Institutes


April 16, 2019

Physician Treats Rare Cerebrovascular Disease, Restores Patient’s Vision

Katrina Dupins

Valerie Hutchens sees Martin Radvany, M.D. for a follow-up appointment.

The first thing Valerie Hutchens noticed when she woke up in the recovery room after surgery was how much clearer the voices around her sounded. “I can hear you!” she said to her surgeon, Martin Radvany, M.D., UAMS interventional neuroradiologist. Among the myriad of symptoms Hutchens experienced with idiopathic intracranial hypertension was a constant whooshing…


April 10, 2019

Football Player Recovers from Cervical Spine Trauma

Katrina Dupins

CJ Johnson visits David Bumpass, M.D. for a follow-up months after surgery.

The Arkansas Tech Wonderboys defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State Oct. 27, 2018, ending a four-game losing streak and marking the first time in 26 years the Wonderboys defeated the Savage Storm on the road. With 46.5 seconds left in the game, the Savage Storm still had a chance to win. They were within scoring range on…


April 8, 2019

Art Students Help UAMS Cancer Patients ‘Paint Over Pain’

Susan Van Dusen

Fen Xia, M.D., Ph.D., (right) chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, and Central Arkansas Christian School students display radiation masks they decorated as part of CAC’s art program “Paint Over Pain” to represent beauty that can come from hardship.

Transforming something frightening into something inspiring isn’t an easy task. But that’s exactly what students at Central Arkansas Christian (CAC) School set out to do for patients undergoing treatment at the UAMS Radiation Oncology Center. “I love the idea of being able to inspire the patients and bring a little bit of light into a…


April 4, 2019

New Treatment for Parkinson’s Patients Improves Drug’s Effectiveness

Katrina Dupins

Metish Lotia, M.D. and Shannon Doerhoff, A.P.R.N. go over settings with Mark Avra on his Duopa pump.

He no longer feels comfortable climbing ladders, but Mark Avra says there is plenty of work to be done on the ground. Avra is a builder and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2008. “I had two houses going at once and had to have extra help to finish them,” Avra said. “I realized then I…


April 1, 2019

Patient Bikes East Coast to Fight Myeloma

Linda Haymes

This year, myeloma patient Alan Wolfson of Lakewood Ranch, Florida, will take an 18-day, 500-mile ride from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the destination of his first ride in 2002. He’s leaving May 1 and has already gathered more than $4,000 in pledges for the Myeloma Center.

Since 2002, Alan Wolfson of Lakewood Ranch, Florida, has taken an annual bike ride most years along the east coast to raise money for the UAMS Myeloma Center. Averaging about $20,000 in contributions from his friends and supporters for each ride, he’s already pedaled his way to about $210,000 for the center. This year, Wolfson,…


March 27, 2019

Aviation Executive Beats Colon Cancer

Katrina Dupins

Once over the initial shock of his cancer diagnosis, Mark Bremer decided he’d face the situation with a goal to find something positive about every day.

There were lots of questions going through Mark Bremer’s mind on the day he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in late 2017: Is it confined to one location? What stage is it? How far has it spread?


March 26, 2019

Erin Willis, M.D., Recognized by National MS Society for Pediatric Care

News Staff

Dr. Willis receiving plaque

Sometimes to make a difference, you have to chart your own path.It’s safe to say that Erin Willis, M.D., did just that. Willis is the first and only pediatric neurologist in Arkansas specializing in the treatment of multiple sclerosis in children.


March 21, 2019

Grateful Texan Holds Party for Myeloma Center

Linda Haymes

Myeloma patient Laura Drake and husband Marty of Idalou, Texas, celebrate her continued remission annually with a cocktail party in Lubbock with their friends. The party raises awareness of the disease and money, more than $5000, for the Myeloma Center.

March 21, 2019 | Texan Laura Drake loves a good party — especially when it’s raising money for a worthy cause. Since Drake’s remission from myeloma in January 2014, that worthy cause has been helping fellow myeloma patients at UAMS. For the past three years, the 57-year-old church secretary and husband Marty, a cotton farmer,…


March 18, 2019

Virtual Reality Reveals Challenges of Aging

Ben Boulden

Using virtual reality technology, Nathan King experiences a simulation of vision and hearing loss.

Nathan King was experiencing hearing loss and the blurred vision that comes with macular degeneration even though his eyes and ears were just fine. Through a computer simulation, King, an education coordinator in the new UAMS Institute for Digital Health & Innovation, was learning what the challenges are for older adults who live with these…


Neurostimulator Significantly Reduces Seizures for Missouri Man

Katrina Dupins

Matthew Pinegar visits Viktoras Palys, M.D. in a follow-up appointment after his RNS Surgery.

Matthew Pinegar was 3 months old when he had his first seizure. He was put on medication to keep them at bay, then taken off the medicine in junior high. “It wasn’t until I was 21 when I had my first grand mal,” Pinegar said. “After that happened and I looked back, I’m sure I…



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