Viagra® race car in S.A. Nov. 22 to help promote sexual health awareness to physicians

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NASCAR’s famous No. 6 Viagra® race car will be on display at the Health Science Center from 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, near the entrance to the Dolph Briscoe Library.

WHAT: Sexual Health Hospital Symposia and the Viagra® race car

WHEN: The Viagra® race car will be on display from 7 to 10 a.m. The symposia will take place from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22.

WHERE: The race car will be parked near the entrance to the Dolph Briscoe Library (use the Floyd Curl entrance to the university). The symposia will take place in Room 3.102B in the lecture hall foyer in the School of Medicine building. The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive

WHO: LeRoy Jones, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at The University of Texas Health Science Center(UTHSC); Allen Morey, M.D., F.A.C.S., Brooke Army Medical Center; and R. Duane Cespedes, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at the UTHSC.

WHY: Sexual dysfunction and related problems are among some of the most common health problems in the country. Physicians and other health care providers will gather at the UTHSC to learn more about sexual disorders in men and women. The program is designed to provide health care professionals with the necessary tools and practical advice on approaching patients about the topics of sexual health and treatments for disorders. “It is vital for physicians to inquire about sexual health matters,” said LeRoy Jones, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at the UTHSC. “The development of erectile dysfunction may be a precursor to diabetes mellitus or heart disease,” he said.

NOTE: Dr. Jones will be available for interviews with the media prior to the symposia. Call (210) 567-6814 to make arrangements.

New animal imaging system at UTHSC just 5th in world

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Department of radiology faculty are excited about the newly acquired SPECT/CT instrument.

San Antonio (Nov. 6, 2003) – A newly acquired $410,000 SPECT/CT machine at The  University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSC) is just the fifth of  its  kind worldwide for obtaining super-high-resolution images of disease processes in rodents and other small animals, faculty researchers said. It is the first such  instrument  in the state of Texas.

The SPECT/CT machine enables investigators to examine both the function and  anatomy of biological systems. This is accomplished through physiologic single photon  tomographic imaging (SPECT) and CT scanning. “The SPECT imaging part of the  machine allows us to non-invasively track function, such as blood flow and drug  interaction and clearance, by using substances known as radiotracers,” said Beth Goins, Ph.D., associate professor of radiology at the UTHSC and a member of the department of radiology research committee that obtained the instrument. “These radiotracers include those routinely available in clinical nuclear medicine, such as technetium-99m (Tc-99m), and we also have expanded capability to perform very-high-resolution images with iodine-125 (I-125). I-125-labeled agents are widely available due to their use in radioimmunoassay. The CT part, meanwhile, functions like an X-ray machine but provides never-before-seen resolution for small animal images.”

The National Institutes of Health is putting strong emphasis on small animal imaging, said Gerald D. Dodd III, M.D., professor and chairman of radiology at the UTHSC. “Tools such as the one acquired by the department of radiology are enhancing studies of mouse models of disease, including cancer,” he said. “This unit complements the small animal PET system at the Health Science Center’s Research Imaging Center and will be available as a shared resource to all departments. Our department put up the funds to enhance the Health Science Center.”

The UTHSC is the third academic health institution to acquire a SPECT/CT machine from manufacturer Gamma Medica of Northridge, Calif. The others are the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

William T. (Bill) Phillips, Ph.D., professor of radiology and head of radiology’s molecular imaging and nanotechnology research section, is very proud of the team that has been assembled to facilitate research on this valuable instrument. “This team includes a recently recruited radiochemist, Dr. Zheng Jim Wang, who also has experience in small animal imaging, as well as Dr. Vibhudutta Awasthi, a pharmaceutical development specialist and radiopharmacist with small animal imaging experience, and Dr. Beth Goins, a lipid biochemist and liposome specialist with many years of experience in small animal imaging.”

Members of the department of radiology research committee are Drs. Goins, Phillips, Awasthi and Wang, and Drs. Geoff Clarke, Gary Fullerton, John Leyendecker, Julio Palmaz and Eugene Sprague.

Poison Center just a phone call away at 1-800-222-1222

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San Antonio (Nov. 18, 2003) As the holidays approach, the South Texas Poison Center  at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSC) stands  ready to help when the unexpected occurs.

The Poison Center’s toll-free number is 1-800-222-1222. Specialists in poison  information, with a medical toxicologist as backup, are available 24 hours a day, seven  days a week to respond to poisoning emergencies. “The South Texas Poison Center is  part of a network of six poison centers statewide that are linked by computer to ensure  the shortest time possible before each call is answered,” said Miguel C. Fernández, M.D., associate professor of surgery at the UTHSC and medical director of the Poison Center. “Our service is free, confidential and non-judgmental. Our specialists can answer questions in English, Spanish or any language available through the AT&T language line, and we have TDD capability for the hearing impaired. We can assist both the general public and health professionals. We want more people to be aware of the services we offer so that more Texans, especially our children, are protected.”

The Poison Center was established at the UTHSC in 1995 and is supported by a state surcharge on long-distance telephone calls. “The Center is a vital public service,” Dr. Fernandez said. “Education about poisons must begin early in childhood. From its inception, the Poison Center has coordinated annual poster contests to teach South Texas schoolchildren about the effects and dangers of poisons.” For example, children learn that medicines are not candy and that poisons can be solids, liquids or gasses.

The 1-800 phone line is for emergencies only. Anyone who has non-emergency questions or would like a school or club presentation about the Poison Center is invited to call Deborah Van Damme, South Texas Poison Center community education specialist, at (210) 567-5762.

The Poison Center Web site is www.uthscsa.edu/surgery/poisoncenter/. The mission of the South Texas Poison Center is to reduce the incidence, severity and cost of poisonings and the unnecessary utilization of scarce medical resources.

Mellonig earns Outstanding Educator Award from AAP

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San Antonio (Nov. 18, 2003) – James Mellonig, D.D.S., M.S., professor of dentistry  and  director of the Advanced Education Program in Periodontics at The University of  Texas  Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSC), received the Outstanding  Educator  Award from the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP). This is the  first time the  AAP has presented this prestigious award.

The AAP has 7,800 members who are dental professionals specializing in the  prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the gums and supporting s  structures of the teeth, and in the placement and maintenance of dental implants.

The academy’s mission is to advocate, educate, and set standards for advancing the periodontal and general health of the public and to promote excellence in the practice of periodontics. Periodontics is one of nine dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association.

Dr. Mellonig has worked at the Health Science Center since 1989. He earned his doctor of dental surgery degree from Marquette University Dental School in Milwaukee, Wis. He has earned numerous awards and honors, including the Gold Medal award from the AAP in 1999. In 1996 he served as president of the AAP.

Dr. Mellonig has been a guest lecturer at various universities and conferences throughout the world. His research areas of interest include periodontal regeneration, bone allografts, bone inductive proteins, endosseous dental implants and guided tissue regeneration.

For more information about the AAP, visit www.perio.org/index.html.

Metabolic syndrome predicts Type 2 diabetes

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San Antonio (Nov. 7, 2003) – The oral glucose tolerance test, which diagnoses patients at high risk for diabetes but is costly and inconvenient, may soon be put to rest.

A cluster of factors known as metabolic syndrome is able to predict Type 2 diabetes independently of other risk factors such as fasting insulin, according to a new report by clinical epidemiologists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The study, published in the November issue of Diabetes Care, is available at care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/26/11/3153.

The group compared two different definitions of metabolic syndrome to see which best predicted diabetes among 1,734 subjects in the San Antonio Heart Study. The lead author is Carlos Lorenzo, M.D., of the Health Science Center’s department of medicine (division of clinical epidemiology).

New UTHSC program answers question: Is sex worth the wait?

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San Antonio (Nov. 7, 2003) – Four 12-year-olds and five 13-year-olds had babies in Bexar County last year. More than 60 girls gave birth at age 14 – some to their second child. And 224 girls gave birth at age 15. Teenage pregnancy is in runaway proportions in Bexar County.

Fortunately, 20,000 students in the Southwest and North East school districts in San Antonio will hear a positive message starting this spring: Sex is worth the wait.

“We think knowledge is power, and if we can give our adolescents knowledge and the support to make good decisions, then we believe they will decide sex is worth the wait,” said Kristen Plastino, Pharm.D., M.D., assistant professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) and coordinator of the Worth the Wait® program. Dr. Plastino and Robert S. Schenken, M.D., professor and chairman of the UTHSCSA department of obstetrics and gynecology, recently succeeded in obtaining a $246,000 abstinence education grant from the Texas Department of Health.

The Worth the Wait® program empowers teens to make decisions based on facts such as the problem of unwanted teen pregnancies and the ramifications of sexually transmitted disease. A program video shows three high school girls who have had to dramatically change their lifestyles after having babies. “We’ll teach the value of being able to refuse an activity, such as sex, that is not appropriate for one’s personal situation,” Dr. Plastino said. “We say sex isn’t bad, but not at this time in your life. It is an adult decision.”

The Worth the Wait® curriculum will be offered in grades six through nine. It focuses on presenting consistent messages to all groups, from parents, teachers and school nurses to bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and librarians – anyone who interacts with young people at school and in the community. “We want kids to hear repeat positive messages,” Dr. Plastino said. Parent presentations will be done in Spanish and English.

The program will start in the two Bexar County school districts and will expand as more funding is found. The Southwest and North East districts were the first to get implementation of the program approved by their health advisory committees, Dr. Plastino said.

Worth the Wait® originated at Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas, in 1996 and has expanded to cover more than 30 school districts and affect 33,000 students. Dr. Plastino will study attitudes of students toward sexual decision-making at the start of the program and after the first group has completed the curriculum.

“When teens have sex, unfortunate things can and do happen,” she said. “We all need to encourage kids to delay the onset of sexual activity.”