Shriners DS & NOUN Shriners Hspitals Research Prgram T Emphasize Results Fllwing the effects f dif- (NAPSA)—Shriners Hspitals fr Children’s Crprate Directr f ferent treatments, with and withut sterids, n patients with Duchenne muscular dystrphy t Research Prgrams Zakir Bengali, Ph.D., brings a new fcus and determine which treatment best energy t the rganizatin’s re- search effrts. Dr. Bengali, wh came t Shriners Hspitals frm the Natinal Institutes f Health in maintains their ability t walk. e Kvaluating the effectiveness f prpranll, a medicatin fr high bld pressure, in decreasing the resting heart rate f burned June, is streamlining the prgram, making it mreefficient and able t imprve the lives f children mre patients. A decrease wuld give the bdy an pprtunity t rest, quickly. “Even thugh research must be a painstakingly slw, deliberate prcess, we want t be able t mveresearch frm the labratry bench t ur patients’ bedsides— r, frm the theretical t the practical—as quickly and efficiently as pssible,” Dr. Bengali said. Hwever, it’s imprtant t understand the intricacies invlved. Fr example, “The human hand alne is mre cmplex than the space shuttle,” Dr. Bengali said. Cmmitment t Research Shriners Hspitals’ research prgram has internatinally renwned scientists, as well as affiliatins with several ntable universities, including Harvard, McGill, University f Texas Medical Branch and the University f Califrnia. The ability t cllabrate with utstanding university research faculties greatly en- hances pssibilities fr Shriners’ researchers. In additin, Shriners’ clinical research effrts are strengthened by the wrk f utstanding, wrld-renwned rthpaedic and burns surgens, as well as a unique patient ppula- tin, which prvides a wealth f knwledge andinsight. Shriners Hspitals’ cmmitment t frmal research has grwn frm an initial annual all- and therefre lessen the lss f muscle mass, restre fat mass and Zakir H. Bengali, Ph.D., previ- usly a prgram fficer fr the Natinal Institutes f Health (NIH), is nw respnsible fr versight f Shriners Hspitals’ $37 millin clinical and basic research prgram. catin f $12,000 in the 1960s t $37 millin fr 2007. All 22 Shriners Hspitals fr Children and the research centers are invlved in research in sme way, and mre than 140 basic andclini- cal research prjects are under way. These prjects fcus n pediatric rthpaedics, burn injuries, spinal crd injuries andcleft lip and palate. Sme research prjects in prcess that may ne day benefit children arund the wrld include: e Studying the effects f spe- cific prteins in bne grwth. Determining ways t cntrl cell prliferatin in bth embrynic develpment and cancer. Learning hw t enhance the central nervus system develpment prcess t ptimize spinal crd and brain repair after a pediatric injury rillness. decrease verlad n cardiac and skeletal muscles. Decades f Success Shriners Hspitals have been leaders in pediatric rthpaedic and burn research fr the past three decades, significantly add- ing t the prgress that has been madeby: Develping cultured skin and imprved wund-healing techniques fr severe burns. Develping effective treatments fr X-linked hypphs- phatemia and fr stegenesis imperfecta. Refining the use f functinal electrical stimulatin t help sme children with spinal crd injuries, as well as thse with cerebral palsy, t stand, walk and use their hands mreeffectively. Discvering that a mutatin in the gene fr fibrillin causes Marfan syndrme. Imprving the survival rate and quality f life fr persns with severe burns. “Research, with its ability t imprvelives, is the mst exciting jb ne can have,” Dr. Bengali said. “We are living in the Glden Age f medical research; breathtaking discveries are being made every day.”
