Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is estimated to affect nearly 20% of Americans. Recent advances in our understanding of GERD have changed clinical practice. Therefore, in February 2022, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) released an updated set of guidelines for the diagnosis and management of GERD. Research from Baylor University Medical Center (Baylor Dallas), part of Baylor Scott & White Health, helped shape these new practice guidelines.
An estimated 3 million individuals in the U.S. live with a condition called atrial fibrillation, or AFib, with some estimates projecting that number being closer to 6 million when taking unknown and undiagnosed cases into account.
Baylor Scott & White Research Institute (BSWRI) is well known for its diverse research portfolio. The program actively maintains nearly 2,000 active and enrolling projects across more than 50 medical specialties each year, including initiatives supported by its translational research program. The program is focused on driving innovation by working with clinical teams across the Baylor Scott & White Health System to develop new medicines and diagnostic tests. The translational research team’s approach to discovery of “bench-to-bedside- and- back-to-bench” allows BSWRI to continue to be a major contributor to advancements in medical science.
The incidence of mitral valve disease (MVD) is growing as the overall population ages. Mitral valve disease describes the condition when the mitral valve doesn’t work properly, allowing blood to flow back into the left atrium. When this occurs, the heart doesn’t pump enough blood out of the left ventricle to supply the body with oxygen-rich blood. Patients with the condition frequently don’t exhibit any symptoms, while others experience the classic symptoms of heart failure—fatigue, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, weight gain due to fluid retention, increased heart rate and more.
Baylor Scott & White was the first hospital system in North Texas to successfully implant Barostim™ Baroreflex Activation Therapy. This new FDA-approved device uses neuromodulation—the power of the brain and nervous system to improve the symptoms of patients with advanced systolic heart failure. Eligible patients are reviewed by the patient’s advanced heart failure cardiologist and referred to a vascular surgeon who performs the procedure.
J. Sebastian Danobeitia, MD, PhD, has joined the medical staff at Baylor Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute. An abdominal transplant surgeon specializing in liver, kidney, pancreas and islet transplantation, Dr. Danobeitia is part of the transplant team at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, part of Baylor Scott & White Health.
Physician-researchers from Baylor Scott & White Health played a prominent role at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) The Liver Meeting 2023, held Nov. 10-14 in Boston. They presented the latest insights from one of the largest multispecialty transplant centers in the nation: Baylor Scott & White Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute in Dallas.
Until recently, there was no FDA-approved treatment in the United States for hepatorenal syndrome, a major complication of advanced liver disease. Patients with hepatorenal syndrome develop acute kidney failure, and often require dialysis. After more than a decade of research, in September 2022 the FDA granted approval to terlipressin, a medication that can reverse kidney failure in these patients, quickly establishing terlipressin as the routinely prescribed medication.
