Actress, singer team up with researcher to increase awareness of thoracic aortic disease

Thoracic aortic aneurysm disease stole the life of actress Amy Yasbeck’s beloved husband John Ritter and nearly killed singer/radio personality Patty Peterson.

Now it has become their common cause.

Strangers before their lives were turned upside down, the two women have formed a close bond and hope to educate others about the deadly disease with the help of genetic researcher Dr. Dianna Milewicz, professor and director of the Division of Medical Genetics and President George Bush Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine.

Yasbeck, whose prolific acting career includes a starring role in Wings, and Peterson, a vocalist from Minnesota’s first family of jazz, The Petersons, both talked about their personal journeys at the recent Houston Aortic Symposium. Milewicz, whose discovery of three genes related to aortic aneurysms has been published in major journals, also spoke at the event, which drew physicians from across the country.

“If you have the defective gene, you are at a high risk for an aortic dissection during your lifetime, and with some genes this risk is greater than 90 percent,” Milewicz said. “The genetic risk for getting aortic disease if you have the defective gene is similar to the risk of getting breast cancer if you have that defective gene.”

Thoracic aortic disease is the 15th leading cause of death in the United States, killing up to 20,000 people a year. The aorta, the main blood vessel leading out of the heart, supplies blood to the rest of the body. Some people develop a progressive degeneration of the aortic wall, leading to a bulging aneurysm, or to a dissection (a tear in the wall). Thoracic aneurysms tend to be without symptoms until a catastrophic dissection or rupture occurs.

It often strikes when people are in the prime of life. Ritter was just 54 years old when he died of a dissected aortic aneurysm. Jonathan Larson, the creator of the Broadway hit Rent, was just 35.

Through the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health, Yasbeck has made it her mission to raise awareness of the disease. “I don’t want the image of this disease to be only death,” Yasbeck said during her visit to Houston. “I want it detected and repaired and for people to be able to go on with their lives. If there is any silver lining to be found in our family’s loss, it’s that John’s death has put aortic disease at the front of people’s minds.”

Once the aorta begins to dissect, patients may have anywhere from minutes to hours before it ruptures. Even if properly diagnosed in the emergency room, emergency surgery to repair the dissection is risky.

Peterson was one of the lucky ones. “Initially they began to treat it as a heart attack in the emergency room, but my language was different than that of a heart attack patient,” Peterson said. “I kept telling them I felt a ‘burst’ in my chest, and eventually they realized it was my aorta, not my heart. The hospital had a protocol in place, and because of that protocol, I was in surgery within two to three hours. They saved my life.”

If caught early enough (commonly thought to be when an aneurysm is 5 centimeters or less), a surgical procedure to repair the weak portion or replace it with a Dacron graft has a high degree of success. Some of the earliest surgical repairs in the nation occurred at the Texas Medical Center.

Yasbeck, daughter Stella, and other members of the Ritter family have already joined Milewicz’ genetic research project, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Peterson, who also joined the research, plans to recruit her family members, including her children.

“As a parent, if you get the smallest inkling that it might be genetic, you’re all over it,” Yasbeck said. “I want people with a family history of this to be aware. We desperately need Dianna (Milewicz) and others like her to solve this riddle, not just for our family, but for everyone who might be affected.”

-D. Mann Lake

CLAMC granted full accreditation

The Council on Accreditation of the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AALAC International) recently bestowed full accreditation to the UT Center for Laboratory Animal Medicine and Care (CLAMC).

The accreditation process involves both an internal review and an onsite visit. Institutions must go through these steps every three years to maintain accreditation. CLAMC has been accredited by AAALAC International since 1978.

Following its onsite visit, the council commended CLAMC staff “for providing and maintaining an excellent program of laboratory animal care and use.”

“Earning accreditation is completely voluntary, and the UTHSC-H has chosen to meet standards that go above and beyond the animal research regulations required by law,” said Dr. Bradford Goodwin, Jr., executive director of CLAMC. “AAALAC International is recognized worldwide as the ‘gold standard’ for animal research programs, and the CLAMC is especially proud to be awarded this exceptional designation of Continued Full Accreditation for another three years.”

CLAMC was commended for its knowledgeable and dedicated animal care staff, the involvement of the Animal Welfare Committee, and the support of the UTMB program during its recovery from Hurricane Ike.

“CLAMC staff care deeply about animal health and well-being and are committed to the humane and responsible care and use of laboratory animals that ensures quality research data and good science,” added Goodwin, who was recently elected to the Executive Committee of the AAALAC International Board of Trustees.

As member-at-large, Goodwin is a voting member of the governing body for the entire AAALAC International organization. He also is the delegate to the AAALAC International Board of Trustees representing the American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners.

AAALAC International is a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science through voluntary accreditation and assessment programs.

More than 770 companies, universities, hospitals, government agencies, and other research institutions volunteer to participate in AAALAC's program, in addition to complying with the local, state, and federal laws that regulate animal research.

- D. Brown

UT Houston rheumatologist named to AAP

Dr. John D. Reveille, professor and director of the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunogenetics, is now a member of the Association of American Physicians (AAP).

The AAP is a nonprofit, professional organization founded in 1885 for the advancement of scientific and practical medicine. Each year, 60 individuals are recognized by nomination for membership by the council of the association. New members are given the opportunity to share their scientific discoveries and contributions with colleagues during the AAP’s annual meeting.

Reveille, the George S. Bruce, Jr., Professor in Arthritis and Other Rheumatic Diseases, was nominated for membership by colleague Dr. Frank Arnett, Jr., professor of internal medicine and the Elizabeth Bidgood Chair in Rheumatology.

“I can think of no other investigator more worthy of acceptance into the Association of American Physicians than Dr. John Reveille,” Arnett said. “His research into the genetics of rheumatic diseases has been seminal and broad-based, including such diseases as systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV-associated diseases, and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). His most recent work has definitively identified all, or at least the majority, of genes causing AS, and stands as a milestone in translational medical research.”

Reveille has been on the Medical School faculty since 1987. He received his rheumatology training at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

For more information on the UT Rheumatology Clinic or for an appointment with Dr. Reveille, call 832.325.7191.

-M. McDonald

Rehab robots engineered to help stroke patients

While they don’t look like R2-D2 or the other robotic stars of the silver screen, assistive robotic devices being designed to help stroke and spinal cord injury survivors with rehabilitation could be an even bigger hit.

The prototypes are armed with a scissor-like claw that can perform a variety of functions, including moving a glass of water or snatching a pen off the floor.

The project is the brainchild of two faculty members in the Laboratory of Adaptive Technologies at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston who have recruited college engineering students to turn the teachers’ vision into a reality.

The idea is to build assistive robotic devices that can perform everyday tasks for patients recovering from diseases affecting their motor skills and to give the patients exercise in the process.

“This is brand new,” said Lex Frieden, who heads the lab at the School of Health Information Sciences at Houston and is a senior vice president at TIRR Memorial Hermann. “We are using the creative genius of young people to help stroke patients continue their rehabilitation at home.”

Frieden and Dr. Catherine Ambrose, an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery, are coaching student design teams at The University of Texas at Austin and Rice University that have been working on the project since the fall semester.

“Our goal is to motivate people with neurological diseases to continue their rehab at home,” Ambrose said. “We’re looking at these devices as motivational tools.”

Every year, about 700,000 people in the United States are confronted by new or recurrent strokes, and many have to relearn everyday tasks such as picking up a piece of fruit or opening a cabinet.

This is where assistive robotic devices can help. To manipulate the remote-controlled robots, patients use an instrument called an exoskeleton, which is attached to one of the patient’s arms. Caregivers can gradually increase the range of motion and amount of exertion required to operate the devices in order to help patients build endurance.

Sudhir Shenoy and his student colleagues in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UT Austin, which is also affiliated with The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Health Science Center, have outfitted their robot with a video camera so it can be dispatched to other rooms of a house to retrieve items.

“Our robotic device replicates fine motor skills such as lifting a glass, as opposed to gross motor skills which could involve moving something heavy,” said Shenoy, whose team includes seniors Diana Lo, Patrick Ingram, and Susannah Payne and is led by faculty adviser Dr. Delbert Tesar, who is a professor and Carol Cockrell Curran Chair in Engineering from the UT Austin Mechanical Engineering Department.

"Because many patients would have a hard time changing batteries, the UT Austin team has built its prototype so it can dock with a recharger that is already plugged into an outlet," Shenoy said.

Before they started the project, the students, who will be getting class credit, conferred with people recovering from stroke or spinal cord injuries at TIRR Memorial Hermann and with the physical therapists who care for these patients.

“We learned a lot about the issues involved,” said Claire Krebs, one of the members of the Rice team. “These are complicated conditions and take a long time to recover from.”

A faculty adviser for the Rice team, Dr. Marcia O’Malley, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Rice, designed the exoskeleton system that is used to drive the Rice robot. Also working with the students is Dr. Maria Oden, director of the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen at Rice.

The prototypes are equipped with lifts designed to raise the grabber to the height of a table for easy access to glasses, utensils, and dishes, which is no easy task. Their maximum height is around three feet.

The Rice team is comprised of Krebs and two other mechanical engineering students, Beth Rowan and David Meyer, as well as bioengineering students Christine Moran and Austin Mueller. The Rice prototype rolls on treads similar to those you would see on a tank and is less than 20 inches tall and about 18 inches by 18 inches at the base.

Once the projects are completed, according to Frieden, tests will be organized to see how well these prototypes work on patients in a real world environment.

-R. Cahill

Harper receives excellence award

Dr. Andrew Harper, medical director of The University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center (UTHCPC), will receive the Psychiatric Excellence Award from the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians (TSPP) at its annual meeting this fall.

Harper, who began his career with UT as a medical student, and continued on as a resident and faculty member, will receive the award because of his commitment to quality patient care, as well as his commitment to teaching, research, and community service/outreach during his service to UTHCPC and the community.

The TSPP unites Texas’ professional psychiatric organizations, bringing together 45,000 physicians in advocacy for patients and quality psychiatric care. TSPP’s mission is dedicated to developing the highest quality of comprehensive psychiatric care for patients, families, and communities.

-G. Konigsberg

Cinco de Mayo

 

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