Philanthropist Lois Pope is thrilled about change in NFL player Kevin Everett's prognosis from grim to miraculous because of Research from the Lois Pope LIFE Center
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The Lois Pope LIFE Center
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Buffalo, NY & Miami, FL -- On Sunday, September 9, 2007 it looked as though Buffalo Bills player Kevin Everett would never walk again after he sustained a life-threatening spinal cord injury during the season opening game. Yet, thanks to some quick thinking by team Doctor Andrew Cappuccino, who took advantage of groundbreaking research coming out of the University of Miami's Lois Pope LIFE Center, Everett is now moving his arms and legs voluntarily.
According to Dr. Barth Green, chairman of the department of neurological surgery at the University Of Miami School Of Medicine, which is housed at the Lois Pope LIFE Center, the key was the quick action taken by Cappuccino to run an ice-cold saline solution through Everett's system that put the player in a hypothermic state. Doctors at the Lois Pope LIFE Center have demonstrated in their laboratories that such action significantly decreases the damage to the spinal cord due to swelling and movement.
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine scientists have been conducting hypothermia studies in one of the world's top neurological research centers: the Lois Pope LIFE Center, which was established in 2000 with a $10 million donation from Lois Pope. Mrs. Pope serves as a trustee of the University of Miami and is a member of the Board of the University's Miller School of Medicine, Dean's Leadership Cabinet. Located in the heart of the University's campus and Miller Medical School complex; the Lois Pope LIFE Center is also home to The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
"Based on our experience, the fact that he's moving so well, so early after such a catastrophic injury means he will walk again," said Green. "To me, it's like putting the first man on the moon or splitting the atom. We've shown that if the right treatment is given to people who have a catastrophic injury that they could walk away from it. We've been doing a protocol on humans and having similar experiences for many months now," he added. "But this is the first time I'm aware that the doctor was with the patient when he was injured and the hypothermia was started within minutes of the injury. We know the earlier it's started the better."
"The research on hypothermia being conducted at the Lois Pope LIFE Center is extraordinarily promising," said Lois Pope. "The immediate and successful treatment of Bill Everett is exactly why I made my donation to create the Center. Wouldn't it be wonderful if no one ever had to hear the words 'you'll never walk again', but instead, 'don't worry, we can help you, we can fix this' that's my hope, that would be a dream come true."
Research teams from the Lois Pope LIFE Center, working with other independent scientists on studies of stroke and cerebral ischemia (lack of blood flow to the brain) have long suspected that mild cooling of the brain might offer protection. Scientists and Lois Pope Research Fellows have performed a series of experiments that carefully measured and controlled the temperature of the body and brain during an ischemic episode. Their findings concluded that severe brain injury can occur if the temperature of the body and brain were maintained at normal levels, while reducing temperature just a few degrees protected the brain.
One of the most serious and least understood aspects of any brain or spinal cord injury is the risk of secondary injury and further damage after the incident. Researchers at the Lois Pope LIFE Center are assessing different applications for hypothermia to prevent secondary injury, including cooling the spinal cord. "We have protected spinal cord tissue from secondary injury by cooling the area, showing that, in most instances, neurological deficit can be decreased by minimizing the amount of structural damage to the brain and spinal cord," said W. Dalton Dietrich III, PhD, Kinetic Concepts Distinguished Chairman in Neurosurgery and Scientific Director of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
The Lois Pope LIFE Center scientists and research fellows have also been working with physicians at the UM/Jackson Memorial in multi-center clinical trials. "Hypothermia is safe and effective, but we just don't know the full range of applications," said Dr. John Kuluz, a UM/Jackson Memorial neurologist who is a member of the team of collaborating scientists and physicians.
Other applications in use are cooling spinal cord injured patients having elective surgeries and after severe trauma. "It is very exciting to have a treatment that can make a difference so many lives," said Dr. Green.
At UM/Jackson Memorial, Dr. Kuluz and his colleagues are using techniques to benefit head trauma and spinal cord injury patients. They have developed a special cooling blanket and fitted ice packs for the head. The use of these modalities decreases an unconscious patient's body temperature to approximately 91 degrees. The patient is continuously cooled for up to 48 hours after trauma or injury.
"We have found that brain swelling causes bigger problems in children, and leads to secondary injury," says Dr. Kuluz, who is testing a helmet that fits over the head and cools the brain. It is currently being used for patients with severe brain swelling. The helmet has been shown to cool the brain while maintaining normal body temperature. Further testing with the helmet is continuing. Implantable cooling catheters are also being used in experimental trials to cool blood without the discomfort of surface cooling. "Internal cooling methods should allow for more critical maintenance of hypothermia levels," added Dr. Dietrich. Scientists and research fellows at the Lois Pope LIFE Center and their U/M Jackson Memorial colleagues working directly with patients expect progress in approaches to hypothermia to continue.
Encouraging results are also being seen in the military where some soldiers transported from the battlefield to military hospitals are being treated with hypothermia. Soldiers suffering with brain and head trauma are stabilized at medical units on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan and then transported to US Military hospital operations in Germany. "The hypothermia research conducted at the Lois Pope LIFE Center and being used at UM/Jackson Memorial is being employed daily in treating head trauma and spinal injuries on the battlefield," said Dr. Dietrich. The time element involved in stabilizing and transporting a solider from battlefield, triage unit and finally to a military hospital can be many hours if not days. Military neurologists are finding that treating with hypothermia deters additional swelling and assists in preventing secondary injury during transport and delays.
The link between the Lois Pope LIFE Center and the groundbreaking hypothermia research being employed not only at U/M Jackson Memorial but on the battlefields for wounded soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan has another important and prolific link. Lois Pope is the chairman and co-founder of the Disabled Veterans' Life Memorial Foundation, Inc. The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, which will be erected on a two acre site in Washington, D.C. adjacent to the National Mall and within full view of the U.S. Capitol, will honor the more than three million living disabled veterans and all of those throughout American history who have risked their lives and livelihoods to defend the freedom and democracy of our nation. As chairman of the Foundation board, Lois Pope has dedicated a decade of her time, energy and vision, as well as considerable resources, toward the project. The Memorial will be dedicated in 2010. |
