POE improvements continue

Recent and Upcoming POE Improvements

Remote access to clinical applications being tested in pilot project

First phase of process redesign is over; changes now being implemented

Process Redesign Changes

Internet policy established to safeguard computer performance

Stanford, Packard hospital announce new chief information officer

News office changes name

New editor named for Medical Staff Update

Kenneth Melmon dies at age 67

Community Day

The accomplishments of your colleagues and associates
are making a significant impact. Detailed news releases
and/or source material are available at the
Stanford University Medical Center
Office of Communication & Public Affairs,
701-A Welch Road, Suite 2207, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1117;
phone (650) 723-6911;
and on the Internet at
(http://www-mednews.stanford.edu)

COLD VIRUS ATTACK. A modified cold virus that attacks cancerous cells while leaving normal cells unharmed may prove effective when injected into patients with cancer. In a phase-I study conducted by assistant professor of radiology Daniel Sze and colleagues, the researchers first genetically weakened the cold virus to make it less infectious. Then they injected varying doses of the virus into 35 cancer patients who had liver tumors that had spread from an original tumor in the colon. Sze, who hopes in the next round of trials to better clarify how the treatment works, presented his findings in April at the annual meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology.

CK for FARSIGHTEDNESS. A new, laser-less procedure called conductive keratoplasty, which was developed through clinical trials at Stanford and three other centers, has received FDA approval for the treatment of farsightedness. CK works by using a tiny probe, about the thickness of a single strand of hair, to send radio-frequency energy into the cornea, producing heat that reshapes it. The first CK procedure in the United States was performed at Stanford by Edward Manche, assistant professor of ophthalmology and director of cornea and refractive surgery. Refractec Inc., a technology firm in Southern California, manufactures the machine used to perform the procedure.

PREVENTING KIDNEY REJECTION WITHOUT DRUGS. Stanford researchers have discovered a way to transplant kidneys without having the patient remain on a lifelong course of immune-suppressing drugs to prevent rejection. Samuel Strober, professor of immunology and rheumatology, and Maria Millan, transplant surgeon, report that four kidney transplant recipients received multiple small doses of radiation after their surgery combined with a drug to reduce the number of cells capable of an immune attack. The recipients were then injected with blood stem cells from the kidney donors. After this procedure, the recipient's immune cells recognize the donor's organ as friend rather than foe. This enabled the team to eventually eliminate the need for immune-suppressing drugs for two of the recipients, with a third still tapering off. The research is being published in the May 15 issue of Transplantation.