UTMB Newsroom

GALVESTON, Texas - With summer in full swing, children may be looking forward to sleep-away camp, bike riding and baseball. However, for parents of kids with asthma, increased time outdoors means more worry, often forcing kids to sit out the fun indoors.

According to Dr. Edward Brooks, director of the Children’s Asthma Program at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, understanding lesser-known asthma triggers and warning signs of a pending asthma attack can help parents and their children better manage the disease, which may lead to more carefree summer days outside than they thought was possible. (more…)

Guardian News (Nigeria), June 29, 2008

Dr. Godwin Egbunike, originally from Nigeria and former medical director of a Texas prison, mentions UTMB’s telemedicine program and its use in the prison system. He argues that the health of the people of his native country could be improved by the use of telemedicine. “There is a benefit that goes with this. Applying medical care to prisoners is like a goldmine for teachers of medicine and medical students to learn.”

 American Medical News, July 7, 2008 (cover date)

UTMB’s Dr. Martin Myers is interviewed about a book he co-wrote with Diego Pineda, “Do Vaccines Cause That?! A Guide for Evaluating Vaccine Safety Concerns.”  The authors explore “the long-running controversy linking vaccines with rising rates of autism as well as claims suggesting vaccines’ possible association with asthma. The book also delves into the effects of multiple vaccines on a child’s immune system.”

 Galveston County Daily News, June 29, 2008

UTMB’s Dr. Orhan Ozkan, the principal investigator in this clinical trial, is quoted as saying a new drug delivery system to treat metastases from malignant melanoma allows physicians to deliver significantly higher amounts of anti-cancer drugs directly to a diseased area. UTMB will be the only place where the treatment will be available in a region that includes Texas.

 Medical Discovery News

Saturday’s edition of Medical Discovery News, by UTMB professors Norbert Herzog and David Niesel, focused on Lyme disease, explaining how ticks spread the disease.  They also provide tips on how to avoid contracting the disease, including removing woodpiles and leaf debris around the house, clearing thick brush and trees that attract deer and rodents, wearing long sleeves and pants, and using insect repellants. Medical Discovery News airs at 10 a.m. on KUHF-FM in Houston. The program also airs on numerous radio stations across the country and in Mexico.

 GALVESTON, Texas ─ Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston are taking part in a clinical study evaluating a new drug delivery system to treat metastases from malignant melanoma, a type of liver cancer. Malignant melanoma is a skin cancer that is very difficult to treat once it spreads to the liver.

Dr. Orhan S. Ozkan, associate professor of radiology, is the principal investigator for a method developed by Delcath Systems that allows physicians to deliver significantly higher amounts of anti-cancer drugs directly to the diseased area. UTMB will be the only place where the treatment will be available in a region that includes Texas. 

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 Frommer’s, June 25, 2008

In providing tips for people contemplating a cruise vacation, the writer of this article notes that all Holland America ships “can consult 24 hours a day (via phone or e-mail) with the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and their Vista-class ships have a tele-radiology system that allows X-rays to be transmitted to a shore-side medical facility. (Princess’s Sea Princess and Carnival’s Spirit- and Conquest-class ships also have this system.)”

 Galveston County Daily News, June 27, 2008

Linda Pilzner Vaclavik has been named chairwoman of the advisory council of the School of Allied Health Sciences. Vaclavik was named the school’s distinguished alumna in 2006 and received her bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy from the school in 1973.  

 Galveston County Daily News, June 26, 2008

This article lists the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s Summer School 2008 schedule and has details about how to register for the free classes.

 Houston Chronicle Bay Area, June 26, 2008

In this package of UTMB news, featured items include Dr. David McCormick, professor of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital honored with the Burtis Burr Breese Award; Dr. Jonathan B. Ward, Jr. named director of the  Sealy Center for Environmental Health and Medicine, enrollment started for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s Summer School and UTMB surgeons Jay Rapley and Kelly Carmichael returned from an orthopedic surgery marathon during which 55 complex surgeries in four days were performed on 45 children and 10 adults - in two tiny operating rooms in Machala, Ecuador.  (no link available)