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Rounds

Journal Publishes WSU Article On Prostate Cancer Metastasis
Researchers at Wayne State University and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute published a study, “Matrix Metalloproteinase Activity, Bone Matrix Turnover, and Tumor Cell Proliferation in Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis,” in the January 2, 2002 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Michael Cher, MD

Researchers developed an animal model to study prostate cancer’s tendency to metastasize to bone where it grows very quickly. Lead author, Michael Cher, MD, said the team found that inhibition of MMP activity prevented the breakdown of bone and slowed the growth of the prostate cancer cells in the bone. MMP inhibition may provide therapeutic strategies targeting tumors that metastasize to bone.

Co-authors include: Jeffrey Nemeth, Rafid Yousif, Michael Herzog, Mingxin Che, Jyoti Upadhyay, Bijan Shekarriz, Sunita Bhagat, Chadwick Mullins, and Rafael Fridman.

Pathology Department Honored by Professional Organization
Dr. Fred Silva, executive director of the United States Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP), recently recognized the Department of Pathology at Wayne State University and the Detroit Medical Center for being “in the top 10 overall institutions” in terms of numbers of first-authored scientific abstracts that were peer-reviewed by experts and accepted for presentation for the 2002 Annual USCAP Meeting in Chicago. More than 2,000 scientific abstracts were submitted for consideration from several hundred programs and institutions from throughout North America and the world.

In addition, the residents and fellows in the department were acknowledged by the USCAP for being “in the top six programs in the world” in terms of submission of scientific abstracts for the prestigious Stowell-Orbison Awards Competition for Pathologists-in-Training. Several hundred scientific abstracts and many more potential individuals submitted abstracts from academic programs from throughout North America and the world.

White Blood Cell Count Predicts In-Hospital Mortality Rates
Dr. Mary Grzybowski, assistant professor of emergency medicine, gave an oral presentation at the 2001 Scientific Session of the American Heart Association Meeting. She presented data on the association between white blood cell count and acute myocardial infarction mortality that included 115,273 patients from the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction. She showed that white blood cell count was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality among patients with acute myocardial infarction after controlling for demographics, medical history, presenting physiological data, medications received within 24 hours, and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures provided.

Results of this study suggest that assessing white blood cell count is important in predicting short-term mortality. Although it remains unclear if increased white blood cell count is a marker or a risk factor for morality, consideration of the white blood cell count may be useful in the risk-stratification process among patients presenting to the emergency department. Co-authors include Drs. Robert Welch and Robert Zalenski, of the Department of Emergency Medicine, and Lori Parsons and Dr. Hal Barron of Genetech.

Larry Stephenson, MD

Heart Education Book Featured Free Online
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons has put Dr. Larry Stephenson’s book on its website to be used by the general public for patient information. The book, called State of the Heart: The Practical Guide to Your Heart and Heart Surgery, can be viewed at www.sts.org. The Write Stuff Publishing Company has donated the book for educational purposes.

The book’s author is Larry Stephenson, MD, Ford-Webber Professor of Surgery and chief of cardiothoracic surgery at WSU and the Detroit Medical Center.

DMC Becomes First U.S. Healthcare System to Achieve ISO 14001 Certification
The Detroit Medical Center (DMC) has announced that it and its eight hospitals each have received ISO 14001 compliance, becoming the first healthcare system in the United States to achieve this certification.

Established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ISO 14001 is the internationally recognized standard for environmental management systems (EMS). EMS assists organizations in maintaining compliance with all environmental legislation and regulations of local, state and federal government. These regulations include those governing safe working conditions, hazardous waste materials, waste disposal sites and underground storage tanks, and storage of flammable materials, as well as the Clear Air Act and Clean Water Act.

The certification came after several months’ work by the DMC to develop and implement a new EMS that meets ISO 14001 standards. In recognition of the certification, DMC will fly ISO 14001 flags at each of the DMC’s hospitals.

“ISO 14001 certification is the DMC’s latest achievement in total quality management, and we are very pleased to be the first healthcare system in the country to achieve the certification,” commented Dr. Arthur Porter, president and chief executive officer of the DMC. “Because we are the first in the country, our effective implementation of EMS is being used as a model by hospitals across the U.S.”

ISO is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies. Its mission is to promote the development of standardization in the world in order to facilitate the international exchange of goods and services and to develop cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity.

New Method to Close Abnormal Blood Vessels
A pediatric cardiologist at Wayne State University and Children’s Hospital of Michigan is using a new method to close abnormal blood vessels—one that doesn’t involve open-heart surgery, leave a scar, or require an extended hospital stay or recovery time.

Thomas Forbes, MD, is the first cardiologist in Michigan to perform a ventricular septal defect (VSD) closure with an Amplatzer Duct Occluder device. The procedure, which closed a hole between the two lower chambers of the heart or ventricles, was performed in January on a 10-month-old patient.

Children’s Hospital of Michigan is one of only a few hospitals in the nation that has performed the procedure.

Forbes, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Wayne State University School of Medicine, is director of the catheterization laboratory at Children’s Hospital where children who have heart problems are diagnosed and treated.

“In the past, catheterization was used mainly as a diagnostic tool. In recent years, catheterization has progressed from diagnosing to treating congential heart lesions. Now, we are starting to use a new method to close VSDs in infants, children and adults, which will make a significant difference for patients,” Dr. Forbes explained.

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