Gov. Rick Scott approved $6.9 million in state funding Tuesday to support the initial design of the new USF Health Heart Institute.
The funding will allow USF Health to move ahead as one of the nation’s leaders in cardiovascular care, with a special focus on genomics-based personalized medicine.
"This is a forward-looking action on the part of the governor, and we thank him for it," said USF President Judy Genshaft. “We’re also grateful for the support of Florida legislators and the leadership of Rep. Will Weatherford.”
USF Health already has committed nearly $25 million in resources for genomics-based personalized medicine, including funding of research equipment and facilities, as well as the recruitment of two top physicians. They are Dr. Leslie Miller, chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, and Dr. Steve Liggett, a nationally prominent researcher who will become director of the Personalized Medicine Institute.
“With the addition of the USF Health Heart Institute, the Tampa Bay area has an amazing opportunity to become the healthcare solutions zone,” Dr. Klasko said. “It will include USF Health’s brand-new Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute, Moffitt Cancer Center, and now our new initiatives in personalized medicine and the future of heart care.”
The American College of Cardiology has selected the USF Health Heart Institute as a partner to conduct the first trial linking genomic screening with a clinical database of millions of patients with cardiovascular disease.
New prostate cancer treatment
New prostate cancer treatment using high frequency sound waves may be a viable alternative to surgery and radiotherapy with less chance of incontinence or impotence, researchers said Tuesday.
A clinical trial funded by Britain's Medical Research Council examined the efficacy of a new treatment known as high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), that can target areas just a few millimetres in size.
The findings were published in the journal Lancet Oncology.
Treatment involves radiotherapy or removing the prostate surgically - both methods that can damage surrounding healthy tissue, in some cases leading to incontinence or erectile dysfunction.
HIFU targets a small area affected by cancer - the sound waves causing the tissue to vibrate and heat up, killing the cancer cells.
The procedure is done under general anaesthetic and most patients are back home within 24 hours, said the statement.
"Our results are very encouraging," said Dr Hashim Ahmed, who led the study. "We're optimistic that men diagnosed with prostate cancer may soon be able to undergo a day case surgical procedure, which can be safely repeated once or twice, to treat their condition with very few side-effects. That could mean a significant improvement in their quality of life."