UConn Health Pulse

A Clear Voice on Vocal Health

This month we talk about something we often take for granted -- talking (or singing). Dr. Denis Lafreniere and Starr Cookman from the UConn Health Voice and Speech Clinic discuss voice disorders and the importance of maintaining good vocal health as they prepare to celebrate World Voice Day April 16.

(Dr. Denis Lafreniere, Starr Cookman, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, April 2021)

Changing MS Patients' Trajectory

Multiple sclerosis can strike at a relatively young age and can lead to disability later in life. While not curable, it is treatable, and with the right combination of early diagnosis, expert intervention, and patient empowerment, people with MS can minimize their disease progression and delay the onset of disability. This month, MS Awareness Month, we hear from two members of the UConn Health Multiple Sclerosis Center, Dr. Jaime Imitola, director of the Division of Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology, and Karen Nelson, a nurse who serves as clinical patient navigator, describing how the MS Center at UConn Health coordinates elite care to change the trajectory of a patient's life.

(Dr. Jaime Imitola, Karen Nelson, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, March 2021)

UConn Health Multiple Sclerosis Center: 860-679-4888
https://health.uconn.edu/multiple-sclerosis/

Cranial Nerve and Brain Stem Disorders

Neurological disorders are wide-ranging and include many that are rare and therefore difficult to recognize and treat. Once diagnosed, the individual care plan often requires specialists from across several disciplines. It's why Dr. Ketan Bulsara, chief of UConn Health's Division of Neurosurgery, and Dr. Daniel Roberts, ear, nose and throat surgeon, started the Cranial Nerve and Brain Stem Disorder Program at UConn Health. They explain to Carolyn and Chris how the program harnesses UConn Health's elite combination of experts across multiple specialties, making it a leader in the treatment of these complicated conditions.

(Dr. Ketan Bulsara, Dr. Daniel Roberts, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, February 2021)

The COVID-19 Vaccine Arrives

As UConn Health administers the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to health care providers and other front-line staff, Dr. David Banach, UConn Health's hospital epidemiologist, and Dr. Kim Metcalf, UConn Health's primary vaccine coordinator, join Carolyn and Chris to discuss how UConn Health is serving as a leader in the fight against the pandemic and to explain the significance of the vaccine in that effort.

(Dr. David Banach, Dr. Kim Metcalf, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, December 2020)

When Our Own Cells Catalyze Healing

We're learning more about the growing field of orthobiologics, the use of treatments derived from individual patients' own cells and injected at the injury site to promote healing. Dr. Allison Schafer, a nonoperative sports medicine physician at the UConn Musculoskeletal Institute, offers bone marrow aspirate concentrate, or BMAC, for this purpose. She joins Carolyn and Chris to explain how it works and what makes it effective.

(Dr. Allison Schafer, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, December 2020)

Technology + Expertise = Healthier Skin

Some of the most advanced lasers and other devices used in cosmetic dermatology are available at UConn Health — with dermatologists who have the expertise to use them. Drs. Maritza Perez and Hao Feng join Carolyn and Chris to explain how they provide the latest available treatment options, not by fitting the device to the patient, but the patient to the device (or other method), safely and effectively resulting in healthier, younger-looking skin.

(Dr. Maritza Perez, Dr. Hao Feng, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, November 2020)

Awake During Hand Surgery?

Drs. Anthony Parrino and Joel Ferreira, UConn Health hand, wrist and elbow surgeons, offer an approach to hand surgery that is not widely available in American health care. They can repair problems like trigger finger and carpal tunnel syndrome using a local anesthetic, enabling the patient to remain awake and test the repair during the procedure. They join Carolyn and Chris to explain the advantages of this technique, known as "wide-awake hand surgery."

(Dr. Anthony Parrino, Dr. Joel Ferreira, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, October 2020)

Better Sleep, Best Self

Dr. Jennifer Kanaan from UConn Health's Sleep Disorders Center joins Carolyn and Chris to talk about the impact of sleep has on how adolescents do in school and in their relationships. She explains the advantages of later school start times and offers some advice on how to build good sleep habits.

(Dr. Jennifer Kanaan, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, September 2020)

The Emerging Field of Neuro-oncology

The complex nature of tumors of the central nervous system (brain and spine) has given rise to a subspecialty known as neuro-oncology. It's a still relatively new and uncommon discipline, and was not in place at UConn Health until the arrival of Dr. Kevin Becker in the summer of 2019. Dr. Becker joins Carolyn and Chris to explain his role as a neuro-oncologist and the advantages a neuro-oncology program offers both to patients and to the advancement of medicine.

 

(Dr. Kevin Becker, Carolyn Pennington, Chris DeFrancesco, August 2020)

Diabetes: What You Don't Know CAN Hurt You

Success in managing diabetes largely depends on being an informed patient, as we hear from Jean Kostak, a certified diabetes care and education specialist at UConn Health. We're also joined by Martina Sinopoli, who as a fourth-year UConn medical student developed, as her Capstone project, a nutrition and recipe website that UConn Health's diabetes education program uses as one of its resources for patients. Martina since has graduated and is training in Harvard's psychiatry residency program.

(Jean Kostak, Martina Sinopoli, Chris DeFrancesco, July 2020)