Health professionals, students invited to attend Cultural Inclusion Institute conference

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SAN ANTONIO (June 2, 2014) – Primary care providers, nurses, dentists, social workers, students, educators, researchers and individuals who work in non-profit organizations are invited to attend the Cultural Inclusion Institute: Promoting a Culture of Inclusion in Healthcare on June 16 and 17 at the Menger Hotel in San Antonio.

Registration is now being accepted for this conference which offers continuing education credit to nurses, social workers and dentists. The professional fee is $350. Student fee is $200.

The goal of the institute is to exchange knowledge, expertise, research, challenges and successes in addressing issues related to cultural inclusion and to develop strategies for integrating cultural inclusion into healthcare professional practice.

The keynote address is on “Health Disparities: The Clear and Present Danger Continues” by G. Rumay Alexander, Ed.D., RN, FAAN, clinical professor and director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Liz Stefanics, Ph.D., county commissioner in Santa Fe county, will discuss “Will Disparities Be Mitigated by the Affordable Care Act?” Also speaking will be Eloisa G. Taméz, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, professor of graduate nursing education at the University of Texas at Brownsville.

Antonia M. Villarruel, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, associate dean for research and global affairs and professor of nursing at the University of Michigan, will wrap up the two-day event with “Bringing It All Together,” which will address nursing education regarding cultural inclusion.

The conference is being organized by the School of Nursing and the Department of Lifelong Learning at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio. To register for the conference, please go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZTZ8Z3H. For more information, call 210-567-5054.

 

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving National Institutes of Health funding. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced more than 29,000 graduates. The $765 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.

San Antonio science on display at aging meeting starting May 30

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SAN ANTONIO (May 29, 2014) — Faculty members and students of the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio will present novel research findings at the American Aging Association’s 43rd Annual Meeting May 30-June 2 in San Antonio.

This year’s meeting is hosting delegates from Europe, Asia, and South and Central America, with the largest group of attendees coming from the Barshop Institute, one of the premier aging research centers in the world with more than 150 scientists from a broad sweep of disciplines working toward a common goal of understanding the mechanisms of aging and using these insights to improve and extend human health.

Barshop Institute member Rochelle Buffenstein, Ph.D., professor of physiology in the Health Science Center’s School of Medicine, is the American Aging Association’s president this year and is the meeting chair. James Nelson, Ph.D., also of the Barshop Institute and physiology faculty, is the president-elect.

Several papers from Barshop delegates focus on the drug rapamycin, which has been shown to extend longevity in female mice. These papers include

• A possible mechanism explaining why rapamycin more strongly increases longevity in female mice than in males. (Karl Rodriguez, Ph.D.)

• A mechanism by which rapamycin suppresses a form of cellular aging by interacting with a tumor-suppressor protein. (Paul Hasty, Ph.D.)

• The effects of changes in dietary fat intake on rapamycin’s activity. (Adam Salmon, Ph.D.)

• The effects of rapamycin on the immune systems of both young and old mice. (Adriana Benavides, Ph.D., and Ellen Kraig, Ph.D.)

Other delegates will share data using the roundworm C. elegans, which provides a unique model organism for understanding the genetic basis of aging. Papers here include:

• Creation of a worm that expresses a fluorescent protein, which responds to changes in muscle-cell metabolism. (Phillip Webster and Alfred Fisher, M.D., Ph.D.)

• The role of cupins in metabolism and aging of C.elegans (Shane Rea, PhD). (Cupins are a family of proteins.)

• An explanation of how oxidative stress, which is a contributor to aging and age-related diseases, is sensed and controlled by the nervous system. (Sudipa Roy, Ph.D., and Dr. Alfred Fisher)

Other projects, by Dr. Peter Nathanielsz’s group and his collaborators from Mexico, reveal data on how developmental programming responses during fetal and neonatal life affect the rate of aging. Dr. Nathanielsz is professor of obstetrics and gynecology and co-director of the Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.

The role of diet in bone quality during aging is the focus of a study on the agents in fish oil supplements that increase beneficial effect on bone. (Mizanur Rahman, Ph.D.)

The Buffenstein lab also will present several papers containing insights into aging gleaned from comparative biology studies involving the longest-living rodent — the naked mole-rat — which appears to show negligible senescence (processes of deterioration involved in aging). These papers include:

• Cell-protective activity that is increased in longer-lived rodents and could be a target for identifying novel anti-cancer and pro-longevity therapies. (Kaitlyn Lewis, student, and Rochelle Buffenstein, Ph.D.)

• Naked mole-rats’ ability to stave off cardiovascular aging such as arterial stiffening. (Kelly Grimes, student, and Dr. Buffenstein)

• Examinations of naked mole-rat brain cells that may allow them to maintain healthy brains despite elevated Alzheimer’s disease risk factors. (Miranda Orr, Ph.D., and Dr. Buffenstein)

“Barshop Institute faculty continue to be at the forefront of cutting-edge research in the biology of aging and are pushing the frontier on aging and longevity that will result in major advances in the treatment and prevention of age-related diseases,” Dr. Buffenstein said. “We are proud to be the hosts of this year’s annual meeting in San Antonio and look forward to lively discussions promoting new ideas and collaborative endeavors to facilitate our goals of healthier aging for all.”

For more information about the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Aging Association, visit http://www.americanagingassociation.org/meeting.

Barshop Institute researcher chairs large aging meeting in S.A.

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SAN ANTONIO (May 20, 2014) — A UT Health Science Center at San Antonio scientist is playing a lead role in one of the world’s preeminent aging research conferences, which will be held in San Antonio at the end of this month.

Rochelle Buffenstein, Ph.D., professor of physiology in the School of Medicine who conducts studies at the Health Science Center’s Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, is the president of the American Aging Association. She is organizing the association’s 43rd annual meeting, the premier forum for understanding the interrelationship between the biology of aging and geroscience. Geroscience is a multidisciplinary scientific approach that focuses on the interrelationship between aging and the many diseases in which aging is the main risk factor.

This year’s meeting will take place May 30 to June 2 at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel. The meeting will bring 250 to 300 research scientists and geriatricians to the Alamo City from the U.S., the United Kingdom, Europe, Japan and Korea. The attendees share a common interest in biomedical aging studies directed toward increasing the functional life span of humans, with one goal being to slow the aging process.

Dr. Buffenstein studies the biology of the naked mole-rat, an extraordinarily long-lived rodent that she has found shows negligible aging of both cardiovascular and brain function. Moreover, the naked mole-rat is resistant to cancer, doesn’t go through menopause and has several other interesting characteristics. A key focus of her research is to understand how the naked mole-rat can defy the aging process with a view to identifying novel therapeutic targets to delay aging and prolong good health.

Panel discussion open to public

“There are societal implications for aging research and extending healthy adulthood,” Dr. Buffenstein said. This topic will be addressed in a panel discussion by leading experts in in the aging field ranging from scientists to policy planners to lobbyists.

The session will focus on how scientific studies in aging biology can lead to an increase in healthy life span, what society needs to invest to improve health span and longevity, and the economic and public policy consequences of increasing longevity.

This thought-provoking panel discussion is open to the public at 6:30 p.m. May 30 in the Navarro Ballroom of the Westin Riverwalk Hotel (to find out more information and register to attend this interactive panel discussion, please go to americanagingassociation.org). Also visit http://bit.ly/1h3ZW8E.

Support

Both the UT Health Science Center and the Barshop Institute have generously provided sponsorship for the 43rd annual meeting.

 

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving National Institutes of Health funding. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced more than 29,000 graduates. The $765 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.

Musi receives $600,000 to study diabetes and gut bacteria

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SAN ANTONIO (May 20, 2014) — The American Diabetes Association today announced $600,000 for a clinical research study led by Nicolas Musi, M.D., director of the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio.

The study will test whether a high-fat diet causes changes in the gut bacteria of human participants, thereby leading to an increase in bacterial byproducts called endotoxins in the bloodstream. In older people and in people with type 2 diabetes, the level of endotoxin in the blood is elevated.

“We all have a little bit of endotoxin in our body coming from the bacteria that live in our gut,” Dr. Musi said. “But usually endotoxin does not come through the intestinal barrier into the blood, or very little does. We question whether the higher level of endotoxin in the blood of diabetics is caused by a high-fat diet that makes the intestinal barrier leaky, allowing endotoxin to spill into the blood.”

The study will also explore how the level of endotoxin might affect insulin sensitivity and the body’s ability to metabolize sugar (glucose).

The study is recruiting participants. Dr. Musi’s team is studying people who are healthy, who are obese without diabetes, and who have type 2 diabetes. The study will enroll approximately 100 people.

Study participants will receive prepackaged meals, and the team will also test whether an investigational drug that traps endotoxin in the gut can improve glucose metabolism.

For more information, please call 210-617-5243.

Dr. Musi is one of only three recipients of the American Diabetes Association and GSK Research Awards announced today. The grants are each three-year awards.

In addition to leading the Barshop Institute, Dr. Musi is director of the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) in the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Healthy Aging in the School of Medicine, and occupies the Sam and Ann Barshop Endowed Chair in Translational Research. He is an endocrinologist and internal medicine physician with UT Medicine San Antonio, the clinical practice of the School of Medicine.

 

UT Medicine San Antonio is the clinical practice of the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio. With more than 700 doctors – all School of Medicine faculty – UT Medicine is the largest medical practice in Central and South Texas. Expertise is in more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. Primary care doctors and specialists see patients in private practice at UT Medicine’s flagship clinical home, the Medical Arts & Research Center (MARC), located at 8300 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio 78229. Most major health plans are accepted, and UT Medicine physicians also practice at several local and regional hospitals. Call (210) 450-9000 to schedule an appointment, or visit ww.UTMedicine.org a list of clinics and phone numbers.

Controlling pediatric asthma: End of school no time to forget about asthma

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SAN ANTONIO (May 19, 2014) – While May is Asthma Awareness Month, it also marks the culmination of the school year for many San Antonio children. Parents and children are thinking less about schoolwork and more about fun in the sun.

However, Pamela R. Wood, a pediatrician with UT Kids San Antonio, said May is the perfect time for parents to schedule annual asthma appointments with their children’s doctor.

“As the summer begins, many parents do not remember to schedule their child’s asthma appointment because their asthma symptoms usually lessen in the summer months. Some children do so well in the summer that they don’t have to use their asthma medications. Symptoms are usually worse in the fall and winter months. Infections, such a cold, are the major asthma triggers,” she said.

Asthma is a chronic disease that inflames and narrows the airways of the lungs. Symptoms are wheezing, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6.8 million children in the United States have asthma. The prevalence is higher in poor children.

“By seeing the doctor during the summer, the doctor and parents will be able to make a new written asthma action plan, get prescriptions for all medicines, and make sure they have a spacer for school and a spacer for home,” Dr. Wood said.

The spacer is a plastic device with one end for connecting the inhaler and the other end for the child’s mouth. The medicine goes in the spacer tube first, and then the child breathes it in over a brief period of time. The spacer increases the disposition of medicine into the lungs, she said. “It is imperative children have one at school and one at home.”

Dr. Wood stressed the importance of creating a new written asthma action plan, which is a one-page form she helped develop that is used citywide. The asthma action plan outlines the medication needed during three stages: daily preventative medicine when no symptoms are present, quick-relief medicine needed when an asthma attack is underway, and emergency medicine needed when the asthma attack has become dangerous and a trip to the doctor’s office or emergency room also is required.

“Most school districts do not honor the asthma action plan from the previous year. They will want the student to return to school with a current action plan,” she said. “If the parents, school and student follow the action plan, asthma can be controlled. Our goal is to keep children from ending up in the doctor’s office or the hospital. We want to keep them well and attending school.”

UT Kids San Antonio is the academic pediatric practice of the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. For more information about UT Kids San Antonio, visit UTKids.org. Patients are seen in clinics in the University Health System. UT Kids pediatric pulmonologists and allergists see patients downtown at the Robert B. Green Campus. For an appointment, call 210-358-5437.

 

UT Medicine San Antonio is the clinical practice of the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio. With more than 700 doctors – all School of Medicine faculty – UT Medicine is the largest medical practice in Central and South Texas. Expertise is in more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. Primary care doctors and specialists see patients in private practice at UT Medicine’s flagship clinical home, the Medical Arts & Research Center (MARC), located at 8300 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio 78229. Most major health plans are accepted, and UT Medicine physicians also practice at several local and regional hospitals. Call (210) 450-9000 to schedule an appointment, or visit www.UTMedicine.org for a list of clinics and phone numbers.

Recruiting more Hispanics to cancer clinical trials crucial to reducing health disparities

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SAN ANTONIO (May 19, 2014) — Hispanics are the fastest-growing demographic group in the United States, and they suffer from major health disparities, including higher rates of cancers of the cervix, stomach and liver. However, their enrollment levels in cancer clinical trials seeking to cure these problems is abysmally low: 3.9 percent.

In a paper published today in the “Comments and Controversies” section of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, three physicians from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio are issuing a call to arms to other cancer researchers to improve their recruitment of Hispanic patients into clinical trials.

“Fundamentally, in the most recent published cancer clinical trials, either the number and proportion of Hispanics are not reported or are far below their actual representation in the national population,” said Ian M. Thompson Jr., M.D., director of the Health Science Center’s Cancer Therapy & Research Center.

“We have a major responsibility to ensure adequate representation,” Dr. Thompson said. “How else will we know how best to treat our patients, and how else are we going to reduce the health disparities in this population?”
Dr. Thompson, Anand Karnad, M.D., CTRC chief of the division of hematology/oncology at the CTRC, and Alberto Parra, M.D., internal medicine resident at the UT Health Science Center, examined clinical trial participation.

Fifty-eight percent of San Antonio residents are Hispanic, with 68 percent in the South Texas region as a whole. As the National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center serving South Texas, the CTRC has a strategic focus on improving health care in the region by working to increase Hispanic participation in cancer clinical trials. In 2012, 45 percent of the 822 patients enrolled onto the clinical trials offered at CTRC were Hispanic. The CTRC achieved this by studying ways to reduce barriers that might be unique to Hispanic patients, developing a minority recruitment toolbox with bilingual forms, and creating a coordinator of minority programs who is bilingual.

“For institutions like ours that serve a ‘minority-majority’ population, it’s a major responsibility for us to ensure adequate representation so that we can tell our patients how they can best be treated and how we can reduce the disparities of this rapidly-growing population,” Dr. Thompson said.

 

The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is one of the elite academic cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Designated Cancer Center, and is one of only four in Texas. A leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer, the CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) conducts one of the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug programs in the world, and participates in development of cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.ctrc.net.