the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center will travel to China on June 6, 2008, to help victims of the devastating earthquake. The team of trauma physicians and nurses will be working with doctors at West China Hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The modern, 4,300-bed hospital, is considered to be one of China’s top hospitals for trauma care. More than 2,000 critically injured survivors of the earthquake have been cared for in that facility alone, located about 50 miles from the epicenter of the quake.

The University of Maryland Medical Center is now offering a minimally invasive approach to penile implant surgery for sexual dysfunction.

Dr. Andrew Kramer, a urologic surgeon and director of Reproductive and Sexual Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center, discusses the new minimally invasive procedure known as an infrapubic penile implant.

The University of Maryland Medical Center is now offering a minimally invasive approach to penile implant surgery for sexual dysfunction. Dr. Andrew Kramer, a urologic surgeon and director of Reproductive and Sexual Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center, discusses the new minimally invasive procedure known as an infrapubic penile implant.

Stroke survivors who have lost the use of an arm because of a stroke will soon have access to an in-home exercise device to help activate new brain pathways to improve arm function. A grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will enable further refinement of the patented device, to be called Tailwind, which was developed at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Tailwind will be available to recovering stroke patients this fall.

Despite extensive media coverage and information from their physicians, one in five patients with an implanted heart device was not aware of the recent defibrillator and pacemakers recalls. In addition, significant discrepancies exist between the patients’ preferred sources of recall information and how they actually learned of those recalls.

The University of Maryland Heart Center is the title sponsor of the inaugural Baltimore 10-Miler, to take place on Saturday, June 21 at 7:30 a.m. inside Druid Hill Park near the Maryland Zoo.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine are studying the effectiveness of an interactive computer software program to help patients manage their Type 2 diabetes using their cell phones.

The Avon Foundation has awarded the Baltimore City Cancer Program a $420,000 grant to expand its program to provide breast cancer screening for low-income, uninsured women in Baltimore and to help those who are diagnosed with cancer navigate an often-complex health care system.

The Baltimore City Cancer Program is a community-based initiative of the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, funded through Maryland’s Cigarette Restitution Fund Program. It was created in 2001 to help eliminate cancer deaths in Baltimore City through early detection, diagnosis, treatment and education.

Akhenaten, a pharaoh during Egypt's 18th Dynasty - best known for transforming Egypt's religious system from worship of multiple gods to the worship of one god - may have had two medical abnormalities that could explain his portrayal in sculpture and carvings with an exaggerated female appearance and elongated head. Questions about Akhenaten abound. Were his artisans following his orders to employ an artistic style for some religious purpose? Or did he really look this bizarre, and if so, why?

Minimally invasive heart bypass surgery using a DaVinci robot means a shorter hospital stay and faster recovery for patients, as well as fewer complications and a better chance that the new bypass vessels will stay open. And, according to a University of Maryland study, robotic heart bypass surgery also makes good economic sense for hospitals. The study will be presented at the American Surgical Association on April 26, 2008.

April 26 at the Baltimore Convention Center will truly be "A Night for Heroes," when the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center holds its annual gala to recognize the medical expertise and tireless dedication of the Shock Trauma team and Maryland's emergency medical service providers. At the gala, 100 people will receive "Hero Awards" for their roles in the rescue and recovery of two of Maryland's most critically injured citizens: a St. Mary's County teenager hit by a car and a Montgomery County mother injured when her SUV rolled over. Both patients will attend the gala to thank the dozens of health care providers responsible for saving their lives.

A genetic variation, found predominantly in African Americans, protects some people with heart failure, enabling them to live longer than expected. That's the conclusion of a research team led by investigators at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers found that the genetic variation acts just like beta-blockers, a class of drugs used to treat chronic heart failure. Study results will be available in the online version of Nature Medicine (www.nature.com), on April 20, 2008.

Competitive bodybuilder John Wensich has been a patient of Dr. Vincent Pellegrini – the chief of orthopaedics at the University of Maryland Medical Center – for more than 20 years. Over that time Dr. Pellegrini has performed four hip replacements on Wensich, who says he “owes everything to Dr. Pellegrini” for his bodybuilding success.

Read Dr. Scott Roth's article on hidden hernias, which refers to hiatal hernias that occur in most people over age 60, in the April 2008 issue of Bottom Line Health. The article discusses risk factors, ways of controlling heartburn, and when to consider surgery. Dr. Roth is the director of the University of Maryland Hernia Center and the head of surgical endoscopy at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

The University of Maryland Medical Center's new inpatient orthopaedics unit has a state-of-the-art wireless monitoring system that enables the staff to check patients' vital signs 24 hours a day, even during exercise or physical therapy.

Patients are outfitted with a small transmitter, which they carry in a pouch on a strap around their neck. The transmitter is connected to a blood pressure cuff and pulse/oxygen meter and produces a stream of data that is displayed on computer monitors throughout the unit. An alarm alerts the staff to any irregularity in breathing, heart rhythm, pulse, blood oxygen levels or blood pressure.

Researchers at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children are participating in a large-scale national study to determine which of two commonly used medications is the safest, most effective treatment for children with status epilepticus, a condition marked by a continuous prolonged seizure. The study is the most comprehensive of its kind with participation by 10 hospitals around the country.

Every three-point basket and touchdown scored by University of Maryland basketball and football teams this season was a victory for the care of pediatric patients at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children. Through its “Points for Pediatrics” program, Provident Bank donated $100 for each basket and touchdown, which added up to $25,000. Since 2004, the bank’s “Points for Pediatrics program” has raised $116,400 for the Hospital for Children, which is part of the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Jay Magaziner, Ph.D., MSHyg., has been appointed chair of the Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Actress, comedienne, author and singer Rain Pryor is a dynamic and award-winning performer, known for roles on both stage and screen. She is also passionate about another role, as an educator and advocate for advances in fighting multiple sclerosis (MS), an illness that her father, comedian Richard Pryor, battled for nearly two decades.

Now a Baltimore resident, Ms. Pryor will show her commitment to finding a cure for multiple sclerosis by presenting her one-woman show, “Pryor Experience,” at the Hippodrome theatre on June 6, 2008.

An 81-Year-Old Woman shares her experiences from finding out she had aortic stenosis through having minimally invasive aortic valve replacement surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

She credits the surgical team and staff with giving her a new love of live and a second chance at happiness.

Researchers have found that adding the drug gemcitabine to standard chemotherapy and radiation following surgery improved survival for patients with the most common form of pancreatic cancer, according to a new study published in the March 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The study focused on patients with pancreatic head adenocarcinoma, or cancer of the head (the wider part) of the pancreas. But researchers concluded that new, more effective systemic therapies still are needed to prevent recurrence of this often-deadly disease.

A type of natural sugar called tagatose, already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a low-calorie sweetener, may prove to be an effective drug to treat people with Type 2 diabetes, according to an article in the February 2008 issue of the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. The article was co-authored by Thomas W. Donner, M.D., a University of Maryland endocrinologist and diabetes researcher.

In order to provide the healthiest possible environment for its patients, visitors, employees and volunteers, the University of Maryland Medical Center is launching “UMMC Completely Tobacco-Free” on February 14, 2008. The new policy expands the existing hospital ban on all tobacco products inside the hospital’s facilities to the outside sidewalks and walkways that are part of the Medical Center’s property.

In order to reduce the risk of heart attack and other acute heart problems, it may be best to lower elevated triglyceride, a blood fat, together with LDL cholesterol, the so-called “bad” cholesterol, rather than lowering LDL alone. That is the conclusion of a study published February 12, 2008, in the online version of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The print version of the journal will come out on February 19.

Cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore are among the first in the world to combine advanced three-dimensional PET/CT imaging with standard techniques to treat ventricular tachycardia, a life-threatening electrical disorder that causes the heart to beat too fast. The imaging component offers the potential to improve precision and patient safety, reduce treatment time and boost the success rate of ablation therapy, which uses high-energy radio waves to redirect the heart’s electrical pathway to prevent abnormal heart rhythms.

An analysis by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine finds positive results for using acupuncture for women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). When acupuncture was performed during embryo transfer, pregnancy rates improved. IVF is a process that involves fertilizing a woman’s egg with sperm outside the womb and then implanting the embryo in the woman’s uterus.

A former leading official at the National Institutes of Health’s Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), Margaret A. Chesney, Ph.D., is joining the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine as associate director.

Osteoporosis, the weakening of bone tissue over time that increases the risk of fracture, is the most common type of bone disease. In fact, The National Institutes of Health estimates that 10 million Americans have osteoporosis, as well as another 18 million who have low bone mass, or osteopenia.

UMMC endocrinologist and osteoporosis expert Dr. Elizabeth Streeten, an assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, provides advice that can help people reduce their risk of this common health disorder.

An investigational heart pump may enable people with severely weak hearts to recover from needed heart surgery. Cardiac surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore are the first in the region to implant the new type of pump, which is designed to give the heart a short-term rest after cardiac surgery. The device, the Abiomed Impella 5.0, has been implanted in three patients at the medical center so far, as part of a four-center, 20-patient pilot study. The first Maryland patient, a 43-year-old man from Germantown, needed just two days on the pump to restore a strong heartbeat after he had double coronary bypass surgery and a procedure to correct an abnormal heart rhythm.

The Center is dedicated to diagnosing and managing all types of nerve problems. Our clinic offers a variety of diagnostic and treatment programs, including electrophysiology studies, skin biopsies and an infusion center managed by the Department of Neurology.

Jejuan Brown had been receiving dialysis treatment three days a week, in four-hour sessions, for 10 years. He had never given much thought to a kidney transplant until one of his friends suggested it.

When he came to the University of Maryland Medical Center he did not know what a kidney transplant would do for him, but when he left he not only had a new kidney but also a new nickname – the Roadrunner -- given to him for his quick recovery and positive spirit.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have identified a number of genes in the Old Order Amish in Lancaster County, Pa., that may play a role in increasing the risk of Type 2 diabetes. They are publishing the results of their study in the December issue of the journal Diabetes and are making their entire set of data available online to other scientists to facilitate the search for common diabetes genes. The findings are important because they may hold clues to identifying individuals who are most at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes – a key factor in preventing and treating the disease.

Sixty-one-year-old Jay Roth was always an active, athletic guy whose real passion was playing competitive tennis. When he was diagnosed with stage IV cancer, his goal was to be able to play tennis again.

Jay realized his goal, and credits the treatment and care he received from the spine cancer team at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

The Pancreatic Cancer Therapy Program at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center offers a highly specialized, multidisciplinary approach to the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer.

Read about the experiences of an 85-year-old spasmodic dysphonia patient who was successfully treated at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of Maryland, say that “virtual autopsy” using a CT scanner may offer a reliable alternative to conventional autopsy in certain cases and serve as a tool for gathering forensic evidence.

The University of Maryland Medical Center is one of the nation’s top, standard-setting teaching hospitals for cardiovascular care, according to the newly released 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals by Thomson Healthcare for 2007.

Transplant surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore are the first in Maryland to perform a combined heart and liver transplant. The two organs were transplanted in a 33-year-old man from Oxon Hill, Md., during a ten-and-a-half hour procedure on October 15, 2007. A total of 15 people in two transplant teams participated in this rare combination transplant. Data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network indicate that only 53 of these heart-liver transplants have been performed in the United States since 1992.

Three popular diets, the Atkins, South Beach and Ornish, may all help you take off weight, but which one puts you at higher risk of heart disease after only one month?

Michael Miller, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and a team of researchers compared the three diets for their impact on cholesterol, their effect on the lining of blood vessels and the presence of inflammation associated with hardening of the arteries

A patient at the University of Maryland Medical Center was kept alive on an artificial lung system longer than anyone else in the world. The 24-year-old man remained on a system called ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) for 107 days until he received a double-lung transplant. The previous longest ECMO survivor reported in the medical literature was a patient in Michigan, who had been on the machine for 57 days. This man’s experience is encouraging to University of Maryland researchers who are working to develop a small, portable artificial lung.

See two TV news stories about a 7-year-old Albanian girl who can now hear for the first time thanks to cochlear implant surgery performed at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. (Video courtesy of WBFF-TV Fox 45 in Baltimore.)

People suffering from celiac disease routinely wait for years to get an accurate diagnosis because the disorder causes a wide variety of symptoms and there is a lack of awareness of celiac disease among many primary care physicians. But a study by researchers at the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine has found that when primary care physicians offer to test all patients with symptoms of celiac disease, the diagnostic rate increases 32- to 43-fold. Early diagnosis is important to prevent serious consequences from celiac disease. Results from the multi-center study were recently published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Football Hall of Famer and former Baltimore Colts player and coach Don Shula recently appeared as a special guest for a free blood pressure screening event at the University of Maryland Medical Center to stress the importance of high blood pressure awareness.

“I feel that I’m the right guy to talk about high blood pressure awareness because I have hypertension myself and I think it’s important to be diagnosed,” said Shula. “One in three adults in the U.S. has high blood pressure, and more than one-third of them don't know they have it.”

The University of Maryland Medical Center has opened a new Breast Center with all-digital imaging technology and a staff of specialists who focus solely on breast health, including diagnosing and treating a full range of cancerous and benign breast conditions. The new center provides screening and diagnostic mammography, ultrasound and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) as well as genetic counseling for women who are at high risk for breast cancer and the latest treatment options for cancer and other disorders, such as benign breast tumors and breast pain.

Cardiac surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center have revived and modified a rare, aortic valve bypass procedure for older, high-risk patients whose blocked aortic valve has caused life-threatening symptoms of shortness of breath, fainting or chest pain. In a recent case, they successfully treated an 87-year-old man who had been told he had, at most, two weeks to live.

The University of Maryland Hospital for Children at the University of Maryland Medical Center has joined a new nonprofit organization, Together for Kids™, which will raise funds nationally to help its member hospitals cope with dramatic increases in the health needs of children.

In recognition of its top levels of performance in patient safety and quality of care, the University of Maryland Medical Center has been named for the second year in a row to the Leapfrog Group’s elite list of the nation’s best acute-care hospitals. The Leapfrog Group uses objective criteria to rate hospitals based on outcomes and patient volume for selected high-risk procedures in addition to staffing levels and specific measures taken to ensure patient safety.

The Leapfrog Group survey is the most complete, up-to-date assessment of hospital quality and safety. This year’s list includes only 41 hospitals (33 general acute care hospitals and eight children’s hospitals), while last year there were 50 hospitals. Leapfrog added new and more stringent measurements for its 2007 Top Hospitals list, and some hospitals that were on last year’s list did not satisfy this year’s criteria. The University of Maryland Medical Center was among 1,285 hospitals that submitted data and documentation for the 2007 Leapfrog Hospital Quality and Safety Survey.

The spine is the one of the most common locations in the body for the spread of breast, prostate, lung and other cancers. UMGCC offers an interdisciplinary team of experts in spine tumors to provide the most effective treatment possible for patients with primary or metastatic spine disease.

The University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, known for state-of-the-art medicine and high-tech advances in patient care, is now teaming with the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine to offer some ancient, low-tech options to help patients manage their pain. These include Reiki (pronounced “ray-kee”), a Japanese energy therapy, and Chinese acupuncture. In addition, the two centers are collaborating on a study looking into the potential benefits of acupuncture for trauma patients.

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Baltimore VA Medical Center have launched a study to see if exercising several times a week will help people with Parkinson’s disease improve their walking and balance. A $750,000 grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation is funding this multi-year project.

Radiation oncology specialists at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center are launching a Program of Excellence to promote technological research they hope will lead to more precise and effective radiation therapies and better outcomes for cancer patients.

In early 2007, Alison Hoenninger underwent a rhinoplasty, chin implant and neck liposuction, performed by facial plastic surgeon Dr. Thomas Le, director of Facial Plastic Surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center.


Alison, who is a PACU nurse at a hospital in Pennsylvania, says she is thrilled with the results. "To be able to perform surgery with that degree of accuracy is a testimony to Dr. Le's skill," she said. "He is an amazingly talented surgeon and I feel privileged to have been his patient. I couldn't be happier."

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have found a “nose within the nose,” a unique olfactory system within the noses of mice that is able to “smell” hormones involved in regulating water and salt balance in the body. This research may lead to new insights into the complex system of “chemical communication” between individuals. The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA online early edition the week of August 27-31, 2007.

Surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center are the first in Maryland to offer a newly approved artificial cervical disc to patients with degenerative disc disease in the neck. Studies have shown that replacing a damaged disc with the new stainless steel device is more effective than spinal fusion surgery in alleviating neck and arm pain and preserving range of motion. The first procedure was performed by Francois Aldrich, M.D., on Aug. 8, 2007.

David McElmurray, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, was diagnosed with throat cancer in March, 2007, and received his treatment in the Head and Neck Oncology program at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center. He and his wife and caregiver, Donna McElmurray, recently sat down with us on the day before his final radiation therapy treatment and shared their thoughts about the experience of living through cancer treatment.

Michele Leiberman shares her experience of delivering a baby with the help of a nurse midwife at the University of Maryland Medical Center

The Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research (WFBR) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School presented two Gregory Pincus Medals — named for the WFBR co-founder and pioneer in reproductive biology — to scientists Dr. V. Craig Jordan and Dr. Angela Hartley Brodie.

Dr. Brodie is a professor of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine where she is also a member of the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center. She is recognized for discovering and developing a new class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors.

The UMMS Foundation and the University of Maryland Hospital for Children recently celebrated the grand opening of Children’s Cancer Foundation Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Unit. Thanks to a $520,000 donation from the Children’s Cancer Foundation, the University of Maryland Hospital for Children has eight brand-new inpatient rooms.

Three cancer specialists in the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center's (UMGCC's) Head and Neck Oncology Program were honored with the 2007 Humanitarian Award at the 50th anniversary Mildred Mindell Cancer Foundation gala on June 2, 2007 at Martin's West.

Drs. Kevin Cullen, Scott Strome and Mohan Suntha were recognized for their work in providing innovative treatments for head and neck cancer patients. The Mildred Mindell Cancer Foundation presented the physicians with a donation check for $55,000 to support the cancer center's Head and Neck Cancer Program.

Heart patients are benefiting from an explosion in new patient care innovations and research initiatives at the University of Maryland Heart Center, driven by two internationally renowned cardiac care specialists, both recognized clinical and research leaders.

Different surgical procedures have been available for decades to relieve urinary stress incontinence, a distressing problem that affects more than three million women in the United States. But until now, the two main techniques—the “sling” and the Burch—had never been compared in a scientific study to see which was more effective.

In a randomized clinical trial at nine medical centers, including the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, doctors found that the “sling” procedure worked better than another surgical treatment, called the Burch procedure, to treat urinary stress incontinence in women.

Cardiologists at the University of Maryland Heart Center’s heart rhythm service have joined with the University of Maryland Medical Center’s nuclear medicine and radiology departments to bring real-time imaging into the electrophysiology laboratory. They have combined highly detailed PET/CT and IR images with traditional catheter-based mapping to determine where to apply radiofrequency ablation. (Radiofrequency ablation destroys scar tissue on the underside of the heart that may cause electrical abnormalities in ventricular tachycardia.) The addition of imaging speeds up the process, enhances accuracy, and improves success rates. In fact, the imaging component has helped boost the success rate of the procedure from 50 percent nationally to 80 percent.

Could President Abraham Lincoln survive a gunshot wound from an assassin’s bullet if it had occurred in 2007 instead of 1865, due to modern advances in trauma care? If so, what would have been the impact on history?

Those questions are the focus of the 13th annual Historical Clinicopathological Conference (CPC) sponsored by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs (VA) Maryland Health Care System in Baltimore. This annual conference is devoted to the modern medical diagnosis of disorders that affected prominent historical figures.

The 2007 Historical CPC will be held Friday, May 18, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., in Davidge Hall (522 W. Lombard Street) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Lisa Rowen, DNSc, RN, a leader with 25 years of experience in clinical nursing and nursing administration, research and education, has joined the University of Maryland Medical Center as Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer. She will oversee the Medical Center's 1,600-member nursing department and other patient care services, including physical, occupational and speech therapy, social work and clinical nutrition.

The University of Maryland's Center for Advanced Fetal Care is internationally known for the development of advanced techniques in the treatment of complicated pregnancies, including twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Meet some of our patients and read about their life-changing experiences.

Medically Speaking podcasts are informative discussions with medical experts from the University of Maryland Medical Center and the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

The goal is to provide listeners with the latest information on diagnosing, treating and preventing a variety of health problems so that they can become better health care consumers. Each podcast covers a specific health topic and features an interview with a top specialist.

Harold Adler's admission to the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) back in November set off a chain reaction of care and concern among his large network of family and friends. Everyone wanted the latest news: how he was doing, what was the progress in his treatment, when would he be able to come home?

While grateful for the support and interest in her husband's condition, his wife Alice found keeping everyone up-to-date on her husband's condition was a time-consuming and challenging task. Then a fellow UMGCC patient mentioned a free service offered through the medical center for creating a personal Web page to communicate with his friends and relatives. CaringBridge is an easy-to-use Internet service developed to help patients and their families stay connected with loved ones during medical treatment.

Lisa Rowen, DNSc, RN, a leader with 25 years of experience in clinical nursing and nursing administration, research and education, has joined the University of Maryland Medical Center as Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer. She will oversee the Medical Center's 1,600-member nursing department and other patient care services, including physical, occupational and speech therapy, social work and clinical nutrition.

Hubert and Glenda Jacobs searched all over the world to find someone who would perform a difficult hernia surgery for him. But from London to Bangkok, they couldn’t find anyone who was willing to do the surgery — until they discovered Dr. Scott Roth, co-director of the University of Maryland Hernia Center.

“This is really a success story for Dr. Roth and the hospital,” said Glenda Jacobs, who, after a long search, finally found out about the University of Maryland through the hospital’s Web site.

Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center are using a new cryotherapy technique to treat cancerous and precancerous conditions of the esophagus. The medical center is one of only a handful of facilities in the world to offer the CryoSpray ablation procedure and one of three centers conducting clinical research to determine its effectiveness.

The University of Maryland Amish Research Clinic, which has grown significantly over the past several years, has moved from its longtime home in Strasburg, Pa., to a larger facility in nearby Lancaster, Pa. An open house will be held on Saturday, March 31, 2007, from noon to 4 p.m., at the new clinic at 1861 William Penn Way in Lancaster.

Alan R. Shuldiner, M.D., a nationally recognized University of Maryland endocrinologist and diabetes expert who founded the clinic in 1995, says the clinic outgrew its previous location at the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg. Dr. Shuldiner had been leasing space on the ground floor of the Clinic for Special Children, which is well known for treating Amish children with rare genetic disorders.

Neurologists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine are participating in a large-scale national clinical trial to learn if the nutritional supplement creatine can slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. Creatine is widely thought to improve exercise performance, but it is not an approved therapy for Parkinson’s disease or any other condition. Creatine’s potential benefit for Parkinson’s patients emerged from earlier trials from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that employed a new rapid method for screening potential compounds.

Surgeons at the University of Maryland Medical Center are using an innovative approach to save the lives of trauma patients who have a torn aorta, a life-threatening injury that can occur after a high-speed car crash. A tear in the aorta, which is the body’s main artery, is a life-threatening situation. The surgeons have successfully repaired this type of injury, called an aortic transection, in more than 20 patients at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, without making any chest incision, using a minimally invasive approach called an endovascular repair.

Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center had a mystery on their hands. A 51-year-old physician colleague who looked the picture of health—no cardiovascular risks, a marathon runner who had exercised vigorously each day for 30 years—had just flunked a calcium screening scan of his heart.

The patient had expected a score indicating a healthy cardiovascular system. Instead, the images indicated a high score: a build-up of calcium in his coronary arteries put him at high risk for blocked blood vessels and a possible heart attack.

The University of Maryland Hospital for Children is the first pediatric hospital on the East Coast to receive a certificate of distinction from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) for its treatment of children with asthma. The designation shows that the Hospital for Children’s pediatric asthma program meets rigorous standards for excellent care.

This spring, nearly 500 students at three Baltimore City elementary schools will be wearing pedometers as part of Get Fit Kids, a 12-week program that challenges the students to take at least 13,000 steps a day. The goal is to increase their activity level and improve their health.

Get Fit Kids is the latest version of Get Fit Maryland, an award-winning wellness program from the University of Maryland Medical Center, the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Merritt Athletic Clubs, who joined together in 2005 to create a walking program aimed at raising awareness of the obesity epidemic and cardiovascular disease.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have found that receiving a speeding ticket does not change a driver’s likelihood of being stopped again for speeding during the next year. In fact, drivers who received a speeding ticket during the study period had almost twice the risk of receiving a subsequent speeding citation during the follow-up period compared with drivers in a comparison group. The results of the study appear in the current issue of the journal Traffic Injury Prevention.

Maria R. Baer, M.D., a nationally recognized leader in leukemia treatment and research, has been named head of the hematologic malignancies program at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center in Baltimore. Dr. Baer will also join the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She will assume her new duties in April.

Learn mitral valve repair patient Leon Cosby's success story by watching interviews with him, his family and University of Maryland Medical Center experts.

See a colorectal cancer patient success story, featuring video interviews with the patient, her family and University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center experts.

On February 28, 2007 at 4:00pm EST, watch the premiere showing of a very unique surgical webcast from the University of Maryland Heart Center in Baltimore. See for yourself an operation called the HYBRID.

This is an innovative approach to double or triple vessel coronary artery disease that combines minimally-invasive, robotic coronary artery bypass surgery with stented angioplasty, performed in just one operation. The University of Maryland Medical Center is among the first hospitals in the U.S. to offer this combined surgery with the use of robotic technology.

UM Greenebaum Cancer Center Virtual Tour

The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center site now features an interactive virtual tour with 360 degree views of the cancer center's facilities.

Louis Schwarz credits the treatment he received from a multidisciplinary team of cancer specialists at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center with the successful treatment of his throat cancer.

Mr. Schwarz also benefitted from some of the latest technology, called Trilogy, which delivers very powerful doses of radiation targeted to sensitive areas of the body.

Richard J. Battafarano, M.D., Ph.D., has become the new head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center and a member of the surgical faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. As a chest surgeon with particular expertise in lung and esophageal cancer, he will also pay a key role in caring for patients at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

A protein that causes coral to glow is helping researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine to light up brain cells that are critical for the proper functioning of the central nervous system. This fluorescent marker protein may shed light on brain cell defects believed to play a role in various neurological diseases. The researchers describe how this marker works in mice in the December 20, 2006, issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Norman Biondi of Ellicott City donated one of his kidneys to his daughter, Emily, who was diagnosed with kidney failure at the age of 19. The successful transplant surgery took place on December 19, 2003, at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

In an effort to honor and thank her father, Emily submitted an essay expressing what her father’s kidney donation meant to her. Emily’s essay was one of five selected from among more than 150 contest entries nationwide in the Ride of a Lifetime essay contest. The prize, to participate in the 2007 Rose Parade, was awarded to Norman.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore will begin a clinical trial in January to test the first cell culture-based pandemic influenza vaccine to see if it will provide immunity faster and more reliably than a vaccine produced in eggs. The new study is also the first test in the United States of a whole virus vaccine for avian influenza, which could produce a stronger response by the immune system.

The Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland School of Medicine is seeking healthy volunteers ages 18 to 40 years old to participate. The trial is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health.

A national study led by researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine finds giving the nasal spray flu vaccine to elementary school students can significantly help reduce the impact of influenza on children and members of their family. The study compared families of children who attend schools where the vaccine was given with families of children in schools not targeted to receive the vaccine.

A new Surgical Simulation and Technology Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center, one of only a few hospital-based centers of its kind in the United States, will open on December 6, 2006. The center brings together a diverse group of experts to solve important challenges in surgery, such as how to improve and expand minimally invasive surgical procedures that enhance patient care, how to advance the design of surgical instruments and how to redesign operating rooms to prevent surgeons from suffering from shoulder and neck injuries.

The R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center does whatever it takes to save the lives of Maryland’s most severely injured patients. For the next several years, that will include expanding its facilities to accommodate a growing number of patients each year.

The Medical Center is beginning an $83 million initiative to increase Shock Trauma’s bed capacity; improve the electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; and upgrade clinical technologies. The expansion and improvements are necessary to address an increased need throughout the region for the highest level of trauma care for the most severely injured patients.

Just weeks after having a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement surgery at the University of Maryland Heart Center, 80-year-old William Wisener can notice the improvement in his heart. He breathes easier and he acknowledges that his circulation has improved because he no longer has tingling in his fingers or stiffness in his hips.

In the summer of 2005, Lukas Traynor underwent surgery to repair a bilateral cleft lip and palate. He was only 3 months old when he had his first surgery. His mother, Peechee Neric, was receiving prenatal care at the University of Maryland Women’s Center’s Advanced Fetal Care Unit, where Lukas’s condition was first discovered. They referred her to Dr. John F. Caccamese, Jr., D.M.D., M.D., an oral-maxillofacial surgeon with the University of Maryland Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Associates.

Peechee says “Dr. Caccamese is the best there is! His work equals how great he is. All you have to do is look at my son. We tell everyone that we were truly blessed when Dr. Caccamese was sent to us.”

Peter Rock, M.D., M.B.A., a nationally known expert in anesthesiology and critical care medicine, will become the Dr. Martin Helrich Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Rock will also be Chief of Anesthesiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He starts on December 1, 2006.

Combining radiation and chemotherapy with Erbitux, a cancer-targeting agent that attacks specific receptors on the surface of tumor cells, is showing promising results in treating patients with advanced esophageal cancer.

In a Phase II clinical study conducted at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center and the Brown University Oncology Group, 75 percent of the patients treated with this therapy had no evidence of cancer after treatment. Seventy percent of the patients were still alive after one year.

UM cardiac surgeon Jamie Brown is featured in a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement surgical Webcast that will air on December 5, 2006 at 4 p.m. EST.

During this webcast, you will be able to watch as Dr. Brown uses a tissue valve to replace the valve in an older patient with a severely blocked valve. Dr. Brown uses a minimally invasive technique to access the heart's valve. This translates into less pain and a faster recovery for the patient.

Dilated eye exams, in which special eye drops are used to widen the pupils, allow eye care professionals to see into the back of the eye to check for early signs of eye disease such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, two of the leading causes of blindness in this country. But many people, particularly seniors who are at increased risk for these diseases, do not get this important test. Now through a study known as the Examine Your Eyes (EYE) project, researchers from the University of Maryland Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences are evaluating specific strategies to see if they can get older African-Americans to schedule a dilated eye exam, a test that could save their sight.

In recognition of its top levels of performance in patient safety and quality of care, the University of Maryland Medical Center has been named to a first-ever list of the nation's 50 best acute-care hospitals by the Leapfrog Group. The Leapfrog Group uses objective criteria to rate hospitals based on outcomes and patient volume for selected high-risk procedures in addition to staffing levels and specific measures taken to ensure patient safety.

With the use of a surgical robot, people can now have multiple-vessel heart bypass surgery performed in a minimally invasive way with only three tiny incisions—each smaller than a dime. The University of Maryland Medical Center is the first hospital in Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C., and Northern Virginia to perform minimally invasive, beating heart, multiple-vessel coronary artery bypass surgery with the assistance of a surgical robot.

Get information on the University of Maryland Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Associates, including the physicians and staff, the conditions they treat and treatments they offer, patient success stories and more.

Information on IVF success rates for the UM Center of Assisted Reproductive Technologies for 2005. This data is divided into separate age groups as is required for reporting to the Centers for Disease Control. This reporting is required by law. This data is the same actual data to be reported to the Centers for Disease Control.

In February of 1998, Marsha Reichman underwent a partial glossectomy for tongue cancer. Eight years later she is doing well and says “I am very grateful that I was recommended to Dr. Robert Ord [Chief and Professor, Oral-Maxillofacial Surgery] and feel that is why I am still here. I think Dr. Ord is a phenemonal surgeon, and the best physician for treatment of oral cancers.”

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore are participating in Diabetes TrialNet, a group of studies investigating the development, prevention, and early treatment of type 1 diabetes. Patients recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, as well as their relatives who may be at risk of developing the disease, are being recruited for the study at the University of Maryland Joslin Diabetes Center and other clinical centers across the United States.

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that a home-based mentoring program for low-income, African-American adolescent first time mothers in Baltimore was effective at delaying a second birth by at least two years after the first baby’s arrival. These results are published in the October issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Since mid-August, more than 175 people in 26 states, including Maryland, have been infected with a outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 from fresh spinach grown in California. This outbreak has received a lot of media attention, as this potentially deadly bacteria is usually associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef. What to do? Dr. Michael Donnenberg, an infectious disease expert at the UM Medical Center and professor of medicine at the UM School of Medicine, answers some frequently asked questions about E.coli and this outbreak in the following interview.

The Davis quintuplets, who were born at the University of Maryland Medical Center one year ago, on September 21, 2005, are all doing well as they celebrate their first birthdays.

The babies’ mother, Jennell Dickens, spent more than two months in the hospital prior to delivery under the care of the Department of OBGYN’s Mother/Baby unit.

You might have seen them on the sidelines during University of Maryland football games or rushing to the aid of a player injured on the basketball court or soccer field. Now the doctors who care for all of the Terrapins athletic teams, including the NCAA champion women’s basketball team, are bringing their sports medicine expertise to residents of the Washington, D.C., area.

The University of Maryland Medical Center is the first and only hospital in the state to perform robotic assisted minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery.

Robotic assisted minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery eliminates the need for a large (6-10 inch) incision made down the sternum (breastbone) to access the heart, which reduces a patient's surgical trauma. Other potential patient benefits include less pain and scarring, less bleeding and need for blood transfusions, lower risk of infections, shorter hospital stays and quicker return to normal activities.

James F Borin has joined the University of Maryland Medical Center as director of robotic surgery. He will also serve as an assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Urology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Borin is among only a few surgeons who are fellowship-trained in robotic surgery. He completed a two-year fellowship in laparoscopic and robotic surgery at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). There, he also served as an instructor at the Astellas Center for Urological Education, one of the two largest robotic training centers in the United States.

After struggling with the effects of polycystic kidney disease (PKD) for over 10 years, Jamie Cadiz faced a difficult choice -- dialysis or transplantation. She was in end-stage renal failure and needed a kidney transplant but she also faced an additional challenge -- finding a transplant center that would take her case, and who would also remove her diseased kidneys at the same time of the transplant. She finally found that place: the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Now Cadiz, a 47-year-old woman from Dallas, Texas, is recovering well after undergoing the removal of two cyst-filled kidneys, each weighing 9.5 pounds, and immediately receiving a living-donor kidney transplant at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Her diseased kidneys were 40 times the normal weight and three times the normal length.

Stephen W. Long has been named associate director for administration of the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center in Baltimore, Md. In this newly created position, he will oversee the cancer center’s research activities.

Long comes to the University of Maryland Medical Center from the National Institutes of Health, where he was associate director for administration and executive officer of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) since 1999. There, he oversaw facilities, administration, ethics, contracts, human resources and financial management for research programs.

University of Maryland Orthopaedics, the official medical providers of all Maryland Terrapin athletic teams, is opening an office in downtown College Park on Sept. 25.

This will be a full-service orthopaedics practice, with on-site radiology and physical therapy to meet the orthopaedic needs of patients of all ages. There is also free parking.

For more information or to make an appointment, please call 1-877-771-4567.

The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center (UMGCC) has received the highest level of award given by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, a full Three-Year with Commendation award.

Oncology programs earning this level of recognition from the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons offer the highest quality cancer care. Only one in four hospitals that treat cancer receives this special approval. It recognizes the quality of comprehensive cancer care available at a facility and offers a commitment that patients will have access to all of the various medical specialists who are involved in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

University of Maryland Medical Center cardiologists are studying whether adding a form of long-acting niacin to one of the most common cholesterol lowering drugs do a better job of delaying the onset of heart attack, stroke, blocked arteries or death from cardiovascular disease. The study, called AIM-HIGH, is a multi-center, randomized, double-blind clinical trial that compares a combination of extended-release niacin plus simvastatin to simvastatin alone.

Bariatric surgery patients will now have a tailor-made space on the new Surgical Acute Care Unit located on the fifth floor of the Weinberg Building inside the University of Maryland Medical Center.

The new 32-bed unit, which opened June 25, also includes service for patients recovering from a variety of surgical procedures including operations for cancer, lung disease, urological problems, and ear, nose and throat disorders.

Jacob Ingram was born with methylmalonic acidemia, a genetic illness that halts the body from correctly metabolizing some components of protein. Genetics experts at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children were able to determine the type of methylmalonic acidemia Jacob had, and as the specific treatment that is best for him.

In the following interview, University of Maryland Medical Center and Kernan Hospital orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist Dr. James Dreese answers questions about rotator cuff tears and minimally invasive rotator cuff repair surgery. This interview originally aired on the TV show Maryland Health Today.

Research indicates that reading aloud is the most important thing parents can do to promote a child’s early literacy skills. Yet families living in poverty do not always have the resources to provide their children with age-appropriate books to foster an early love of reading. The Reach Out and Read program at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children gives new and gently used books to patients in its Pediatric Ambulatory Center and a $30,000 donation from The Comcast Foundation will fund the program for the next three years.

University of Maryland researchers have begun testing “Trojan peptide” vaccines to treat squamous cell carcinoma, a common type of head and neck cancer. The goal is to learn whether the vaccines, which target specific proteins made by tumors, can stimulate the body’s immune system to destroy the cancer.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver have identified a common genetic variation that could help determine whether a person with heart failure would benefit from beta-blockers, a class of drugs used to treat chronic heart failure. The findings are significant because it often takes several months to determine if a specific beta blocker is working for a patient. Time is of the essence because one in five patients with heart failure will die within a year of diagnosis.

Residents of Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Ed and Jean Gillespie faced three life-threatening medical conditions over a six-year period. In each case, they found cutting-edge therapy and expert care just a 90-minute drive from home, at the University of Maryland Medical Center and University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center in Baltimore.

Ana George and Sergio Alexander Figueroa underwent a living donor kidney transplant operation at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Figueroa says donating a kidney to his sister was the greatest thing he's ever done. Read both of their experiences.

Adding the cancer-fighting drug gemcitabine to standard therapy after surgery significantly improves survival for patients with the most common form of pancreatic cancer, according to a new multicenter study led by a University of Maryland radiation oncologist. The results of the four-year Phase III clinical trial were presented June 4 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Atlanta.

The first minimally invasive gallbladder surgery ever to be performed in Afghanistan took place on Friday, April 28. It paves the way for this advanced technique to be available for all U.S. troops serving in Operation Enduring Freedom as well as other coalition forces and members of the Afghan National Army and Police.

The University of Maryland Medical Center is one of the first hospitals in the country to diagnose heart disease using a new type of advanced imaging system. The system, called rubidium PET/CT scanning, combines Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with Computed Tomography (CT) angiography. In less than an hour, this noninvasive imaging technology helps doctors make a precise diagnosis, which is the first step for providing excellent patient care.

The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center's Department of Radiation Oncology is the first academic medical program in the region to introduce the fully-integrated Trilogy™ System linear accelerator from Varian Medical Systems. This innovative technology allows us to offer the most advanced radiation therapy possible -- including pinpoint accuracy and immediate patient imaging -- on one state-of-the-art machine.

The University of Maryland Medical Center's Department of Diagnostic Radiology is pioneering the latest generations of the most advanced modalities, investing more than $21 million in capital investment in diagnostic imaging during fiscal 2005 and 2006. The payoff: saving lives, preventing invasive procedures and giving patients the information they need.

Watch surgeons from the University of Maryland Medical Center remove a kidney from a living donor using a minimally invasive procedure called laparoscopic nephrectomy and place the organ inside a recipient during a living kidney donor transplant.

UMMC has performed more than 1,000 laparoscopic nephrectomies from living kidney donors, the first U.S. hospital to reach this milestone.

At this year’s University of Maryland Shock Trauma Gala, 96 men and women will receive Hero Awards for their roles in saving the lives of a Charles County emergency medical technician and a Washington, D.C., teenager – two cases that exemplify the unique coordination and expertise of Shock Trauma and Maryland’s EMS system. Both former patients will thank their heroes personally at the gala, which will be held Saturday, April 22 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

When the Maryland Terrapins women's basketball team won its first ever NCAA title by defeating Duke 78-75 April 4 in Boston, its team physician from the University of Maryland Medical Center's Department of Orthopaedics was with them as usual. Our sports medicine physicians were also there when the Terrapins won NCAA titles in men's soccer and field hockey in the fall of 2005, as the University of Maryland Orthopaedics is the official medical provider for all 27 Terrapin athletic teams.

The University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore will open the top three floors of its Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Building this spring, with units designed to meet an increased demand for critical care in the region and provide state-of-the-art post-surgical care that enhances patient recovery by addressing their unique needs.

The American Academy of Neurology is issuing new guidelines for diagnosing and treating Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurological disorder that affects about one million people in the United States and Canada. University of Maryland neurologists played a leading role in the creation of the new guidelines, which provide the most comprehensive review to date of research into Parkinson's disease and give doctors, patients and their families important information on how to improve the quality of life for people with Parkinson's disease.

Get Fit Maryland is a 12-week wellness program that gives participants pedometers to track how many steps they take each day. Walkers start logging their steps April 1. With an awareness of how much (or how little) they are moving, participants can increase their daily activity and decrease their risk for problems such as heart disease and diabetes.

New technology is revolutionizing the way surgeons treat heart problems. Internationally known heart surgeon Bartley Griffith, M.D., the chief of cardiac surgery at University of Maryland Medical Center and professor of surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, talks about the exciting advances that have occurred and the positive impact these have had on patient care in this interview.

Arlene R. Kurland was treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center. She was treated by Dr. Aaron P. Rapoport, associate professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a specialist in blood cancers. Arlene participated in a clinical research study, and she recently spoke at a patient education seminar on the benefits of cancer clinical trials sponsored by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Maryland.

A patient success story detailing how a multidisciplinary team of experts at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children saved the life of a teen with a serious neurological problem.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore will soon begin two clinical trials of a revised form of an investigational pandemic influenza vaccine against H5N1 avian influenza to see if it will stimulate immune responses in lower doses. The Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine will be conducting two separate trials beginning in March – one for healthy adults ages 18 to 49 and one for healthy adults ages 65 and over.

Survival after coronary artery bypass surgery depends on the patient’s state of mind in addition to the condition of the patient’s heart, according to researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center and Columbia University Medical Center. They found that patients who were depressed following heart bypass surgery were twice as likely to die from heart problems within seven years of surgery compared to those who were not depressed.

University of Maryland cancer researcher Angela Hartley Brodie, Ph.D., has won the prestigious Dorothy P. Landon-AACR Prize for Translational Cancer Research for her groundbreaking work in developing aromatase inhibitors, a new class of breast cancer drugs.

Before coming to the University of Maryland Center for Weight Management and Wellness for a gastric bypass procedure, Steve Krone weighed 485 pounds and wore pants with a 72-inch waist. Eleven months after the surgery, Krone weighed 240 pounds, was wearing pants with a 38-inch waist and was able to lead a normal life again.

A recent U.S. government study has found that a low-fat diet does not significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer, heart disease or stroke and does not reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women.

So what does it all mean? Cardiologist Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, answers questions about the study results and its implications.

Watch University of Maryland Medical Center surgeons perform a thoracic aortic endograft, a minimally-invasive surgery used to repair a thoracic aortic aneurysm, on March 15.

Until recently, patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms would have needed open surgery for repair – which included a large chest incision and the temporary clamping of the aorta. Now, experienced vascular surgeons can use just one small incision during a minimally-invasive procedure to place a high-tech device inside the aorta, relieving the aneurysm from pressure.

Watch University of Maryland Medical Center cardiac surgeon James Gammie perform a CryoMaze procedure to treat atrial fibrillation on March 8.

The University of Maryland Medical Center is now offering a navigator program for cancer patients thanks to a unique partnership between the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center and the American Cancer Society. A Society employee, Anne McNerney works in the cancer center, helping patients and their families access a wide range of resources and services available through the Society and the cancer center.

Dr. Jennifer Cooper answers questions about skin cancer and the highly effective Mohs Micrographic Surgery for certain types of skin cancer.

The University of Maryland Medical Center is sponsoring a free online service to help patients and their families create personal Web sites to stay in touch with loved ones while the patients are receiving medical care.

On February 1, 2006, step inside the operating rooms at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) in Baltimore where you can watch as Director of Facial Plastic Surgery, Thomas Le, M.D., and Scott Strome, M.D., Chief of Otorhinolaryngology at the UMMC perform a rhinoplasty, the surgical method of reshaping the nose.

The president and chief executive officer of Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, a Baltimore County-based civil engineering firm, is donating $1 million to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

An inhaled anti-rejection drug can dramatically improve survival after a lung transplant, according to a study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and led by lung disease specialists who are now at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. The results of the study are published in the January 12, 2006 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

When drinking warm milk or counting sheep no longer help you fall asleep, it may be time to turn to the University of Maryland Sleep Disorders Center, a comprehensive program designed for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. An estimated 40 million Americans are living a true nightmare, suffering from chronic disorders of sleep and wakefulness. Unfortunately, many of these conditions are never identified or treated.

A unique treatment plan that included extensive surgery followed by a process known as Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy in which the abdominal cavity is flushed with a heated solution of chemotherapy, saved the life of a patient with a rare gastric cancer.

Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center are among the first in the nation to use a new, potentially life-saving stent to open clogged arteries in the brain. If left untreated, such blockages can lead to a stroke.

Make this year the year you make good on your New Year's resolutions. Whether your goal is to lose weight, stop smoking or exercise regularly, these tips from UM experts can help you meet your goals.

Feelings of sadness and depression are common during the holidays, but not inevitable. UM experts offer a variety of practical tips to help you keep the blues away.

Replacing a damaged disc in the lumbar spine with a new artificial one may be a better treatment option for some patients than spinal fusion because the procedure preserves motion and provides for a faster recovery, University of Maryland spine surgeons say.

H. Richard Alexander, Jr., M.D., an internationally recognized cancer surgeon and leader in clinical research at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), will become associate chairman for clinical research in the University of Maryland Department of Surgery. As a surgical oncologist, he will also treat cancer patients at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

Irregular sleep patterns no longer a problem for Columbia, Maryland resident, thanks to the University of Maryland Sleep Disorders Center.

Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center are testing a new approach to treat advanced emphysema, a lung disease most commonly caused by cigarette smoke.

Dr. Brian Berman, one of the leading physicians in America to champion the growth of integrative medicine, was named by the Bravewell Collaborative as recipient of the 2005 Bravewell Leadership Award. Dr. Berman is founder and director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, which was the first clinic of its kind in the nation.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have for the first time identified how sugars and artificial sweeteners such as sucralose (Splenda®) interact with taste receptors on the tongue – a development that could lead to the creation of synthetic sweeteners with a taste more like that of natural sugar.

Infertility specialists at the University of Maryland are investigating whether acupuncture can improve pregnancy rates for couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF), a process that involves fertilizing a woman’s egg with sperm outside the womb and then implanting the embryo in the woman’s uterus.

A new form of immunotherapy, which combines a vaccine with an infusion of a person’s own T cells engineered in the laboratory, helps to restore cancer patients’ ability to fight infection after high-dose chemotherapy.