Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1996

MEW TREATMENT METHODS Major breakthroughs in the treatment of intractable seizure, leukaemia, burns care, and strokes have been made by medical researchers in the University. Intractable Seizure Patients suffering from intractable epilepsy i n Hong Kong are now offered another therapeutic option in the form of vagus nerve stimulation. A device called the vagal nerve stimulator (VNS) consisting of a small generator with three electrodes is wrapped around the vagus nerve in the patient's neck. Every five minutes a current is released to stimulate the vagus nerve. It is believed that the anti-epileptic effect of VNS, mediated through the brainstem, w i l l slowly build up in the brain in a few months. The Prince of Wales Hospital is the first neurosurgical centre i n Southeast Asia to use the VNS. The device was recently implanted in three of its epileptic patients. A l l of them have shown encouraging signs of improvement after the implantation. Leukaemia Also for the first time in Southeast Asia, an allogeneic blood stem cell transplant was successfully carried out in April 1995 at the Lady Pao Children's Cancer Centre. Since then three leukaemic children have been treated by this method. So far none of them has shown any signs of recurrence. Allogeneic blood stem cell transplant is the transplantation o f the most primitive blood - producing cells, or blood stem cells, from a donor into a patient. Stem cells are normally found in the bone marrow, and only a few of them are present in the peripheral blood. Compared with bone marrow transplant, the collection of blood stem cells is simpler and less painful, requiring neither general anaesthesia nor hospitalization for the donor. The recipient also recovers faster and with fewer complications. Strokes Stroke is the third most common cause of death in developed countries and the leading cause of disability in adults. So far no drug had been found to be effective for its treatment. The majority of strokes are caused by a blockage in the blood supply to the brain b y a blood clot. Researchers at the Faculty of Medicine have now found that low-molecular- weight heparin, a new drug with greater biological activity and a better safety margin than standard heparin, can effectively prevent blood clotting. The y have shown that by treating stroke patients with low-molecular- weight heparin, the likelihood of death and severe disability can be reduced by 30 per cent. The research was undertaken jointly with four hospitals in Hong Kong. The results of the research have just been published i n The New England Journal of Medicine ， one o f the world's most prestigious medical journals. Burns Care For the first time in Asia artificial skin made in the United States had been successfully applied to treat two adult patients with major bums at the Prince of Wales Hospital. The artificial skin, which consists of an outer silicone layer and an inner collagen dermis, is designed to provide long term coverage of bum wounds. Fo r permanent coverage, the upper silicone layer is replaced by the patients's own thin sheet o f skin graft 3 to 12 weeks later. Previous clinical trials in the United States have found that artificial skin is a very effective skin substitute. Patients will recover faster and have less hypertrophic scarring. MEDICAL CARE ENHANCEMENTS Multi-disciplinary Clinic for Oesophageal Cancer Patients A multi-disciplinary oesophageal cancer clinic was recently set up by University doctors at the Sir Y.K. Pao Centre for Cancer at the Prince of Wales Hospital. Approximately 600 persons in Hong Kong suffer from cancer of the oesophagus every year. It is also the fifth most common cause of death due to cancer in males. The best chance for cure is oesophagectomy, whereby the oesophagus with the tumour is surgically removed and the stomach is pulled up into the chest to perform the functions of the oesophagus. Radiotherapy can 42