DeFuniak Herald 1-B, 9_19_13

THE DeFUNIAK SPRINGS HERALD BREEZE, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
People
PAGE 1-B
Places
THE CAMPUS WITH the Clinical Center situated in the center is a small
city unto itself. (Photo by NIH website)
Things
THIS PHOTO WAS taken from the upper level of the entrance of the Clinical Center also known as Building 10 on the NIH campus in Bethesda.
The NIH, America’s
Research Hospital,
where science and the
future meet for a cure
By ALICIA LEONARD
Many never stop to
think about science and
the huge part it plays in
our daily lives. We think
about technology, but
what about the science
of medicine? Where do
the scanners and the
advanced medical research that may save
a friend or a loved one
come from? Odds are,
many things we take
for granted such as life
saving technology and
therapies came from
research and the one
place to go for research
in the United States
is the National Institutes of Health Clinical
Center(NIH).
The NIH is a department of the U.S. Health
and Human Services
agency. It is the leader
for all ranges of research from searching
for a cure for cancer, the
development of chemotherapy, to helping others live with arthritis to
the mapping of the human genome and brain.
In all it encompasses 27
different institutes and
its history holds a road
map of Nobel Prize winners going all the way
back to 1939.
It’s beginnings are
humble. Starting back
in 1790, from a Marine hospital dedicated
to providing relief for
servicemen and growing into a network the
next 100 years, until
the 1870s, when funding was allocated from
led to the creation of the
Board of Health.
In 1922, the organization began to research
and seek a cure for cancer. This opened the
door to researchers and
medical schools to begin
a long partnership in
seeking treatment for
rare and fatal diseases
causes of epidemics like
the yellow fever, which
protocol and receive the
newest treatments and
today.
The Clinical Center,
also known as Building
10 on the main campus in Bethesda, Md.
recently celebrated its
60th birthday and is the
place where many go to
take part in research,
to make the path easier
for future disease sufferers.
Clinical trials are a
big part of that research
and the NIH handles
two different types. The
unteers without a disease. Volunteers often
are tracked for years in
how researchers gather
information about different groups, disease
trends and much more.
One family volunteered
to have their cardiovascular health tracked in
a study and much that
doctors now know about
heart attacks, recovery
and treatment can be
attributed to generations of volunteers like
them.
The second group is
made up of volunteers
that suffer from rare
diseases or disorders.
testing and results are
used to provide information to researchers
and physicians for the
treatment of future patients.
Clinical trials can
also offer hope for those
whose regular physicians have exhausted
all sources of care and
treatment at home.
Our journey with
NIH began in the Valparaiso airport, where a
U.S. Airways jet offers
the Ronald Reagan National Airport, less than
10 miles from the NIH
campus in Bethesda.
After getting cleared
by security, one is awed
by the historic building and the sprawl of
the campus. Walking
through the huge glass
revolving doors into
thing that strikes one
is the atmosphere created by the people who
work and come there
for treatment. Patients
may very well spend the
morning sitting next to
a family from France
and have dinner that
afternoon with a patient from Zimbabwe.
Young cancer patients, pushing toy
strollers with parents
following close behind,
often intersect with
NFL players visiting
the children’s wards and
retired baseball legends
share coffee and bagels
in the lab with fans that
run across them. It is a
great cultural melting
pot of researchers, physicians and people from
across the globe.
Building 10 is much
like a small city itself.
It takes a little over a
day to get used to the
complex. Following the
elevators down to the
type atmosphere, with
gift shops, a barber
shop, and multiple meal
choices, from Italian to
fresh Angus burgers all
served with smiles and
surrounded by students
that look like extras
from the television show
The Big Bang Theory.
Elizabeth, the manager of the cafeterias in
Reagan National Airport where an NIH shuttle
picks up and drops off patients in their care.
THE EDMOND J. SAFRA Family Lodge aims to give patients and their
families a place to relax amid medical issues.
2 is from Jamaica and
she takes those new to
the grounds under her
zling smile and sweet
accent as she explains
the hours and choices
for those visiting the
campus.
The campus is set
up to be family friend-
THE FAMILY LODGE offers a garden-like retreat outside for patients and
their families.
ly with two lodges for
those receiving testing
and treatment at the
center. Shuttles run
most of the day, carrying patients and their
families between the
lodges and appointfrom home.
The Edmond J. Safra
Family Lodge opened
in 2005 and offers a
home-type feel for families participating in research and family members staying with loved
ones undergoing surgery and treatment. It
is geared more toward
adults attending the
center. The Children’s
Inn at NIH is offered
for children undergoing
treatment and testing
as a calm and nurturing
environment for them
and their families.
This Herald/Breeze
reporter met with Dr.
Karel
Pacak,
M.D.
Ph.D., DSc, an international
expert
on
pheochromocytoma
and
paraganglioma.
Pacak put together the
research protocol for
these rare endocrine
tumors over the past 15
years. He, along with
his colleagues have developed imaging and
biochemical approaches
tumors, methods that
have increased survival
rates and extended life
spans for many suffering from them.
Animated,
intelligent, personable and
with what appears to
be an unlimited source
of energy, Pacak and
his patient coordinator,
nurse Karen Adams
helps pheo/para patients navigate through
intricate testing and
schedules during their
visit with the NIH with
relative ease.
Often patients are
referred to NIH by their
physician for clinical
trials. Those accepted
into the protocols, often
need only pay for transportation to the center
and meals during their
stay. In exchange for
taking part in research,
they receive medical
care, screenings and
often treatment not yet
available to the general
public.
For patients seeking
answers, suffering from
rare diseases or disorders and those wishing
to help further medical
research to help future
generations, the NIH
is an amazing resource
and calm in the middle of the storm. But,
like many government
agencies, sequester cuts
have affected the number of patients seen at
the center and in turn
has slowed research
that could help millions
of Americans as well as
people across the globe.
To see more about
“America’s
Research
Hospital” go to clinicalout more about clinical
trials go to Clinicalmore about the NIH, go
to www.nih.gov.
MANY OF THE features in the family lodge was
made possible through private and business donations. Some are made in memory of patients past,
old and young.