March 25, 1998
Health Source: Medical News From the University of Washington
DEVELOPING VITAL NEW MEDICATIONS FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS is the goal of a new therapeutics research center established at the University of Washington and Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center. The center is one of seven new Therapeutics Development Centers established by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to bridge the gap between discoveries in the laboratory and the clinical testing of new drugs. Cystic fibrosis is a complex, fatal disease that affects about 30,000 children and young adults in the country.
HOW PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS ARE PAID by medical groups does not appear to affect the cost or amount of health services for patients. Research conducted at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine and published in the March 18 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association examined physicians compensated on a fee-for-service or salary basis to determine whether such financial incentives influence the individual physician’s behavior. “We were surprised to find no significant differences between compensation types,” said Dr. Douglas Conrad, UW professor of health services and lead author.
FINDING WAYS TO COMBAT SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED diseases is the goal of a new Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Washington. Investigators plan to begin the first clinical trials this summer. Among the initial trials are a study using a new drug, azithromycin, to treat early syphilis, a study of microbicides to prevent STDs, and a study of novel means to diagnose and treat pelvic inflammatory disease. Dr. Walter E. Stamm, principal investigator at the UW, notes that a recent study released by the Institute of Medicine showed that more than 12 million new cases of STD occur in the United States ever year at a cost of more than $10 billion a year.
HELP FOR YOUNG ADULTS WITH INHERITED metabolic disorders will be offered through a new clinic at the University of Washington Center on Human Development and Disability. The Metabolic Genetics Clinic will help patients with rare disorders requiring life-long treatment to move from pediatric to adult health care. The effort focuses on helping patients develop skills in self-care and self-advocacy and helping community health care providers become more knowledgeable about the disorders. “With the growing number of young people whose success in treatment has enabled them to anticipate independent lives, the time was right to develop a program to address their adult needs,” said Cristine Trahms, clinic coordinator.
MEASURING DIFFERENCES IN BRAIN STRUCTURE caused by prenatal alcohol exposure is the focus of a study at the University of Washington. By evaluating magnetic resonance brain images and conducting neuropsychological testing on individuals with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol effects (FAE) and a comparison group, researchers hope to connect subtle deviations of brain structure with specific cognitive and behavioral problems. Dr. Ann Streissguth, director of the UW Fetal Alcohol and Drug Unit, says study results could be most helpful for persons with FAE — those who have suffered brain damage due to prenatal alcohol exposure but lack the distinguishing facial anomalies of fetal alcohol syndrome.
