May

UNC physician wins prestigious clinical research award

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.- A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill physician has been selected to receive a $35,000 award for excellence in clinical research from the American Gastroenterological Association.

Study: statewide teen tobacco prevention media campaign shows early successes

CHAPEL HILL -- Efforts to persuade children and adolescents not to use tobacco should receive a strong boost this week as University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers release encouraging results of the first in-depth study of a statewide, paid antismoking media campaign.

Routine procedure during childbirth provides no benefits, study review finds

CHAPEL HILL -- According to a systematic review of existing studies, to appear in the May 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the surgical procedure known as an episiotomy, performed in up to 35 percent of U.S. vaginal births, usually provides no benefits.

UNC Health Care launches next wave of its Web-based Clinical Information System with direct e-prescribing capability

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina Health Care System recently unveiled a new direct e-prescribing function in its Web-based clinical information system, WebCIS, after a four-month pilot testing period. UNC Health Care is the first medical center in the Southeast to implement e-prescribing from electronic medical records - directly from large group medical practices to retail pharmacies across the United States.

UNC cancer experts to join with community groups to reduce health disparities

CHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Program on Ethnicity, Culture and Health Outcomes (ECHO) and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have been awarded a five-year grant to take a community approach to reducing health disparities in the adult African-American population.

EMS TRAINING PROGRAM COMES TO NORTH CAROLINA Program Will Provide EMS Professionals With Valuable Stroke Training

Denver, CO. (May 13, 2005) Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the state of North Carolina. Surprisingly, a good majority of North Carolina stroke deaths happen before the patient receives any medical attention.

2006 UNC Hospitals budget projects $10.3 million operating income

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Today the Board of Directors of the University of North Carolina Health Care System approved a fiscal year 2006 budget for UNC Hospitals that projects an operating income of $10.3 million. This represents a 1.5 percent return of revenues and a second year of fiscal growth for UNC Hospitals, which had experienced revenue shortfalls in fiscal years 2003 and 2004. The operating income will now be reinvested in patient care programs and services.

Umbilical cord-blood transplants save lives of babies with rare genetic disorder, help them develop, study shows

CHAPEL HILL -- Umbilical cord-blood transplants save the lives of newborns with a rare genetic disorder called Krabbe’s disease and help their brains develop more normally, a study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University Medical Center concludes.

Dr. Cam Patterson named chief of cardiology at UNC

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Dr. Cam Patterson has been named chief of the Division of Cardiology in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, effective July 1, 2005.

New method of administering anti-cancer drug may be more effective, safer, says study

CHAPEL HILL -- A novel way of administering an anti-cancer drug to bone-marrow transplant patients using continuous infusion may be more effective and safer than the method currently used, new study findings indicate.

Time Warner joins the N.C. Children's Promise fund-raiser as a full media partner

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - UNC Health Care is pleased to announce that Time Warner is joining the N.C. Children's Promise fund-raiser as a full media partner, bringing to the endeavor its cable, Roadrunner and other communications vehicles.

Study: Protein helps regulate the genes of embryonic stem cells; findings offer new ideas on disease states

CHAPEL HILL -- New research from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows how a protein may be crucial to the regulation of genes in embryonic stem cells.

UNC launches study of liver injury caused by drugs

CHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of five clinical centers nationwide to receive funds from the National Institutes of Health to study why good medications are sometimes bad for the liver.

Project seeks families to participate in research to decrease childhood obesity

CHAPEL HILL -- The Linking Interventions for Children, or LINC, project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is seeking families to participate in studies that explore ways to increase physical activity and decrease the incidence of obesity in children.

Creation of gene targeting earns Smithies March of Dimes honor

CHAPEL HILL - For developing an indispensable tool for genetic disease research, two scientists have been named co-recipients of this year’s March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology, to be awarded Monday (May 16) in Washington, D.C.