Loyola University Health System is taking an aggressive approach to the flu epidemic by employing  a new machine that can diagnose the illness in little more than an hour.Testing traditionally takes so long that people are already over the flu before they even knew they had it.But Loyola is using a new federally approved machine to diagnose the flu in about an hour, leading to faster treatment.

Here is a portion of the story from the Chicago Tribune:

Laboratory testing for the flu has traditionally taken so long to yield results that most people recovered before finding out if they actually had the virus.

But about half a dozen Chicago-area hospitals can now diagnose influenza in just more than an hour through a federally approved machine that has been working overtime during what is shaping up as a horrendous season for the flu.

“If you don’t have this test, then you’re just guessing what the best thing to do could be,” said Paul Schreckenberger, Loyola University Health System’s authority on the FilmArray Respiratory Panel.

A faster and more accurate diagnosis can lead to more effective treatment.

“It is important for the physician to know what they’re dealing with,” Schreckenberger said. “They can’t just look at the patient or read their symptoms.”

The screening device — the second of its type to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — tests a nasal sample for 17 types of viruses and three kinds of bacteria. Among them are key indicators of the flu that on Friday was classified as an epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The automated machine speeds up a diagnostic process that could otherwise take up to a week under different methods. Most hospitals send patient samples to commercial laboratories, where technicians either grow the virus or check for it using their own technology.

To read the entire Tribune story, click here: FLU

Jason Cuomo

The award recognizes excellence in clinical neurology among medical students. The Stritch faculty selected Cuomo to receive the prize, which is awarded annually on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology. The award is given to a student who exemplifies outstanding scientific achievement and clinical acumen in neurology or neuroscience, and outstanding integrity, compassion and leadership.

“Jason is mature, inquisitive, eager to learn, motivated and highly responsible,” said Dr. José Biller, chairman of the Department of Neurology. “He is a very accomplished and talented medical student.”

Cuomo is completing his second year of medical school. He is active in Stritch’s Honors in Research Program and is vice president of the Student Interest Group in Neurology. He is a co-author of nine academic articles, book chapters, abstracts and presentations.

Cuomo grew up in Guilford, Conn. He graduated from Boston College with a double major in psychology and philosophy, and has a master’s degree in philosophy from Boston College.

Christopher Loftus

Dr. Christopher Loftus has been named chair of the Department of Neurosurgery for Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Internationally recognized for his research and treatment of cerebral aneurysms and strokes, his expertise is that of cerebral revascularization, cervical spine reconstruction, radiosurgery and the treatment of lumbar stenosis.

Loftus is expected to take his official position as chair in the neurosurgical department on August 1^st of this year.

More information can be found on the following article published on Newswise:

Newswise — MAYWOOD, IL. — Dr. Christopher Loftus, a neurosurgeon who is internationally known for his research and treatment of cerebral aneurysms and stroke, has been named chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. He will start on August 1.

With a career spanning more than three decades, Dr. Loftus comes to Loyola from his position as professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pa., where he has worked since 2004. Prior to that, he was chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City.

“Loyola’s neurosurgery program has always been on the leading edge in the treatment of cerebrovascular disease. Christopher Loftus’ extensive background as an internationally known researcher, a stellar educator and a devoted clinician makes him a great choice as chair of our Department of Neurosurgery,” said Dr. Richard L.Gamelli, Sr. vice president and provost, Health Sciences Division, Loyola University Chicago.

Dr. Loftus has special expertise in the circulatory system around the brain and the treatment of both benign and malignant brain tumors, brain aneurysms, vascular malformations and blockages of the carotid artery. He excels in cerebral revascularization, cervical spine reconstruction, radiosurgery and the treatment of lumbar stenosis.

Dr. Loftus graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH. He received his medical degree from SUNY, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, and completed his neurosurgery residency training at the Neurological Institute of New York, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY. He is board-certified in neurosurgery by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. In 2006 he received his Doctor Honoris Causa (Dr. h.c.) from Pavel Josef Safarik University, Kosice, Slovakia. He is a U.S. News & World Report Top Doctor, ranked in the top 1 percent of his specialty.

The diseases and conditions that block blood circulation in the brain have been the main focus of Dr. Loftus’ research. He is currently investigating modeling of intracranial collateral circulation; employing progesterone therapy for stroke prevention; and is participating in several clinical trials, including ISUIA, which is studying unruptured aneurysms, and he was a principal of the NIH funded IHAST cooperative trial for hypothermia in aneurysm surgery. He has written more than 600 research papers, books and/or book chapters, articles, reviews, abstracts and special presentations. Throughout his career, Dr. Loftus has collaborated with several physician researchers from Loyola’s Stritch School of Medicine.

As a lecturer, teacher and an agent of national and international exchange in the specialty of neurosurgery, Dr. Loftus is an accomplished leader. At Temple University School of Medicine, he served as Assistant Dean for International Affiliations. He is serving a four year-term as the Assistant Treasurer of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies. He has been a visiting professor at dozens of medical schools worldwide. Dr. Loftus has held numerous roles within the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, including vice president and chair of its International Outreach Committee. Dr. Loftus was the editor-in-chief of the journal, Techniques in Neurosurgery and has sat on the editorial boards for numerous neurosurgery journals around the world. He is a frequent guest lecturer at both national and international scientific meetings.

He and his wife, Sara J. Sirna, MD, a cardiologist, have three sons and a daughter.

Cassie Stanley. Tribune photo.

Here is a portion of the story:

Cassie Stanley was in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit on a bright February afternoon. Five tubes snaked from her body and, more than 30 pounds underweight, she could barely walk around the room. Lunch was ice chips. The night before she slept only about four hours.

And in so many ways, she couldn’t have been more fortunate.

Stanley wasn’t expected to survive long when she was admitted to the hospital a week earlier. Then a new life was given to her, in the form of lungs transplanted during a 10-hour, overnight surgery.

They are her third set of lungs in a sometimes harrowing life odyssey. After the first transplant in 2007, her body slowly began rejecting the organs and she became desperately ill. The latest chapter, detailed by the Tribune in January, was a 26-month wait for another donor.

Now, Stanley, 27, of Elburn, is among the less than 5 percent of lung transplant patients who have received a second set of lungs. She said she would like to attend Cubs games again; see Las Vegas; walk her dog; dance.

“I’m getting stronger every day,” Stanley said barely above a whisper four days after transplant surgery at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. “I hope to go home very soon,” she said, adding that she got “all my strength from my family and friends.”

Read the full article here: LUNGS