Clinician's Roundtable

Host: Bill Rutenberg, MD Guest: Laurie Malinowski, RN Researcher and Nurse, Laurie Malinowski shares with us her role in the NIH multisite, inner city, Anti-IgE study to decrease asthma in inner city children. The study is being conducted in 9 medical centers throughout the US is recruiting participants through January 2009.

Host: Bill Rutenberg, MD Guest: Jacqueline Pongracic, MD Children's Memorial Hospital is one of eight Medical Centers participating in this two year, double blind, placebo controlled study which is a phase four clinical trial of the IgE blocker Xolair. In this segment join host, Dr. Bill Rutenberg learn from co-investigator, Dr. Jacqueline Pongracic about the logistics of conducting the study.

Host: Bill Rutenberg, MD Guest: Jacqueline Pongracic, MD Our guest, Dr. Jacqueline Pongracic is the co-investigator of the Inner City Asthma Study sponsored by the NIH and Novartis Pharmaceuticals. In this segment, Dr. Pongracid speaks with host, Dr. Bill Rutenberg about the objectives of the study and the study protocol.

Host: Gary Kohn, MD Guest: John Donoghue, PhD Dr. John Donoghue, Director of the Brain Science Program at Brown, discusses the emerging field of neuroprosthetics and the possibilities of new help for paraplegics and those with advanced neurological diseases.

Host: Gary Kohn, MD Guest: John Donoghue, PhD Dr. John Donoghue, Director of the Brain Science Program at Brown, gives us the history and lay-of-the-land in research studies of how the brain controls movement. Are there applications for paraplegics and those with advanced neurological diseases?

Host: Paul Raeburn Guest: Bill Richardson Democrats have made healthcare reform a much higher priority than Republicans. And many of the Democratic candidates’ proposals are similar. But Richardson’s proposal differs in some important respects from those of the other Democrats. He would let Americans aged 55-64 to buy into Medicare. He would expand health care for young children and allow young adults up to 25 to remain on their family’s plan. He would pay for these expansions by streamlining administrative costs of healthcare and investing in prevention. Whether that would be enough to cover the costs of expanded coverage isn’t entirely clear. But we’re not here to tell you what Gov. Richardson thinks; we’re going to let him tell you, in his own words.

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: James Rohrer, MD Utilization management programs often zero in on patients either with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, CHF, asthma and depression or those patients that use a higher than expected amount of health care services. Might there be another way? Host Dr. Leslie Lundt welcomes Professor Jim Rohrer from the Mayo Clinic to discuss his latest research using BMI as a predictor of high utilization of medical services.

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: Cindy B. Ivanhoe, MD 1 in 10 Americans have a condition that can be called a severe disability. With the aging of the population and the likelihood of having a disability increasing with age, the number of patients in our practices with disabilities is expected to increase dramatically. Host Dr. Leslie Lundt welcomes Dr. Cindy Ivanhoe as she discusses severe disability.

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: Cindy B. Ivanhoe, MD Cerebral Palsy. The picture that comes to our minds is usually of a child, but 80% of CP patients are adults. What do we need to know about treating them? Dr. Cindy Ivanhoe joins host Dr. Leslie Lundt to discuss strategies for treating adults with CP.

Host: Leslie P. Lundt, MD Guest: Cindy B. Ivanhoe, MD Stroke is the third leading cause of death in America and the No. 1 cause of adult disability. Are you doing everything you can to help your patients recover? Host Dr. Leslie Lundt welcomes physiatrist Dr. Cindy Ivanhoe to discuss long term management of stroke.