Young African-American asthma sufferers will be the beneficiaries of a National Institutes of Health grant that funds a new research position and study within the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

The $625,397 grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute not only funds the transition of Karen MacDonell, Ph.D., assistant professor of the Department of Pediatrics, to a tenure track position, it also allows a replacement for her as project manager of current asthma studies and creates a new research assistant position.

“I now have start-up money to begin my own research,” said Dr. MacDonell, project director of the Family Community Access To Child Health and the Asthma Family Project for Wayne State University. “I will continue to focus on asthma, but I am planning on developing technology-based interventions for African-American emerging adults (ages 17 to 22) with asthma.”

That research will incorporate the use of computers, personal digital assistants, cell phones, texting and the Internet to address asthma disparity among younger African-American patients. The first phase of that study, now under way, explores the experience of living with asthma and gathering youth input to develop the proposed intervention. Dr. MacDonell plans to apply for independent government funding for her research in 2010.

The rate of deaths from asthma for children in Detroit is 5.4 times higher than the rate for all Michigan children, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. The number of asthma-caused emergency room visits for children living in Detroit consistently tracks 60 percent higher than similar emergencies across the state. In 2006, the latest year for which statistics are available, the number of hospitalizations for asthma in Detroit outstripped statewide numbers, three to one.

According to the state Department of Community Health and the Asthma Initiative of Michigan, African-American children are hospitalized for asthma at a rate 4.2 times higher than that of white children. The prevalence of persistent asthma is 23 percent higher for African-American children than their white counterparts. African-American children visit emergency rooms for asthma at a rate 2.7 times that of white children.

School of Medicine researchers Sylvie Naar-King, Ph.D., and Deborah Ellis, Ph.D., associate professors in the Department of Pediatrics and the Pediatric Prevention Research Center, are using a $2.4 million grant for their study, “Multisystemic Therapy to Reduce Health Disparities in Adolescents with Asthma.” Dr. MacDonell had been managing that research.

With this most recent grant, Phebe Lam will take over Dr. MacDonell’s prior position, and Robert Berry joins the department as a new research assistant.

The Karmanos Cancer Institute honored a Wayne State University School of Medicine professor with its Scientific Distinction Award during the 15th annual Heroes of Breast Cancer Awards.

Angelika Burger, Ph.D., director of the Translational Research Laboratory at the Karmanos Cancer Institute and professor of the Department of Pharmacology at the School of Medicine, received the award at the Oct. 28 ceremony. The award recognizes demonstrated leadership in breast cancer research.

“I am honored and deeply touched by receiving the 2009 Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute Heroes of Breast Cancer Scientific Distinction Award,” Dr. Burger said. “This honor motivates me and my team to work even harder on finding and developing new treatments for breast cancer patients.”

Researchers from the School of Medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Cardiff University in Great Britain and the Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto collaborated to design a series of compounds based on Disulfiram, typically used to treat alcoholism, and found that one of the compounds was more potent than DSF itself in inhibiting an enzyme that spurs the growth of breast cancers. More than 50 percent of invasive breast cancers have the presence of the enzyme that could be treated by the DSF-derived compound.

Dr. Burger was one of the scientists to present the findings at the 2009 American Association for Cancer Research’s 100th Annual Meeting, highlighting research advancements in the treatment of aggressive forms of breast cancer. Researchers gave an oral presentation about the compounds derived from Disulfiram that could provide viable treatment options for breast cancer patients. Dr. Burger served as principal investigator of the study and doctoral candidate Daniela Buac presented the research.

“DSF is a very safe drug,” said Dr. Burger. “It could be given to cancer patients alone or in combination with standard therapies used to treat breast cancers."

The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, in cooperation with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, will launch a targeted health initiative in January 2010 focused on environmentally-associated cancers.

By the end of this year, the American Cancer Society estimates, 1,479,350 new cases of cancer will be reported in this country. Karmanos Interim President and CEO Ann G. Schwartz, Ph.D., M.P.H., said approximately 70 percent of all cancers are linked to occupational and environmental causes, including tobacco use and diet, based on information from the National Institutes of Health.

“A medical evidence-based approach will be presented to doctors participating in BCBSM’s Physician Group Incentive Program in early December,” Dr. Schwartz said. “The initiative is being designed to detect cancers and other serious illness resulting from exposure to arsenic and asbestos, two of the state’s most frequently encountered carcinogens.”

The director and author of the initiative, Michael Harbut, M.D., M.P.H., F.C.C.P., chief of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, said that by utilizing existing data that has identified workplace and environmental arsenic and asbestos, “we can determine who is at risk, what preventive care may be recommended and more accurately diagnose and treat those at risk because of the water they drink or air they breathe.” 

Dr. Harbut said Karmanos “will offer this program to physicians to accurately identify who is at risk for disease before symptoms become apparent. It is not unusual for people to be unaware that they have even been exposed to these toxins.”

Asbestos and arsenic have been singled out because their impact continues to take a serious health toll on Michigan residents. Michigan has the nation’s largest arsenic-contaminated water table, located primarily in the southeastern part of the state, and an estimated 300,000 homes with asbestos-contaminated attic insulation.

Even low levels of exposure to asbestos can cause asbestosis – a potentially fatal disease of the lungs – as well as lung cancer and mesothelioma, an extremely aggressive cancer of the covering of the lungs and intestines. Smokers are 50 times more likely to develop lung cancer if they also are exposed to asbestos. In addition, colon cancer has been associated with asbestos exposure. There is a latency period from time of first exposure to clinical identification of disease of 15 to 40 years.

Studies recently published in Confronting Health Inequities in Latino Health Care, a supplement to the Journal of General Internal Medicine, indicate that disparities in care were reduced or eliminated for Latinos with patient-centered medical homes.

Awareness and treatment of chronic diseases, including diabetes and hypertension, improved among Mexican-Americans who had a usual source of care, such as a regular primary care physician. However, Latino groups in the United States are the least likely to live in patient-centered medical homes.

“Diabetes Awareness and Knowledge Among Latinos: Does a Usual Source of Healthcare Matter?,” conducted by Hector Gonzalez, Ph.D., a clinical neuropsychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, found that the knowledge gained through access to a primary care physician lessened the effects of diabetes among Latino groups.

The study reported that Mexican-Americans with a usual source of health care – generally considered consistent access to a primary care physician -- were 20 percent more likely to have knowledge about diabetes and the use of important preventive services than those who reported that they did not have such access.

Latinos of Central and South American descent also had lower rates of having a usual source of health care, lower rates of health insurance coverage and lower annual household incomes.

“Our findings indicate that a usual source of health care may be a valuable tool for reducing risks and burden of diabetes, a major health problem,” said Dr. Gonzalez, also a member of the WSU Institute of Gerontology. “With dismay, our research also indicates that no progress has been made over the past decade in achieving the Healthy People 2010 objective of improving the proportion of Latinos with a usual source of health care.

While Latinos are the largest ethnic minority, they are also the least likely to have health care coverage, Dr. Gonzalez said. “Among Latinos, Mexicans, who make up over two-thirds of the Latino population in the United States, have the lowest rate of health care insurance. The bottom line is lack of health care insurance is a barrier to care.”

When the Latino population does gain access to health care, he noted, cultural barriers – primarily language – can arise.

Pointing to a growing Latino population in Detroit and southeast Michigan, Dr. Gonzalez said, “There are very dedicated people committed to Latino health in Michigan and Detroit who are struggling with shrinking budgets. I am delighted that student groups at Wayne, like Amigos Medicos, are looking ahead to the health needs of Michigan and the country. I believe the School of Medicine at Wayne State is well poised to help build the needed infrastructure for the future health needs of the region and the nation in serving diverse populations.”

The Amigos Medicos student group seeks to improve the health and well-being of underserved members of the local Hispanic population by providing free health education in the community as well as Spanish language instruction for future physicians. Graduating medical students who can speak Spanish will be in high demand as the state and nation’s Latino population continues to expand, Dr. Gonzalez said.

The study by Dr. Gonzalez was accompanied by two others examining disparities among Latinos in the United States. “Latino Access to the Patient Centered Medical Home” found that health care disparities were eliminated or reduced for Latinos who have a patient-centered medical home. But, only 35 percent of Mexican-Americans and 34.2 percent of Central and South Americans have such homes. A patient-centered medical home was defined as a personal physician who patients see regularly, who engages them in their own health and provides continuous comprehensive that includes preventive care and coordination of care.

“Predictors of Hypertension Awareness, Treatment and Control Among Mexican American Women and Men” showed that in Mexican-American adults with high blood pressure, 65 percent were unaware they had hypertension and 71 percent were not receiving treatment for the condition.

The Wayne State University School of Medicine’s Department of Dermatology and the Wayne State University Physician Group have announced the addition of Alice C. Watson, M.D., to the department as a new faculty member and practicing physician.

Dr. Watson comes to WSU from the Henry Ford Health System, where she served in a variety of positions, including residency program director. She brings extensive knowledge in general dermatology, with a special focus in pigmented lesions, skin cancer treatments and connective tissue disease.

She joined the department Oct. 1, and is open for new patient referrals at the Sterling Heights office and the Karmanos Cancer Institute.

She can be contacted at (586) 939-6400 in Sterling Heights, (313) 576-8477 in Detroit, or by e-mail at awatson@med.wayne.edu.

St. Joseph Mercy Oakland will host its 52nd annual Allen Silbergleit, M.D., Clinic Day on Nov. 18 in the Anthony M. Franco Communications Center on the SJMO campus.

This year’s topic, “21st Century Trauma Care,” includes presentations on advances in medicine and surgery given by four distinguished visiting professors.

The program begins at 7:30 a.m. with registration and continental breakfast and concludes with a luncheon and a discussion with speakers at 12:30 p.m.

Speakers at this year’s Clinic Day and their topics are:

James. Tyburski, M.D., professor of Surgery, Wayne State University; chief, Department of Surgery, Detroit Receiving Hospital; program director, General Surgery Residency, Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center, “What’s New in Trauma?”

Charles E. Lucas, M.D., professor of Surgery, Wayne State University, “Controversies in Fluid Management of the Severely Injured Patient”

Thomas M. Scalea, M.D., physician-in-chief, R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center; Francis X. Kelly professor of Trauma Surgery; director, Program in Trauma, University of Maryland, “Trauma Management in the Elderly”

Mark D. Pearlman, M.D., S. Jan Behrman professor in Reproductive Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School; professor, Departments of Surgery and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan Health System; service chief, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, “Obstetric Aspects of Trauma Management.”

“Clinic Day has always been the flagship program of the academic year at SJMO,” said Allen Silbergleit, M.D., Ph.D., program director emeritus of the Department of General Surgery and chair of the Division of General Surgery. He also is the Cancer Liaison Physician for the Commission on Cancer.

In 2005, SJMO renamed the annual Clinic Day program in honor of Dr. Silbergleit, the long-serving chair of the Clinic Day committee and 40-year director of the surgery residency program. For his accomplishments in graduate medical education, Dr. Silbergleit was awarded the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

For more information, call Debra Reid at (248) 858-3234.