Zeroing in on a disabling disease Currently, Methodist is one of the few locations in Houston and the Southwest to have the new navigational bronchoscopy system. Fewer than 50 centers nationwide currently have the system. “One of the beta test sites for the system in 2004 was in Heidelberg, Germany, where I happened to be training at the time,” Lunn explains. “So I was able to learn how to use the system and bring it to Houston.” Unlike other cancers (colon, prostate, breast) lung cancer has no screening test, so early detection of the disease is crucial. Navigational bronchoscopy’s GPS-like detection capabilities will enable it to become another effective tool for the clinician, alongside X-ray, positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and the CT scan. As the successes with this new technology accumulate, Lunn believes more pulmonologists will use navigational bronchoscopy. “This tool can reach deep into the periphery of the lung, where many of these masses begin. We also can use it to explore lymph nodes and accurately determine how far along a person’s cancer is on the timeline.” Patients require less time for recovery, and procedures can be done on an outpatient basis. “Early diagnosis and reduced trauma is a real plus,” Lunn says. “Happily, we are able to use really up-to-theminute technology to make life better for our patients.” 䡲
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RTHRITIS IS ONE OF THE MOST COMMON BUT LEAST UNDERSTOOD CHRONIC ILLNESSES IN AMERICA. More than 40 million people suffer from some type of arthritis. Yet in the past decade, the understanding and treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the most serious form, have accelerated at a rapid pace. One of the most important discoveries has been this: considerable joint damage happens within the first two years of onset, and an early diagnosis followed by aggressive treatment with today’s newer drug therapies can prevent the worst
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effects of the disease. This once crippling condition can now be put into remission. Still, to a large extent, diagnosing RA, an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation in the lining of the joints, can be challenging. So research illuminating how various factors trigger the disease may help doctors zero in on ways to prevent it, as well as intervene earlier in its course to decrease the cost and disability associated with it. What generates even more excitement for rheumatologist Dr. Sandra Sessoms is research exploring the underlying biological and social
With this study, they hope to be able to determine how to alter the outcome of the disease beginning much earlier in life. WWW.METHODISTHEALTH.COM
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