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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Awards

FIU’s Stempel College $6.6 Million to Study Parkinson’s Disease

The National Institute of Environ - of the environmental factors that we will of new therapeutic interventions for
mental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has study are manganese and pesticides to Parkinson’s disease.
awarded Kim Tieu, professor and interim better understand how they promote the “This is an amazing achievement for
chair of the department of accumulation and spread of toxic pro- Dr. Tieu and the college! Not only is this
Environmental Health Sciences at FIU’s teins in the brain.” one of the largest grants that the college
Stempel College of Public Health and Based on his recent discovery of a new has received, but it is particularly impor-
Social Work, a $6.6 million grant to function of dynamin related protein-1 tant for Dr. Tieu and we are very proud of
study how brain cells die in Parkinson’s (Drp1), which is commonly known to him,” said Tomás R. Guilarte, dean of
disease and to develop effective drug split mitochondria (the powerhouses of Stempel College. “The R35 RIVER grant
therapies for this brain condition. the cell), Tieu will research Drp1’s role in is given to outstanding investigators in
Known as the NIEHS Revolutionizing the accumulation of toxic proteins and environmental health sciences, giving
Innovative, Visionary Environmental how different types of brain cells and him and his lab the freedom to do
health Research (RIVER) program, this gene environment interact with each research over several years with the sup-
grant provides outstanding investigators Dr. Kim Tieu other leading to cell death. Tieu and his port of NIEHS.”
the flexibility and stability to conduct team will also study how gut bacteria Guilarte noted that Tieu came to FIU
transformative research with continuous Parkinson’s disease cases are the result of may cause Parkinson’s disease, a relative- as a cluster hire for FIU’s Brain, Behavior,
funding for eight years. genetic mutations. While the remaining ly new area of interest in the field of and the Environment (BBE) emerging
Parkinson’s disease is currently the cases are of unknown causes, environ- Parkinson’s disease. preeminent program.
second most prevalent neurodegenera- mental factors have been strongly impli- “New evidence suggests that the accu- “This grant award is a direct result of
tive disease affecting more than 10 mil- cated. mulation of toxic protein in Parkinson’s our investment on the BBE Emerging
lion people worldwide. With Parkinson’s “We know that the environment plays disease may not start from the brain Preeminent Program,” Guilarte said.
disease, a specific type of neurons in the a crucial role in overall health, including itself, but rather may spread from the Tieu will continue to head the
brain break down or die, leading to a the brain, and that exposures to environ- gut. This is something that we need to Parkinson’s Disease Research Laboratory
decrease in a brain chemical known as mental toxicants, most likely in combi- investigate further and try to stop it,” at Stempel College, which expects to
dopamine, resulting in movement nation with an individual’s genetic make- said Tieu. grow as a result of the grant to include
impairment. To date, it has been estimat- up, may lead to all sorts of diseases, The ultimate goal for Tieu and his more students, postdoctoral researchers
ed that less than 10 percent of including Parkinson’s,” Tieu said. “Some team is to contribute to the development and technicians.

Cover Story: Medical Malpractice “Shock Loss Claims” Are On the Rise

Continued from page 1
tine, closing the wound without address- unavailable to see the patient and who had A 61-year-old patient complaining of other states. Many doctors are receiving
ing the damage. After the surgery, her not screened neonates with ROP in over a feeling severe lower leg pain was seen by a their renewal policies to discover their
blood pressure dropped to 67 over 48. A decade. They alleged that the defendants vascular surgeon. The patient alleged that rates have been increased 30% – 40%.
nurse guided her to a bathroom, where her were negligent by, among other things, the doctor delayed the patient’s treatment These high-award cases are already
incision opened and emitted large failing to appreciate the severity of the dis- after his arrival at the hospital, leading to making headlines in 2019 as well – includ-
amounts of bloody fluid. She later went ease process, failing to adequately inform the loss of his leg a few days later. The doc- ing an $11.9 million verdict against a
into respiratory failure, with signs of sep- the plaintiffs of the seriousness of the con- tor’s defense team argued that the patient Broward County orthopaedic surgeon, a
sis. dition and its consequences, failing to ade- lost his leg due to chronic artery disease, $24.5 million verdict for a mother’s death
Days later, a second doctor reopened the quately stress the importance of follow-up and not due to the blood clot and its treat- shortly after giving birth, and a $15 mil-
patient’s surgical wound and found the eye screening, failing to provide the plain- ment. After a six-day trial, the jury delib- lion arbitration award, the largest in
intestine nearly sliced all the way through. tiffs with the name of an alternative oph- erated for about four hours before ruling Florida in 25 years, for a mother suffering
Flesh-eating bacteria had already con- thalmologist when told that the referred in the patient’s favor. a stroke a few days after childbirth, also in
sumed parts of her intestines, stomach, doctor was unavailable to see them, and Broward County.
and abdominal muscles. She endured sev- failing to plan adequately for the patient’s • Palm Beach County, 2018 Many insurers have announced rate
eral more operations as doctors cut away discharge. Award Amount: $1,039,000 increases and more will follow. In the early
the decaying tissue. Medicine that the doc- A patient suffered a heart attack result- 2000s as the med mal market was in a sim-
tors administered to boost the patient’s • Pinellas County, 2018 ing in heart bypass surgery. The doctor ilar cycle, the number of insurers offering
blood pressure caused blood to flow away Award Amount: $6,584,674 who performed the bypass surgery discov- coverage to doctors in Florida for their
from her limbs, the suit stated, which A mother with high-risk pregnancy was ered the tip of a catheter and a ruptured malpractice risk went from over 50 to
caused complications leading to gangrene admitted for labor at 42 weeks. Fetal heart balloon that were left inside the patient fewer than five in two years. Wisely choos-
in her hands and feet, requiring amputa- rate (FHR) monitoring initially showed during a previous failed angioplasty, ing your insurer has now become very
tions below both of her knees and both normal accelerations and absence of decel- resulting in the lawsuit against the medical important, and finding an experienced,
elbows. erations. Several hours later, however, the center and the cardiologist who performed honest expert in the field to lend advice is
monitoring strips began to deteriorate the original failed procedure. essential.
• Pinellas County, 2018 with diminished fetal heart rate, variable Other notable 2018 cases include:
Award Amount: $9,250,000 decelerations and absent accelerations. Dade County - Freidin Brown, P.A. rep- Matt Gracey, medical malpractice insur-
A patient was born prematurely at The nurse called the OB/GYN at home to resented a plaintiff that was awarded a ance specialist with Danna-Gracey, can be
Mease Countryside Hospital on October, report the situation and EFM tracings, but $4,020,000 settlement against a Miami reached at (800) 966-2120
2010, and was diagnosed with stage II he told her to continue with labor and hospital. or matt@dannagracey.com.
retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), which, vaginal delivery, at which point the doctor Dade County - The Law Offices of
if not treated in a timely manner, can cause went back to sleep. The jury in Pinellas Orlando R. Ruiz and The Tinstman Law
blindness. According to the plaintiffs, County found the doctor was negligent in Firm secured a $3,713,898 settlement
because the patient did not timely see an ignoring the EFM warnings resulting in against a Miami chiropractor.
ophthalmologist upon being discharged the death of the baby. These awards and settlements are not to
from the hospital on December 29, 2010, be taken lightly; their implications are far
she lost all her vision. The plaintiffs were • Polk County, 2018 reaching. We are already seeing rate
referred to an ophthalmologist, who was Award Amount: $4,914,513 increases across the board in Florida and

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12 July 2019 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News