Sound Medicine -- August 9, 2003

Hosts Barbara Lewis and Dr. David Crabb talk to physicians and researchers about:

West Nile Virus

Ticks and Lyme Disease in Indiana

Chronic Angina Pain and Neurostimulation

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West Nile Virus

The National Institutes of Health is allowing Indiana and other states the use of special plasma from Israel to help patients fight West Nile virus. Dr. Karen Roos, professor of neurology at the Indiana University School of Medicine, suspects more virus cases to occur this summer. People with comprised immune systems, the elderly, diabetics, and others will benefit from the antibodies already present in this intravenous immunoglobulin.

Immunoglobulin is the infection-fighting agent in blood plasma. Many Israeli blood donors have built up antibodies against West Nile virus since the disease has already struck in that country. The immunoglobulin transfers well to those patients who do not yet have the capabilities of fighting West Nile virus.

One of the most ominous signs of West Nile virus is the absence of crows in Indiana. West Nile is especially fatal to crows and blue jays, and the increasing death of those birds is a harbinger of the virus. Symptoms of West Nile virus include confusion, fever, and weakness.

Resources:

The Indiana State Department of Health has many West Nile virus resources, relating to prevention, protection, and treatment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers tips on how to avoid mosquito bites.

More information about West Nile Virus.

Ticks and Lyme Disease in Indiana

In its early stages, Lyme disease has symptoms similar to those of the flu: fever, chills, and aches. However, the disease can cause arthritis and serious heart and nerve damage if left untreated. In Indiana, 200 cases of Lyme disease were recorded in the 1990s. The deer tick is to blame for the spread of Lyme disease to humans. Dr. Robert Pinger, director of Ball State University's Public Health Entomology lab, tells us about Lyme disease and tick research in Indiana. Rounding out the discussion on ticks, Dr. Thomas Mather, entomologist and director of the University of Rhode Island Center for Vector Borne Diseases, delves into the mysteries of tick saliva and why ticks are so resilient.

Although there are not necessarily more ticks in Indiana than in previous years, there are an increasing number of deer ticks. This variety is more abundant in the northwest part of the state. They have black legs, and are half- to two-thirds the size of regular American dog ticks. Ticks must be attached for at least 24 hours before Lyme disease is transmitted.

To prevent tick bites, wear shoes with socks and pants that are long enough to tuck into your socks. Shirts should be tucked in as well. It also helps to spray tick repellent into clothes before wearing them. To remove ticks, use tweezers to grasp as close to the skin as possible with a slow, steady, upward pull. Do not twist or jerk the tick. Conduct a full inspection of yourself after being outside in woodland areas.

Resources:

Iowa State University Entomology Image Gallery Web site offers pictures of ticks.

View some useful information about how to prevent Lyme disease.

The Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases at Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website supplies an introduction to Lyme disease.

Read a Ball State news release describing Dr. Pinger's grant to study tick-borne diseases.

Learn more about Dr. Mather's research about how tick saliva genes may be the key to a Lyme disease vaccine.

Chronic Angina Pain and Neurostimulation

For people with chronic angina, chest pain is so debilitating that walking to the mailbox becomes impossible. The condition, caused by lack of oxygen to the heart as a result of blocked arteries, affects more than 40,000 people in the United States. A new treatment for angina is being evaluated by 35 medical centers, including the Indiana University School of Medicine. Patients are implanted with an electrical stimulator that interferes with pain impulses that go to the brain.

Dr. Jeffrey Breall, professor of clinical medicine at IU's Krannert Institute of Cardiology discusses the treatment, and Albert VanSlyke of Indianapolis, the first U.S. patient to be implanted with the neurostimulation system, tells us about his experiences.

The neurostimulator is implanted outside the spinal column and either fools the body into thinking that there is no pain, or greatly masks the pain. The procedure is conducted by a surgeon, and the patient is awake for the operation. Mr. VanSlyke, now fairly comfortable, describes how his pain was reduced considerably after the operation. Studies performed in Europe show positive results indicating that the lack of pain does not mask signs of heart attack. Rather, it allows people to feel better and be more active.

Resources:

Learn about angina: what it is, what causes the condition, and how it is treated.

There are several degrees of angina. The American Heart Association describes these in detail.

Read a news release detailing the clinical study of neurostimulation for refractory angina pain.

Is there a medical topic you'd like us to cover? Reach us by email: soundmed@iu.edu
or by phone:
(317) 274-4848.

Even as the recent floodwaters are receding, Hoosiers are worried about the mosquito population increasing in the state. What is the best way to prevent mosquito bites?

A. Wear long sleeved clothes
B. Wear light colored clothes
C. Wear long sleeved clothes sprayed with DEET

Find out!

"It’s not the heat; it’s the humidity." Dry heat makes us groggy, and humid heat makes us grumpy. Most of us would not choose either, but which is worse for us?

Find out!

If your child is tired of finding a PB&J sandwich in the lunchbox everyday, add variety with these easy school lunch recipes.

• Add a tablespoon or two of corn or olive oil to leftover rice and refrigerate. Add vegetables, raisins, chopped mint and dressing to make a rice salad and use it as a filling in pita bread.

• If you are grilling vegetables for dinner, add olive oil, salt, pepper and minced parsley or basil before cooking. Refrigerate leftovers and use in sandwiches the next day. Add cheese or dressing.

• Roll refried beans, lettuce and cheese in a flour tortilla.

• If you have leftover chicken, whip up a chicken salad by adding a stalk of chopped celery, sliced cucumber, two tablespoons of mayonnaise, one tablespoon of sour cream, some chopped onion and parsley to the cooked chicken cubes. Pile the salad on a hot dog bun.

• To make a club sandwich, remove crusts from two slices of bread and cut the slices into horizontal halves. Spread one half with mustard, top with slices of ham and cheese. Cover the second half with chicken or turkey and mayonnaise. Cover the third with mayonnaise, tomato and cucumber slices. Stack these up together and cover with the fourth half. Insert a toothpick into the stack.

Source: FamilyFun Magazine