HJBR Nov/Dec 2019

40 NOV / DEC 2019  I  Healthcare Journal of baton rouge   Healthcare Briefs fruits and vegetables into their diets. One study shows less than six percent of Louisiana’s children eat the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables. Scientists at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center hope a new program called The Rolling Store can help change that for residents of a dozen Baton Rouge-area neighborhoods. The events will include: Presentations about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, information about buy- ing seasonally to get the best value in fruits and vegetables. Cooking demonstrations on easy ways to pre- pare several types of fruits and vegetables. Ways the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits can be used to make a bud- get stretch farther. Free health screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar, and body fat. Pennington Biomedi- cal personnel will review the results with each par- ticipant and refer those with abnormal results to their physicians for follow-up care. “We anticipate that participants who increase fruits and vegetables in their diet will have sim- ilar results to those in one of our pilot studies, namely, weight loss and decreased body mass index (BMI), as well as significant improvements in self-esteem and emotional well-being,” Rood said. After each cooking demonstration, participants will get to eat the food that has been prepared and will be given additional fruits and vegeta- bles to take home. Participants will also receive printed recipes developed by Pennington Bio- medical’s Metabolic Kitchen. The program was made possible by a grant from the Huey and Angelina Wilson Foundation. Cardiovascular Institute of the South Offering Cardiac PET Scanning in Baton Rouge Cardiovascular Institute of the South (CIS) is now offering cardiac positron emission tomog- raphy (PET) scanning at its Baton Rouge clinic located at 8401 Picardy Avenue. This advanced cardiac testing offers clearer and sharper imaging, allowing physicians an improved tool for accurate patient diagnosis and the selec- tion of the most appropriate treatment options. Other benefits of PET scans include: • Faster than a traditional nuclear scan • Decreased radiation exposure • Increased sensitivity to limited blood flow • Increased sensitivity for those with large body mass • Less interference from soft tissue CIS also utilizes cardiac PET scanning at many of its other locations. Pennington Cancer Center Innovating Treatment for Debilitating Finger Condition While most have heard the term “trigger fin- ger,” there is a similar, lesser known condition affecting the fingers called “Dupuytren’s contrac- ture.” Dr. Andrew Lauve has treated 15 patients at Baton Rouge General’s (BRG) Pennington Cancer Center to slow or even reverse the progression of early stage Dupuytren’s of the hands or feet. Dupuytren’s contracture falls under the broader category of Dupuytren disease, a systemic prob- lem affecting the hands and feet of at least 10 million Americans. It progresses slowly, usually doesn’t hurt, and leaves some people with their fingers permanently bent. “When the fingers can't be straightened com- pletely, it can complicate everyday activities and affect a person’s quality of life, with the potential to be debilitating in the advanced stages,” said Lauve, a radiation oncologist at BRG’s Penning- ton Cancer Center. While trigger finger involves the tendon, Dupuytren's contracture involves the underlying tissue, called the palmar fascia. Knots of tissue form under the skin, eventually creating a thick cord that can pull one or more fingers into a bent position. It mainly affects the two fingers farthest from the thumb, and is often mistaken for arthri- tis or tendonitis.  People who are not experiencing pain or losing any function as a result of Dupuytren’s may opt to take the “wait and see” approach. But, radiation therapy is most effective during this early stage, and has proved to be a viable alternative to other therapies, softening the affected tissue and help- ing to eliminate inflammation and tightness. Depending on the severity of the contrac- ture, there are various traditional treatments for Dupuytren’s, including needling, collagenase injections, and surgery. Surgical removal of the affected tissue is typically the option for people with advanced symptoms and results in a lon- ger recovery, physical therapy, and sometimes, a skin graft. “The standard interventions we’ve seen for Dupuytren’s contracture can be difficult on the patient and oftentimes don’t work well,” said Lauve. “With radiation therapy, patients are treated with five quick treatments, then after two months, treated with five more.” In most cases, doctors can diagnose Dupuy- tren's contracture by the look and feel of the hand, sometimes checking to see if a person can put their hand flat on a tabletop. It is not clear what causes it, but some groups are at an increased risk, including men over the age of 50, people of Northern European descent, those with a family history or diabetes, and tobacco users. CIS is First to UseMisago Stent for Peripheral Interventions Dr. Ankur Lodha, interventional cardiologist at Cardiovascular Institute of the South, is the first in the world to use the R2P™MISAGO® RX self-expanding stent, the longest stent platform that is specifically designed for above-the-knee peripheral artery disease (PAD) interventions via radial access through the wrist. Manufactured by Terumo Interventional Sys- tems, this self-expanding peripheral stent incor- porates Rapid Exchange (RX) technology and innovative bare metal stent design. The increased flexibility lowers the potential for stent fracture, and the simplified thumbwheel system allows for single and precise operator deployment. “Peripheral artery disease intervention can now safely be performed entirely via radial access through the wrist,” explained Lodha. “The Mis- ago stent is the first-of-its-kind with a shaft length of 200 centimeters. Patients can now be dis- charged earlier following their intervention with- out the need of prolonged bed rest which will sig- nificantly improve patient safety, patient comfort, and patient satisfaction.”  This stent treats a condition called peripheral artery disease, which is caused by plaque build- up or blockages in the legs. Just like clogged arteries in the heart, blocked arteries in the legs keep the organs from receiving oxygen-rich