N E W P H YS I C I A N S
Brain Tumor SPORE Makes
Four for UAB
NEUROSCIENCES
P U B L I C AT I O N S O F N OT E
Alexandrov AV, Harrigan
MR, et al. “Stenting versus
Aggressive Medical Therapy
for Intracranial Arterial
Stenosis.” New England
Journal of Medicine, 2011
Sept;365:993-1003.
Nabors LB, Markert JM,
Fiveash JB. “Patterns of Failure
for Glioblastoma Multiforme
Following Concurrent Radiation
and Temozolomide.” Journal
of Medical Imaging and
Radiation Oncology, 2011
Feb;55(1):77-81.
UAB Neurosurgeons Help
Develop Acute Cervical Spine
and Spinal Cord Injuries
Guidelines
The UAB Division of
Watts RL, Guthrie BL. “Gene
Delivery of AAV2-Neurturin for
Parkinson’s Disease: A DoubleBlind, Randomised, Controlled
Trial.” The Lancet Neurology,
2010 Dec;9(12):1164-1172.
Oliva CR, Moellering DR,
Gillespie GY, Griguer
CE.“Acquisition of
Chemoresistance in Gliomas
Is Associated with Increased
Mitochondrial Coupling and
Decreased ROS Production.”
PLoS One, 2011;6(9):e24665.
UAB MEDICINE NEWS
Neurosurgery and the UAB
Standaert Appointed UAB Neurology Chair
Health Image Exchange Opens
Center have been awarded
Movement disorders expert David Standaert, MD, PhD,
The Central Alabama Health Image Exchange (CAHIE)
a Specialized Program
was named chair of the UAB Department of Neurology
opened July 2011 with neurosurgeon Barton Guthrie, MD,
of Research Excellence
Three UAB neurosurgery physicians, including the two
in August 2011. He is the director of the UAB Center
as PI on a federal grant that helped develop the standards-
(SPORE) grant from the
for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics,
based system. It allows physicians at participating facilities
cochairs, were among the seven-member group responsible
National Cancer Institute
for $2.3 million over three years to conduct research and
the Division of Movement Disorders, and the UAB
to share patients’ CT, MR, most cardiovascular, and other
for writing the current Guidelines for Management of Acute
Victor Sung, MD, joined UAB as
imaging, as well as radiological reports. “Immediate access to
Cervical Spine and Spinal Cord Injuries. Neurosurgeons Mark
develop new therapies to treat brain tumors.
Comprehensive Neuroscience Center. Standaert earned his
medical and doctoral degrees from Washington University
remote image data gives physicians vital data to support better
centers in the nation with four SPORE programs—for brain,
in St. Louis in medicine and pharmacology, respectively.
care and mitigates the problem of trauma patients arriving
breast, and pancreatic cancers, and a shared grant with Johns
He completed his neurology residency at the University
at UAB’s Level 1 Trauma Center with no prior imaging
Hopkins University for cervical cancer. Only four institutions
of Pennsylvania and a research and clinical fellowship in
available,” says Guthrie.
hold brain tumor SPORE grants.
neurology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts
assistant professor of neurology and
received his MD from the University of
Texas Southwestern Medical Center,
Dallas. Postgraduate training consists
of a UAB neurology residency, a
movement disorders fellowship, and
a Birmingham Veterans Affairs (VA)
Medical Center VA National Quality
Scholars fellowship.
Hadley, MD, and Beverly Walters, MD, MSc, were cochairs,
and pediatric neurosurgeon Curtis Rozzelle, MD, was a member
of the group.
The guidelines were developed under the auspices of and
with the support of the Joint Section on Disorders of the
UAB is one of an elite group of comprehensive cancer
Translational scientist Yancey Gillespie, PhD, and
Spine and Peripheral Nerves of the American Association
neurosurgeon James Markert, MD, MPH, director, Division
Surgeons.
therapeutics for anaplastic gliomas. The award includes
General Hospital and was a member of the Harvard faculty for
Sontheimer Lab Suggests Origin, Treatment of
14 years before joining UAB in 2006.
Glioma-related Seizures
of Neurosurgery, co-lead the program to study contemporary
UAB announced evidence in 2011 suggesting that excessive
Markert Leads Southern Neurosurgery Society
glutamate released from glioma cells causes epileptic activity
James Markert Jr, MD, MPH, was elected president of the
in peritumoral neurons, which may be stopped by glutamate-
Southern Neurosurgery Society for 2011-2012. Markert,
blocking drugs. The study, by researcher Harald Sontheimer,
professor and director of the UAB Division of Neurosurgery,
PhD, et al, established that the activity is associated with
tumors is to develop and test a genetically engineered herpes
earned his MD from Columbia University, NY, and completed
glutamate release from the system xc(x)cystine-glutamate
simplex virus (HSV) C134 to infect and kill brain tumor
his internship and residency at the University of Michigan
transporter expressed on tumor cells. The findings were
or between treatment facilities,”
cells while sparing normal brain cells. This chimeric third-
Medical Center as well as a fellowship at Massachusetts
published in September 2011 in Nature Medicine.
says Hadley.
generation virus was constructed by UAB pediatric infectious
Frank Skidmore, MD, joined UAB
as assistant professor of neurology
and received his MD from the
University of Virginia. Postgraduate
training consists of an Indiana
University Medical Center neurology
residency and multiple sclerosis minifellowship; Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine neurosciences
fellowship; and University of Maryland
movement disorders fellowship.
General Hospital, Boston.
The author group reflected expertise in spinal neurosurgery,
neurotrauma, and clinical epidemiology.
“The management of these patients and their cord and
vertebral column injuries typically had not been standardized or
consistent within an institution
$200,000 from the National Institutes of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke to accelerate the initiation of two new
clinical trials in the first year.
One of primary objectives of the UAB SPORE in brain
“We believe these guidelines
disease specialist Kevin Cassady, MD, project leader. UAB
define the variety of assessment
researchers will establish the safety and high quality of the
or treatment options available to
virus preparation for the first-in-man clinical study. Markert,
a clinician in the management
project co-leader, has studied a similar, successful firstgeneration HSV in three phase 1 clinical trials at UAB.
of an individual patient, provide
A second project will test the ability of a UAB-produced
direction within the broad scope
F E AT U R E D
CLINICAL TRIALS
MEASURES OF SUCCESS
Stenting vs. Aggressive Medical
Management for Preventing Recurrent
Stroke in Intracranial Stenosis
(SAMMPRIS)
This randomized clinical study is designed
to determine whether intracranial stenting
(Wingspan stent) with intensive medical
therapy is superior to the medical therapy
alone for preventing second stroke in high-risk
patients with symptomatic stenosis of a major
intracranial artery. NCT00576693. PIs: Mark
Harrigan, MD, and Andrei Alexandrov, MD.
Contact: Lisa Nelson, RN 205.934.3131 or
205.975.9530.
CLINICAL TRIALS
monoclonal antibody (Tig atuzumab) to bind to human
of clinical practice, highlight
brain-tumor cells and cause them to be killed. UAB has
what is known about specific
conducted two previous clinical trials studying Tigatuzumab
issues, and importantly, define
in patients with other types of cancer. The project leaders are
what is not known, in order to
radiation biologist Donald J. Buchsbaum, PhD, and radiation
stimulate additional research,”
New guidelines promote
he says.
consistency in care.
oncologist John Fiveash, MD.
Pilot clinical projects of the UAB brain tumor SPORE
will include design of a clinical trial to test a small-molecule
inhibitor of a critical enzyme (JAK2) that is overactive in
brain tumors, led by cell biologist Etty (Tika) Benveniste,
PhD, and neuro-oncologist Burt Nabors, MD.
continued from front page
In the other clinical pilot project, pathologist Kevin Roth,
neuroscience research is key to the university’s
research is strong, and we are geographically well
MD, PhD, and Nabors will test the safety and effectiveness
inclusion in the network. He believes UAB’s
positioned to recruit previously under-studied
of the antimalaria drug quinacrine hydrochloride (Atabrine)
strong programs in movement disorders, epilepsy,
ethnic populations.”
demyelinating diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease
will be good targets for initial studies.
Coprincipal investigator Khurram Bashir,
MD, says, “UAB’s commitment to translational
2
UAB as associate professor of
neurology, director of the UAB
Division of Memory Disorders and
Behavioral Neurology, and the Patsy
W. and Charles A. Collat Scholar in
Neuroscience. He was previously on
the faculty of the University of Virginia
Medical Center. He is the author
of Contemporary Diagnosis and
Management of Alzheimer’s Dementia.
Comprehensive Cancer
of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological
Walker HC, Watts RL,
Guthrie BL, Montgomery
EB, et al. “Activation of
Subthalamic Neurons by
Contralateral Subthalamic
Deep Brain Stimulation in
Parkinson Disease.” Journal
of Neurophysiology, 2011
Mar;105:1112–1121.
David Geldmacher, MD, joined
F OR REF ERR A L S: 1- 8 0 0 - 8 2 2- 6 47 8
Massachusetts General Hospital is NeuroNEXT’s
clinical coordinating center; the data coordinating
center is hosted by the University of Iowa.
in patients with anaplastic gliomas. Roth has shown that
quinacrine blocks the ability of tumor cells to survive
chemotherapy.
The SPORE also will fund several pilot research projects to
encourage development of additional novel therapies that also
UAB Hospital’s seven-bed Seizure Monitoring Unit, managed by a separate Epilepsy Service, admits up to 50 patients every month. The Epilepsy Surgical
will offer hope to patients with anaplastic gliomas.
Program performs approximately 50 resections annually for patients from Alabama and adjacent states.
Study to Identify Clinical, Imaging and
Biologic Markers of Parkinson Disease
Progression (PPMI) This observational,
multicenter study assesses progression
of clinical features, imaging, and biologic
biomarkers in Parkinson disease (PD) patients
compared to healthy controls (HC) and in PD
patient subtypes, with the primary objective
to find markers for use in clinical trials of
disease-modifying therapies. NCT01141023. PI:
David Standaert, MD, PhD. Contact: Stephanie
Guthrie, 205.996.4033.
MOR E INF OR M AT ION: uabmedicine.org /physician
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