Free public forum on stroke set for
March 7 at UT Medical School
HOUSTON – (Feb. 17, 2009) – New surgical and technological advances in stroke diagnosis and treatment will be the focus of the 14th annual Public Forum for Brain Awareness Week moderated by a pioneer in stroke treatment, James C. Grotta, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Neurology at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.
The free forum, hosted by the Neuroscience Research Center of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, will be held Saturday, March 7, from 10:30 a.m.-noon at the UT Medical School’s main auditorium, 6431 Fannin, Room 3.001. Experts will be available to answer questions. To register, call the Neuroscience Research Center at 713-500-5540 or email nba-nrc@uth.tmc.edu.
Stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted by a blockage or a rupture in an artery, depriving brain tissue of oxygen. It is the third-leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer. According to the American Stroke Association, nearly 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke each year – one every 40 seconds. On average, someone dies of stroke every three to four minutes.
James C. Grotta, M.D.
Grotta, co-director of the Mischer Neuroscience Institute at Memorial Hermann – Texas Medical Center, participated in the first trials to investigate the clot-buster tPA and helped create one of the first Stroke Teams in the country. He is the chair of the Stroke Committee of the Southeast Texas Trauma Advisory Council, which was established as part of a 2005 Texas Legislature mandate to create a statewide stroke network.
A panel of experts will discuss key advances as well as the emotional, physical, social and caregiver burden of stroke, how and why stroke risk varies in different ethnic groups and how stroke can best be prevented.
Panel experts from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are Andrew Barreto, M.D., assistant professor of neurology; Nicole Gonzales, M.D., assistant professor of neurology; Dong Kim, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery; and Sharon Ostwald, Ph.D., professor and Isla Carroll Turner Chair in Gerontology Nursing in the Center on Aging at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing.
The Neuroscience Research Center is also hosting “Brain Night for Children” from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at the John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science, 1515 Hermann Drive. The event, which will present brain activities in a kid-friendly way, is free to children and their families.