Kansas City, Kan- Key points from today’s guests:

Morning Rounds – Updates on Latest News

Dr. Marc Hoffman, hematologist & oncologist; director, Lymphoma Program, The University of Kansas Cancer Center

• CAR-T cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy that takes a patient’s stem cells, sends them to a lab where they are re-engineered to fight cancer, and then inserted back into the patient.
• The national average is 38 days and our average is 23 days. We are saving 15 days compared to the national average and delivering therapy faster compared to other centers.
• Brain-to-vein time clearly has correlation with survival outcomes. It reduces the need for bridging therapy, which is the treatment given between the time you remove cells and the time they are replaced.
• In multiple different clinical trials, one of the main reasons CAR-T cells have failed has been related more to care delivery issues rather than the efficacy of the product.
• This is really a group effort to demonstrate a serious commitment to these patients to save lives.

Focus Topic

Dr. Steve Stites, chief medical officer, The University of Kansas Health System; executive vice chancellor, The University of Kansas Medical Center

• Blood flow is important for all aspects of health – maybe even cognitive health.
• External counter pulsation or ECP is a therapy that improves blood flow to perhaps help brain health.
• This is a great example of scientists discussing ideas – science in action.

Dr. Patrick Moriarty, internal medicine physician, The University of Kansas Health System; director, Lipid Apheresis Center, The University of Kansas Medical Center

• ECP has been used for about 20-25 years, but not for Alzheimer’s.
• About 12 years ago, we started a pilot of about four patients to look at blood flow improved cognition.
• We then had a larger pilot that included 190 patients over a one-year period of multiple therapies that showed improvement. Every single diabetic on the device showed cognitive improvement.
• It’s exercising without exercising because it increases blood flow to the brain.
• I’m very excited about the future endeavors of research in this field.

Dr. Jeff Burns, memory care specialist, The University of Kansas Health System; co-director, KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center

• This 12-site study across the country had some pretty convincing impacts on cognition and function, but not quite convincing enough for the FDA yet.
• One of the things we’ve been learning over the decades is that what we call Alzheimer’s is probably many different things and over the next few years, we’re probably going to learn a lot more.
• If we can target this system of blood vessels and see an impact on memory and thinking, this is a big step.
• This is a good example of how we are creatively thinking about brain health and dementia. It’s going to take a lot of different approaches to cure this disease or prevent it.

Dr. Russell Swerdlow, memory care specialist, The University of Kansas Health System; co-director, KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center

• The brain needs a lot of blood and a lot of oxygen.
• Brain aging is related to metabolism and if we adjust that, it is interesting to see what happens.
• We’re hoping with more trials going on around the world, testing many different things, we’re going to have a significant impact on treating Alzheimer’s.

Infectious Disease Updates

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director, Infection Prevention & Control, The University of Kansas Health System

• Overall, the national numbers for flu, RSV, and COVID are low. We are starting to see some upticks, but not as much with COVID.
• I would encourage everyone to get vaccinated.
• We are now starting to seeing, especially as we head into the Christmas holiday season, where people will be going to gatherings and parties where there could be increasing influenza activity as well.
• Since the beginning of 2024, there have been 58 cases of humans with avian bird flu, but a vast majority of them are farm workers.
• It doesn’t seem like there has been any major mutations that has caused it to spread from humans to humans.

Thursday, Dec. 12 at 8 a.m. is the next All Things Heart. An eye doctor discovered dangerous blockages requiring open heart surgery. Learn why doctors say a routine trip to the ophthalmologist can be lifesaving.

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