News - Houston, TX

Two biomarkers predict increased risk for "silent" strokes

2013-06-05 00:00:00.0

Two biomarkers widely being investigated as predictors of heart and vascular disease appear to indicate risk for "silent" strokes and other causes of mild brain damage that present no symptoms, report researchers from The Methodist Hospital and several other institutions in an upcoming issue of Stroke (now online).

The researchers found high blood levels of troponin T and NT-proBNP were associated with as much as 3 and 3.5 times the amount of damaged brain tissue, respectively. The findings are part of the large-scale Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

"The concept of prevention is expanding," said principal investigator Christie Ballantyne, M.D., director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at The Methodist Hospital. "It's not good enough to simply do a few tests and try to assess risk for heart attack. What we need to do is assess the risk for heart attack, stroke, heart failure and also asymptomatic disease so we can start preventive efforts earlier. Waiting to correct problems until after a symptomatic stroke may be too late."

One possible outcome is that patients determined to be in high-risk groups could be started on anti-stroke medications sooner.

In another ARIC paper published two months ago in Stroke, Ballantyne and coauthors reported a strong association between blood levels of troponin T and NT-proBNP and more severe instances of stroke, called symptomatic stroke. The current study looked at the two biomarkers and "subclinical," asymptomatic events in the brain that are usually caused by a lack of blood flow.

"Taken together, these two papers show the biomarkers are effective at identifying people who are likely to have mild brain disease and stroke well before damage is done," said Ballantyne, who also is a Baylor College of Medicine professor. "This hopefully will give doctors more time to help patients take corrective steps to protect their brains."

For the subclinical brain disease study, researchers gleaned data from about 1,100 patient volunteers who agreed to have blood drawn and two MRI scans eleven years apart to look for silent brain infarcts and also white matter lesions (WMLs) caused by chronic inflammation.

Statistical analysis showed a strong relationship between high NTproBNP and the likelihood of brain infarcts and WMLs. Study participants with the highest levels of NT-proBNP had as much as 3.5 times the number of brain infarcts as participants with low NT-proBNP levels, and more WMLs. Those with the highest levels of troponin T had as much as 3.0 times the number of brain infarcts and more WMLs.

The protein troponin T is part of the troponin complex and its presence is often used to diagnose recent heart attacks. NT-proBNP is an inactive peptide fragment left over from the production of brain natiuretic peptide (BNP), a small neuropeptide hormone that has been shown to have value in diagnosing recent and ongoing congestive heart failure.

"The highly sensitive troponin T test we used is not approved for general clinical use in the US yet, but the NT-proBNP test is just now starting to be used more widely beyond making a diagnosis for heart failure," Ballantyne said.

The Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention is part of the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center.

Also contributing to this study were Razvan Dadu, Salim Virani, Vijay Nambi, and Ron Hoogeveen (Baylor College of Medicine and Methodist Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention), Myriam Fornage and Eric Boerwinkle (University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston), Alvaro Alonso (University of Minnesota School of Public Health), Rebecca Gottesman (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine), and Thomas Mosley (University of Mississippi Medical Center). It was funded with grants from NHLBI and NIH, while Roche Applied Science helped fund the development of diagnostic technology.

Stroke is published by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association.

To speak with Ballantyne, please contact David Bricker, The Methodist Hospital System, at 832-667-5811 or dmbricker@tmhs.org.

The Methodist Hospital adds innovative robot to patient safety arsenal

2013-06-04 00:00:00.0

Robot uses UV light to prevent germ reproduction

The Methodist Hospital has added a five-foot-five Star Wars-like robot to its germ-killing arsenal.

(click image for larger version).

The TRU-D, or Total Room Ultraviolet Disinfection, will further increase patient safety by targeting common germs found in hospitals. The robot produces natural ultraviolet light that modifies the DNA structure of a cell so that it cannot reproduce. Germs that cannot reproduce cannot harm patients.

Increased evidence in scientific literature indicates that UV light disinfection technology has the power to sterilize entire rooms and render common hospital pathogens, such as influenza, norovirus, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), harmless to patients,” said Mario Soares, director of infection prevention and control.

The TRU-D robot will be integrated into The Methodist’s Hospital’s current cleaning methods to provide an additional layer of protection for patients. It will be used to sterilize operating rooms and patient isolation rooms at The Methodist Hospital located in the Texas Medical Center.

After a room has been cleaned with traditional cleaning processes, the TRU-D robot will be rolled in to the room. After the robot is turned on from outside the room using a handheld remote, its sensors will analyze the shape, size and contents of a room before bathing the room in UV light. The robot calculates the amount of time needed to sanitize the room, usually 20-35 minutes, and will automatically shut off upon completion.

The Methodist Hospital continues to be leaders in innovation, and the addition of the TRU-D robot and its technology to our team reinforces our commitment to patient safety Soares said.

For more information on The Methodist Hospital System, see www.methodisthealth.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Department of Defense awards $2 million to spinal cord injury research

2013-05-28 00:00:00.0

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is pleased to announce a $2 million grant from the United States Department of Defense (DOD) to further support the expansion of translational research to find treatments for individuals living with spinal cord injury, including servicemen and women.

The DOD awarded the two-year, peer-reviewed grant to the Reeve Foundation’s North American Clinical Trials Network (NACTN), a consortium of university hospital neurosurgical and neurorehabilitation teams to bring promising therapies into clinical trials. Led by Dr. Robert G. Grossman, professor of neurosurgery at the Neurological Institute at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, NACTN gathers and documents patient medical information in a data registry to better understand the body’s natural course of recovery after injury; uses standardized patient assessment protocols and develops new ones; and conducts new trials of therapy for spinal cord injury. NACTN recently concluded a Phase 1 safety study of the drug Riluzole. NACTN’s research was featured prominently in a recent Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine supplement that provided unique insights into the development of translational research for the treatment of patients with spinal cord injury.

“Our goal is to bring effective treatments from the lab to the servicemen and women on our frontlines,” said Grossman, NACTN’s principal investigator. “With the support of DOD and the Reeve Foundation, our network has a unique opportunity to move safe and potentially viable treatments from the research laboratory into the clinic – this is critically important because presently there are few treatment options for these patients other than standard medical care.”

The funding will support a Phase 2/3 efficacy trial of Riluzole, a neuroprotective drug that is the only FDA-approved drug used in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Laboratory studies have shown it to be effective in limiting traumatic damage to the spinal cord.

“It’s so important that for the last ten years, DOD has recognized the need for spinal cord injury research,” said Alan MacLeod, a partner with Capstone National Partners. “Their support for this often overlooked area of has been critical.”

NACTN, launched by the Reeve Foundation in 2004, originally had six centers in North America. Since then, the network has expanded to ten clinical sites, a data management center and a pharmacology center. NACTN clinical sites are at the Methodist Neurological Institute, Houston, TX; Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA; University of Louisville, Louisville, KY; University of Maryland Medical System, Baltimore, MD; University of Miami, Miami, FL; University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX; University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA; Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Washington, DC; and Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, TX. The data management center resides at the University of Louisville and the pharmacology center is located at the College of Pharmacy, University of Houston.

“Spinal cord injuries can be devastating and this DOD award affords us the opportunity to test promising interventions in clinical trials and identify effective treatments for this country’s war wounded and for spinal cord patients throughout the world,” said Susan Howley, the Reeve Foundation’s executive vice president for research.

The North American Clinical Trials Network is presently supported by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command under contracts No. W81XWH-10-2-0042 and W81XWH-13-2-0040.

Sports Physicals

2013-05-20 00:00:00.0

One-stop shop for student athletes at Reliant Center on June 1

The Methodist Hospital System and the Houston Texans are offering a one-stop shop for youth extracurricular pre-participation physicals on June 1 at Reliant Center next to Reliant Stadium.

“All student athletes are required to have a sports physical before they set foot on the field of play,” said Dr. David Lintner, an orthopedic surgeon with the Methodist Center for Sports Medicine and medical director of the event. “This is a great way to be seen by doctors, athletic trainers and other providers who have years of experience in performing physicals.”

The students will not only receive a physical, but if a problem is detected, they will be evaluated by a specialist on site.

“For example, if a heart murmur or something similar is detected, the child will be seen by a cardiologist on site for a consultation and, if necessary, further tests, such as an echocardiogram, will be performed on site.” Lintner said. “If further problems are found, we will refer them to another specialist near their homes to determine the appropriate course of treatment. An expert in concussion management will also be present to evaluate any athlete with a significant history of concussions.”

Lintner adds internal medicine and orthopedic specialists will also be on hand to evaluate athletes.

The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, June 1 at Reliant Center. Free parking is available in the Orange Lot with a voucher and all participants should enter through Gate 3. Physicals are $15 and cash only. All students must have University Interscholastic League (UIL) pre-participation forms filled out to receive a physical. You can download the medical history and consent forms and the parking voucher at www.methodistsportsmed.com or call 713-790-3333. Physicals are only available for students 12 to 18 years of age.

You can also download a $5 off coupon on The Methodist Hospital System Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/methodisthospital.

Methodist microgravity experiment gets funding, may go to International Space Station

2013-05-13 00:00:00.0

A microgravity experiment designed at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute will be funded by The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) to fly aboard the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory.

The proposal to study the diffusion of drug-like particles will receive about $200,000 from CASIS, which is directed by Congress to manage, promote, and broker research for the orbiting U.S. National Laboratory. If all goes well on Earth, the experiment will go to the International Space Station as early as 2014.

In this reconstruction by Matthew Landry, nanoparticles (blue spheres) travel through a nanochannel (red) similar in dimensions to what will be used in the space-bound experiments (click image for larger version).

Principal investigator Alessandro Grattoni, Ph.D., and a team of scientists from Methodist, BioServe Space Technologies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, will study the movement of drug-like particles through tiny channels. The scientists' ultimate goal is improving implantable devices that release pharmaceutical drugs at a steady rate.

Nearly all drugs taken orally spike in concentration, decay quickly, and are only at their peak effectiveness for a short period of time. Grattoni and co-PI Mauro Ferrari, Ph.D., have been working on a solution -- nanocapsules implanted beneath the skin that release pharmaceutical drugs through a nanochannel membrane and into the body at a sustained, steady rate. To design better nanochannels for a given drug, Grattoni says he and others need to improve their understanding of the underlying physics.

"Very little is understood about how drug particles behave as they diffuse through tight spaces," said Grattoni, co-chair of TMHRI's Nanomedicine Department. "By improving our grasp on the physics and chemistry, we can develop a model that will make it much easier to design delivery devices for any drug, and speed up the development of these technologies."

Grattoni's group will look at two things they believe play a major role in how particles move through channels -- the relative size of particle to channel, as well as charge (plus/minus) interactions between the particle and channel. The fluorescent silicon particles will diffuse into an empty chamber through a long series of narrow channels. Photographs taken periodically with a fluorescent microscope will show the scientists how -- and how quickly -- the particles move, how charge gradients affect the particles, and the effects of size constraints. The experiment will be performed over three months.

The drugs of interest to Grattoni are tiny (1-6 nanometers) and their movement is not influenced by the effects of gravity, but they're too small to be seen or tracked with microscopes. Much larger particles (1 micron, or 1,000 nanometers) can be seen and tracked, but at such sizes, gravity matters. By removing gravity from the picture, Grattoni's group will be able to study the movements of larger particles that can, they believe, mimic the behavior of drug molecules.

"Based on how you configure the nanochannels, the drug is released at exactly the rate that you want it to," Grattoni said. "This is an alternative to the way the drugs are currently received by patients, often orally or intravenously, in which the drug's levels can spike to near-toxic levels early on, then approach therapeutic levels for a short period, then trail off to levels that are no longer effective, requiring a second administration."

Ferrari is also the president and CEO of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and a Weill Cornell Medical College professor of biomedical engineering in medicine.

Another Research Institute scientist, Carl Carruthers, has had three projects in protein crystallization flown to the ISS, the first two times with the help of the U.S. Space Shuttle Program, and most recently with SpaceX, a private space flight company contracted by NASA to deliver payloads to ISS.

To speak with Grattoni, Ferrari, or Carruthers, please contact David Bricker, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, at 832-667-5811 or dmbricker@tmhs.org.

Fish oil doesn't seem to help age-related macular degeneration

2013-05-13 00:00:00.0

A large-scale National Eye Institute study has shown fish oil supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids do not alter the progression of age-related macular degeneration, says a national team of researchers including David M. Brown, M.D., an retina specialist at The Methodist Hospital who ran Houston's part of the study.

Another key finding of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2, or AREDS 2, is that lutein and zeaxanthin may be safer than beta-carotene in reducing risk of disease progression.

A retina with age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, converting from the dry form of the disease (yellow mottling) to the wet form (red spots). Image by Eric Kegley.

"If you look at all the analysis performed in the AREDS 2 study, it looks like lutein taken with zeaxanthin is at least as effective and may be better than beta-carotene," Brown said. "If you also consider that beta-carotene was associated with increased lung cancer rates in all former smokers, I no longer recommend any formulations containing beta-carotene."

Researchers saw a modest decrease in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) among those who took high amounts of zinc, but that result was not statistically significant.

"Millions of older Americans take nutritional supplements to protect their sight without clear guidance regarding benefit and risk," said NEI director Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D. "This study clarifies the role of supplements in helping prevent advanced AMD, an incurable, common, and devastating disease that robs older people of their sight and independence."

Like beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin can be converted to vitamin A in humans and can collect at the retina, where they probably limit chemical damage caused by light. Lutein is found in foods like egg yolk and animal fat deposits. Zeaxanthin is found in some berries, corn, and paprika.

AREDS 2's results agree with past studies that have shown an association between beta-carotene consumption and the development of lung cancer in current or former smokers. About half of AREDS 2 participants reported having been smokers at some point in their lives.

Macular degeneration is a disease in which retina damage causes a loss of visual acuity in the center of the eye, called the macula. AMD is a major cause of blindness in the elderly, and currently affects about 11 million Americans. National Eye Institute experts believe that number will double by 2050.

About 12 years ago, the National Eye Institute began funding studies to look at how diet and dietary supplements affect the progression of the disease. AREDS showed a 25 percent decreased risk of AMD when study participants took vitamin C, beta-carotene (a precursor to vitamin A), vitamin E, zinc, and copper (called the AREDS Formulation).

The five-year AREDS 2, which began in 2006, was a national study of more than 4,200 people. It suggests fish oil supplements probably do not need to be added to the formulation, and that lutein with zeaxanthin might replace beta-carotene in the AREDS Formulation, since lutein is not associated with increased risk for lung cancer.

"The first AREDS study showed us that vitamins really make a difference in decreasing the complications of AMD," Brown said. "Now with the AREDS 2, we have solid data on what to recommend to our patients. Based on the AREDS 2 data, I now recommend that my patients no longer take beta-carotene but look for a vitamin with 10 mg Lutein, 2 mg zeaxanthin, 80mg zinc, 2mg copper, 500mg vitamin C, and 400 IU vitamin E."

AREDS 2 was chaired by Frederick L. Ferris III, M.D., director of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications at NEI.

To speak with Brown, please contact David Bricker, The Methodist Hospital System, at 832-667-5811 or dmbricker@tmhs.org.

Be aware of the sun’s invisible damage

2013-05-10 00:00:00.0

Five tips to avoid skin cancer

click to enlarge [pdf]

With summer around the corner that means more hours spent by the pool or at backyard barbecues. Unfortunately, this summer’s fun in the sun, may mean long term damage to your skin. One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime, making it the most common cancer in the United States.

“Skin cancers are an evolution, resulting from an accumulation of sun damage,” said Paul Friedman, M.D., a dermatologist at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. “Recent research has shown that even people who have survived melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, still choose to not protect themselves from the sun, and even continue to tan. But, there are easy ways prevent the sun damage you see today from becoming skin cancer tomorrow.”

Friedman suggests these tips.

Avoid sun during peak hours. Avoid sun exposure during the peak hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the sun does the most damage to your skin. Apply a sunscreen that is at least SPF 30 every four hours and spend periods of time in the shade.
Avoid tanning booths. Tanning booths concentrate the light, so you burn faster. Tanning beds expose users to both UV-A and UV-B rays, which cause photoaging and has been linked to melanoma. The World Health Organization has moved UV tanning beds to its highest cancer risk category. The risk of skin cancer increases by 75 percent when people begin using tanning beds prior to age 30.
Wear protective clothing. Wearing sun protective clothing with ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) rating which measures the amount of UV radiation that the fabric blocks as an added layer of defense. Clothing is the single most effective form of sun protection. A plain white shirt only has UPF 3. Adding colorless dye like Rit Sun Guard to laundry can coat the fibers, giving regular clothes UPF 30.
Choose your SPF wisely. Wear sunscreen. The newest sunscreens promise SPF 50 or higher, but the American Academy of Dermatology recommends SPF 30. SPF measures the length of time you can stay in the sun before getting pink, and 30 minutes is a good rule of thumb. It is also a good idea to apply 30 minutes before sun exposure and reapply every four hours.
Check for moles often. If you have significant past sun exposure or a family history of skin cancer, it’s a good idea to have an annual skin examination by a dermatologist. Signs that a mole may be melanoma (ABCDEs):
- Asymmetrical: Is the mole strangely shaped?
- Border: Does the mole have irregular borders?
- Color: Does the mole have multiple colors?
- Diameter: Is the mole larger than a pencil eraser?
- Evolving: Is the mole changing in size, shape or color?

To speak with Friedman, please contact Katie Wooldridge, The Methodist Hospital System, at 832.667.5849 or kjwooldridge@tmhs.org.

For more information, follow us on Twitter and Facebook . You can also log on to www.methodisthealth.com.

Surgery training should use array of approaches, study suggests

2013-05-03 00:00:00.0

By developing a new way to compare techniques for teaching robotic surgery, doctors at The Methodist Hospital and the University of Southern California report in an upcoming issue of the British Journal of Urology International that surgeons training in robotic surgery learned best when three different teaching methods were used.

Performances in each of three simulation environments – virtual reality, inanimate tasks, and in vivo training -- were compared.

Alvin C. Goh, M.D. (right) with a trainee (click image for larger version).

"There is no validated or standardized curriculum in existence for training in basic robotic surgical skills at present," said urological surgeon Alvin C. Goh, M.D., the study's principal investigator and director of robotic urological surgery programs at The Methodist Institute for Innovation, Technology, and Education (MITIE). "To our knowledge, our study is the first in a single setting to simultaneously correlate the performance of expert and novice/trainee surgeons across inanimate, virtual reality and particularly, in vivo platforms."

Goh says that growing interest in minimally invasive, robot-assisted techniques and a general dissatisfaction among urological surgery residents with their robot training has put new pressure on surgery educators to improve robot training. He and his BJUI coauthors examined the usefulness of three robotic training methods, which they developed and independently validated.

Goh's group recruited 38 urological surgery residents and 11 expert surgeons to participate in a hands-on laparoscopic and robotic training course. Course participants were classified as experts or novices based on the number of robotic cases completed as the primary surgeon (30 or more for experts). Participants performed exercises using all three robotic training methods. Virtual reality training used the da Vinci Skills Simulator. A standardized assessment tool, created and tested by Goh and his team, was used to evaluate robotic skills in an in vivo model.

The researchers found certain training methods correlated better with overall performance than others. This unique comparative analysis may help to select better tools for teaching and optimize robotic skills training. Expert surgeons outperformed trainees in all three methods, confirming the validity of these training techniques.

The coauthors suggested that training across a broad range of environments may improve the efficiency of skill acquisition. Further investigation is ongoing to understand how standardized training can improve clinical outcomes.

To speak with Dr. Goh, please contact David Bricker, The Methodist Hospital System, at 832-667-5811 or dmbricker@tmhs.org.

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"Comparative assessment of three standardized robotic surgery training methods," British Journal of Urology International (early online)

Multi-million dollar gift establishes brain tumor center at Methodist

2013-04-23 00:00:00.0

Brain and pituitary tumor patients will soon have access to a state-of-the-art facility at The Methodist Hospital, a result of a $10 million dollar commitment from a Houston oil executive.

The Kenneth R. Peak Brain & Pituitary Tumor Treatment Center will offer personalized neurosurgical and cancer treatment options, and give patients access to novel research studies not available elsewhere. Investigational therapies will include immunotherapy; nanosyringes for drug delivery; mitochondrial “smart bombs” (selective mitochondrial chemotherapy); stem cells; gene therapy; genomic, proteonomic and DNA profiling, and high throughput screening of each person’s tumor to every known drug available for treatment. For example, the nanosyringe program will utilize technology that injects chemotherapy selectively into each tumor cell, sparing normal cells. Researchers believe this technique will limit toxicity and increase effectiveness.

“Brain and pituitary tumors are a devastating set of diseases. We are bringing together specialists from all over the world and designing novel treatment options available to each patient, so we can make this journey as smooth as possible, and when possible, eradicate tumors and cancer,” said David S. Baskin, M.D., director of the Peak Center, vice chairman of the department of neurosurgery, and a renowned neurosurgeon at The Methodist Hospital.

The center will be housed in Methodist‘s outpatient facility and will be integrated with the Methodist Cancer Center. It will focus on four areas aimed at providing tumor-specific clinical care and research while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. These areas include:

Brain metastases (Most of these cases involve cancers that have metastasized from the breast or lung);

Pituitary disorders (While most of the 8,000 pituitary tumor cases diagnosed each year are noncancerous, these tumors can cause vision loss or several life threatening disorders due to increase or decrease in production of certain hormones. They can be cured or controlled in over 90 percent of cases);
Glial tumors (primary tumors of the central nervous system); and
Meningiomas and skull base tumors.

Peak founded Contango Oil & Gas Company and was its Chairman and CEO until he stepped down in 2012.

Baskin said the Center will provide patients immediate access on a 24/7 basis to senior level physicians, utilize novel technologies and treatments not available elsewhere, provide a compassionate and user friendly environment for patients and families, and provide the best in personalized medical care on a gene/DNA/molecular level. The center will characterize each tumor in ways not being done anywhere else on a routine basis, he said

“We consider each patient to be unique, and know that each tumor has different genetic information and biological behaviors. The Peak center will capitalize on these differences, starting with an initial $4 million commitment to research which we hope will further our goal to provide personalized treatment using new technologies to achieve cure rates never thought to be possible,” said Baskin.

According to the American Brain Tumor Association, for every 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 221 are living with the diagnosis of a brain tumor. Approximately 10,000 people are diagnosed with a glioma in the United States each year. Treatment usually involves surgery and chemotherapy but the survival rate is poor, with only one patient in five surviving two years.

To speak with Baskin, please contact Gale Smith, The Methodist Hospital System, at 832-667-5843 or gsmith@tmhs.org.

Methodist Cancer Center expands breast screenings in east Houston

2013-04-22 00:00:00.0

By offering free breast cancer screenings and health care to women in east central Houston, Methodist Cancer Center physicians hope to broaden their battle against a devastating disease that disproportionately impacts the poor.

A $100,000 grant from the Avon Foundation for Women will pay for screening mammograms at the Denver Harbor Breast Clinic. Funds will also pay for diagnostic mammograms, ultrasounds and biopsies; sustain the hiring of a full-time bilingual patient navigator who can help English- or Spanish-only-speaking patients understand their medical options; and support a breast oncology physician, high risk clinic director, and genetic counselor at Denver Harbor Clinic. The Avon grant will also help to identify high risk patients, provide twice-a-year clinical exams, support prevention therapy, and provide medical intervention for identified breast cancer patients.

"With at least 30 percent of Harris County's population under-served, we hope that this program will be the beginning of a concerted effort to bring breast cancer screening to the whole population," said Jenny Chang, M.D., Methodist Cancer Center director and project lead. "The Methodist Hospital has a multidisciplinary breast center, one of the few in Houston accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, and we strive to offer the best breast care to all our patients."

Chang says breast cancer screenings should start in July at Denver Harbor Clinic.

East central Houston is a "medically underserved area," according to the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services. This designation is based the ratio of doctors-to-patients, infant mortality rates, and the percentage of residents who have a low incomes or who are elderly.

Denver Harbor is a predominantly Latino neighborhood of about 30,000 residents. Approximately 70 percent do not have a high school diploma, more than 50 percent are unemployed, and about 25 percent live below the poverty level. Methodist's Breast Clinic currently operates at the Denver Harbor Clinic one day a week. Since 2005, Denver Harbor has been the primary care clinic for Methodist's 12 family medicine residents, and three full-time faculty members.

Grants from Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the American Cancer Society also support Methodist's Breast Clinic.

"Many factors contribute to health care disparities among the poor, including awareness, education and access to health care, as well as time to be seen by physician, time to diagnostic tests, time to treatment, and access to clinical trials," said Angel Rodriguez, M.D., breast oncologist at The Methodist Hospital. "With these grants, we are able to address all of the above."

Rodriguez was presented a symbolic check from the Avon Foundation at the conclusion of yesterday's Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.

To speak with Jenny Chang, please contact Gale Smith, The Methodist Hospital System, at 832-667-5843 or gsmith@tmhs.org.