Vol. 14 No. 13 April 1, 1996

News from the Executive Vice Chancellor's Office

The board of directors of Kansas University Physicians Inc. (KUPI) announces the integration of 16 clinical practice groups at KU Medical Center to form the largest physician group in the Kansas City area and the state of Kansas. Ophthalmology is the first clinical foundation to operate under this new structure, with the remainder of the 16 clinical practice foundations to become fully operational within KUPI between now and October. KUPI will be comprised of 280 physicians from anesthesiology, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, radiology, family medicine, emergency, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, pathology, pediatrics, psychiatry, radiation therapy, rehabilitation medicine and surgery. KUPI's board of directors is made up of 36 physicians, including the chairs of each of the 16 clinical departments. The officers on the KUPI board of directors are: Norton Greenberger, MD, chair of internal medicine, president; William Jewell, MD, director of the Kansas Cancer Institute, vice president; Solomon Batnitzky, MD, chair of radiology, treasurer; and Lillian Pardo, MD, clinical professor of pediatrics, secretary. Donald Tower is chief executive officer of KUPI.

The next CenterNet conference will feature "National Institutes of Health Grand Rounds CME." This live, interactive video conference will begin at 11 a.m. April 10 in Lied Auditorium. The presenters will be Judith Rapoport, MD, chief of child psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health, and Philip Pizzo, MD, acting director of clinical sciences at the National Cancer Institute. Rapoport will discuss "Childhood Hyperactivity: Behavioral and Brain Imaging Studies," and Pizzo will discuss "Approaching the Treatment of Children With HIV Infection."

News from the School of Medicine-Kansas City and Wichita

The medical faculty council will meet at 7:30 a.m. April 17 in 2004 Orr-Major at the Kansas City campus and in the Great Plains Room at the Wichita campus.

News from the School of Medicine-Kansas City

Roy Baynes, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, and Carol Flowers, research assistant, are co-authors of "Erythropoietin Abuse in Athletes," which was published as a scientific correspondence in the March 14, 1996, issue of Nature. The authors describe the first reliable method of detecting the abuse of erythropoietin, a hormone that produces red blood cells. Centain athletes have injected themselves with erythropoietin with hopes of improving their performances. The hormone is illegal to use without a prescription. Its use is also banned by the medical commission of the International Olympic Committee. Standard testing has not been able to detect the abuse of erythropoietin. The hormone does not stay in the system long and measurements can be skewed by dehydration. So the scientists applied a relatively new marker for red blood cell production. The test detected all the athletes in the study who were given erythropoietin. The test is now commercially available.

"N-3 Fatty Acids and Lipoproteins: Comparison of Results from Human and Animal Studies" by William Harris, PhD, director of the Cardiovascular Research Laboratory, and a study "Eicosapentaenoic Acid Is Primarily Responsible for the Hypotriglyceridemic Effect of Fish Oil in Humans" by Gro Rambjor and Ann Walen, both at the Institute of Pharmacy's department of pharmacology, University of Oslo, Norway; Sheryl Windsor, MT (ASCP), supervisor of the Cardiovascular Research Laboratory; and Harris were published in the March 1996 issue of Lipids.

News from the School of Medicine-Kansas City and the School of Allied Health

Several School of Medicine and School of Allied Health faculty and staff are authors of "Primary Care Specialty Choices of University of Kansas Medical Students, 1982-1991," which was published in Kansas Medicine, Winter 1995. The co-authors are: Grace Holmes, MD, professor of pediatrics and preventive medicine, Frederick Holmes, MD, Edward Hashinger distinguished professor and professor of medicine, Ruth Hassanein, PhD, professor of biometry, Laura Zeiger, coordinator of student affairs, and Lena Downing, former secretary in the history and philosophy of medicine.

News from the School of Allied Health

Pete Beyer, MS, RD, associate professor of dietetics and nutrition, was given the Outstanding Dietetic Educator Award by the American Dietetic Association's council on education March 30 in San Antonio.

News from the Center on Aging

Mercedes Bern-Klug, MSW, MA, research associate in the Center on Aging, will discuss "Frugal Funerals for the 50+? Findings From the Funeral Information Project" at the next research seminar. Her presentation will be from 4 to 5 p.m. April 2 in 5030 Robinson. Refreshments will be served.

Diana Bigelow, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry at KU, Lawrence, will present the April 9 research seminar from 4 to 5 p.m. in 1004 MRRC. She will discuss "Alterations in Calcium Regulation in Aged Skeletal Muscle: A Result of Reactive Oxygen?" Refreshments will be served. The next ethical analysis seminar will be from noon to 1 p.m. April 10 in 2004 Orr-Major. The topic will be "The Role of the Physician When a Competent, Non-Terminal Patient Refuses Care."

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