Medical Breakthroughs From Penn Medicine

Guest: William Welch, MD Host: Lee Freedman, MD Advancing surgical treatments and devices are producing better outcomes for patients with spinal problems. How do these innovations alleviate pain associated with spinal stenosis, spinal metastases and spine trauma? Dr. William Welch, chief of neurosurgery at Pennsylvania Hospital, describes new spinal implants, including the X-STOP device, and motion preservation systems that are replacing traditional fusions.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD Guest: Craig Israelite, MD Dr. Craig Israelite, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, discusses a series of approaches to knee osteoarthritis. A brief review of non-surgical treatment is followed by a discussion of image-guided surgery, minimally invasive surgery, partial knee replacements and the post-operative use of multi-modal pain strategies. Dr. Lee Freedman hosts.

Host: Lee Freedman, MD Guest: Craig Israelite, MD Dr. Israelite intially reviews some basic concepts in the approach to osteoarthritis. He then outlines recent surgical advances in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip that have led to better outcomes for our patients. These include minimally invasive surgery, progress in postoperative rehabilitation and the development of new bearing surfaces that both improve range of motion and extend the life of the hip prosthesis.

Guest: Louis Soslowsky, PhD Host: Lee Freedman, MD Dr. Louis Soslowsky, from the University of Pennsylvania Health System, outlines how newer understanding of the mechanism of injury in overuse syndromes is leading to new approaches in treatment. Dr. Soslowsky shares his expertise in biomedical engineering to help doctors fine tune their approach to rotator cuff tendinosis, epicondylitis and other common clinical problems caused by overused tendons.

Guest: Louis Soslowsky, PhD Host: Lee Freedman, MD Dr. Soslowsky discusses how new understandings of the pathophysiology of tendon-to-bone repair are leading to a new therapeutic approach to rotator cuff tears.

Guest: John Trojanowski, MD, PhD Host: Lee Freedman, MD Dr. Trojanowski discusses the implications of our aging population in terms of the future burden of Alzheimer's disease: financial and human costs. He then reviews newer directions for the prevention and treatment of this possible epidemic.

Guest: John Trojanowski, MD, PhD Host: Lee Freedman, MD Dr. Trojanowski discusses how to differentiate the types of dementia and how making these distinctions can lead to different approaches in terms of management.

Guest: Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD Host: Lee Freedman, MD Dr. Lazar discusses exciting new innovations in our approach to both type I and type II diabetes including Islet cell transplantation, medications for beta cell preservation and new insights into the control of obesity.

Guest: Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD Host: Lee Freedman, MD The CDC has ominously projected that one in three children born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes in his or her lifetime. Mitchell Lazar, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and genetics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and director of the Penn Diabetes Center, discusses the magnitude of the diabetes epidemic. What can we do to prevent the CDC’s prediction from materializing?

Guest: John Y.K. Lee, MD Host: Lee Freedman, MD Dr. Lee discusses the use of Deep Brain Stimulation as a new option for the treatment of Parkinsonian tremor and other movement disorders.

Guest: John Y.K. Lee, MD Host: Lee Freedman, MD Dr. John Y.K. Lee, assistant professor of neurosurgery and medical director of the Gamma Knife Center within the University of Pennsylvania Health System, details the neurosurgical utility of the gamma knife with host Dr. Lee Freedman. What are its guiding principles? How does this minimally invasive approach add safety and precision to the current treatment modalities for brain tumors and other diseases? Discuss On Sermo

Guest: Garret FitzGerald, MD Host: Lee Freedman, MD Dr. FitzGerald outlines how the collaborative work of multiple disciplines is leading to a brave new world when it comes to the development of medications and how, in the near future, the concepts of drug efficacy and safety will be redefined.

Guest: Garret FitzGerald, MD Host: Lee Freedman, MD Dr. FitzGerald discusses how advances in molecular biology and our understanding of the human genome will lead to a paradigm shift in how we approach the development and prescibing of medications for our patients.