UAMS News


November 12, 2003

UAMS Physician Appointed to Arkansas Health Care Foundation Board of Directors

todd

Jerry Malott, M.D., appointed to the board of directors of the Arkansas Health Care Foundation (AHCF).


UAMS Offers State’s First Program to Train Cancer Registrars

todd

UAMS ofers state’s first training program for cancer registrars


November 10, 2003

UAMS Scientist to Discuss Exercise for Elderly Dec. 9

todd

UAMS scientist Charlotte Peterson, Ph.D., will deliver a scientific lecture on the implications of exercise for the elderly in the Alzheimer’s Seminar Series.

Peterson will speak on “The Role of Inflammatory Response in Muscle Adaptation to Exercise in the Elderly” Tues., Dec. 9, noon-1 p.m. in Sam Walton Auditorium on the 10th floor of the Arkansas Cancer Research Center (ACRC) at UAMS.

The free lecture will be for scientific faculty, students, researchers, and health care professionals, but the public is welcome. Lunch will be provided for the first 70 attendees.

Peterson has demonstrated through her research that stem cells in muscles tend to turn into fat-like cells as people age. This may contribute to frailty and reduced ability to recover from muscle injuries. She is part of a team of scientists studying whether the same genes are at work in muscle loss, bone loss, and memory loss, and other common factors.

Those visiting from off-campus for the lecture can park in the Outpatient Parking Deck, located across Jack Stephens Drive from ACRC. Parking will be validated for those who sign in at the lecture.


November 6, 2003

Two UAMS Physicians Receive Prestigious Psychiatry Awards

todd

Robert Jarvis, M.D., and John Spollen, M.D., of UAMS have received prestigious national awards from the Association for Academic Psychiatry.


November 5, 2003

UAMS Professor to Discuss “Enteral Nutrition” Dec. 2

todd

Ronni Chernoff, Ph.D., R.D., of UAMS will discuss “Enteral Nutrition” at noon Tuesday, Dec. 2, at the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) – Northeast, 223 E. Jackson St., Jonesboro.


Dr. William E. Golden of UAMS to Discuss “Quality Improvements in Health Care” Nov. 11

todd

William E. Golden, M.D., of UAMS will discuss “Quality Improvements in Health Care” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, in Fort Smith, AR.


November 3, 2003

UAMS Reports in Groundbreaking Study:
Women’s Unusual Fatigue, Other Symptoms
Could Warn of Impending Heart Attacks

todd

LITTLE ROCK – Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) report today that women in a study who had heart attacks remembered having unusual fatigue or other new symptoms as much as a month beforehand – suggesting a new way to stop heart attacks before they happen.

“New or different fatigue, sleep problems, shortness of breath, indigestion, and anxiety could be early warning signs of heart disease,” Jean C. McSweeney, Ph.D., R.N., of the UAMS College of Nursing, said. “The appearance of these new symptoms, in conjunction with women’s standard cardiovascular risk factors, should help providers recognize women who should be thoroughly checked for heart disease.”

McSweeney was the lead researcher in the study which Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, published today. In a three-year study of women in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Ohio, the UAMS researchers found that 95 percent of women who had heart attacks remembered having new symptoms more than a month beforehand. The American Heart Association called the study, funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, “one of the first comprehensive examinations of issues that might allow prevention of imminent heart attack in women.”

The most common early symptoms that women remembered were unusual fatigue (70 percent), sleep disturbance (48 percent), shortness of breath (42 percent), indigestion (39 percent), and anxiety (35 percent). The symptoms stopped after their heart attacks. Only 30 percent of women in the survey remembered chest discomfort, which they usually described as aching, tightness, or pressure, but not pain.

“Women need to understand that the appearance of new symptoms could warn of imminent heart attack or developing heart disease, especially if they have other cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, being overweight, or a family history of heart disease,” McSweeney said.

In earlier studies, McSweeney and her colleagues found that women who remembered a variety of symptoms in the month before their heart attacks either ignored the signs or were misdiagnosed when they sought medical help.

Women also tend to have different symptoms during heart attacks. Rather than the chest pain that men typically experience, women are more likely to have shortness of breath (58 percent), weakness (55 percent), unusual fatigue (43 percent), cold sweat (39 percent), and dizziness (39 percent).

“Lack of chest pain may be a major reason why women have more unrecognized heart attacks than men or are mistakenly diagnosed and discharged from emergency departments. Many clinicians still consider chest pain the primary symptom of a heart attack,” she said.

The Arkansas-North Carolina-Ohio group was primarily Caucasian, so McSweeney is now studying ethnic minorities. The other UAMS researchers on the project are Marisue Cody, Ph.D., R.N., and Patricia O’Sullivan, Ed.D.


Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas continue grant to improve rural health care

todd

The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas on Oct. 25 presented a check for $20,000 to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), continuing their support for a five-year program designed to reduce cancer incidence and mortality in rural areas of Arkansas.


October 24, 2003

UAMS Child Car Seat Safety Checks Nov. 1

todd

LITTLE ROCK – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will give free child car seat safety checks Saturday, Nov. 1, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., at War Memorial Stadium. Cars in line in the stadium parking lot at 1 p.m. will be seen. No new cars will be admitted after 1 p.m. Spanish…


October 22, 2003

Nov. 2-8: Allied Health Professions Week Health Career Opportunities Are the Best Ever, UAMS Dean Says

todd

LITTLE ROCK – High demand for graduates and one of the country’s best selections of career tracks mean the career opportunities in health care in Arkansas have never been greater, according to Dean Ronald H. Winters of the College of Health Related Professions at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). UAMS offers degrees…



Previous page Next page