Racquetball Champion Diabetic Physician - Kresge Eye Institute

W elcome to DMC Kresge Eye Institute
It is my pleasure to bring to you the Fall 2009 issue
of Kresge Insight. As a large academic institution,
the DMC Kresge Eye Institute, affiliated with Wayne
State University, offers outstanding clinical care by
dedicated ophthalmologists, education for young
medical students and ophthalmology residents, and
groundbreaking basic and clinical research. In this issue
we will highlight some of the people who bring you
the remarkable clinical and research accomplishments
found at the Kresge Eye Institute.
Two of our articles show the impact that our dedicated physicians have on their
patients’ lives. A perceptive diagnosis and skilled treatment restored the quality
of life for a senior champion racquetball player and has him back on the court
competing once more. The unique bond between a doctor and his patients
is apparent in the article about one of our world-renowned retina specialists
who has a very personal interest in his diabetic patients. Both of these articles
demonstrate the importance of vision in our lives and how close rapport
between the doctor and the patient enhances the healing experience.
Clinical research is research dedicated to improving treatments of human
diseases and translating basic research findings into new treatments for
patients. The research mission of Kresge Eye Institute includes a great deal
of clinical research. With our clinical research center, we have a team of
experienced professionals dedicated to making sure our research is accurate,
efficient and a good experience for our patients. Because we are involved in a
remarkable number of clinical studies, our physicians and staff are leaders in the
development of the latest treatments and ready to deliver them to our patients.
Our physicians also take leadership roles in research as evidenced by Dr. James
Puklin heading the board charged with reviewing all clinical research (in all
fields of medicine) done at Wayne State University.
We have leading researchers in ophthalmology who are looking for the
basic mechanisms of disease in order to find new treatments. Our director
of research, Dr. Fu-Shin Yu, has become an international leader in corneal
inflammation and wound healing and we will learn about his innovative work.
Also, at our Ligon Research Center of Vision at Kresge Eye Institute, we are
conducting research directed at restoring vision in blind persons. One of our
research teams is now learning how the brain interprets visual signals from the
retina of the eye and whether this signal induced by light can be replaced by an
electrical stimulus. This work is critical in development of artificial vision for
the blind.
I hope you share our sense of excitement in the advances in vision and
ophthalmology. Our physicians and staff are dedicated to ushering in a better
world for our patients.
Dr. Gary Abrams
Director, Kresge Eye Institute
The David Barsky, MD Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology
Wayne State University School of Medicine
P hysician Forms Special Bond with Diabetic Patients
Now retired, Carolyn L. Haskins, of Grosse Ile, Mich.,
had a successful career as a professional chef. She was the
first female executive chef in Mich. and in that job opened
the food service at the four-star Townsend Hotel in
Birmingham, Mich.
So when her vision suddenly went black one day in a grocery store, she understandably
panicked. “I needed to work, I had a wonderful job as a chef and was
a good chef. I thought it was the end of my career. It seemed like my whole
world fell apart,” she recalls.
Haskins, then in her late 50s, had suffered a vitreous hemorrhage. Diabetic
since she was in her 30s, Haskins had been treated for about a year by Robert
N. Frank, M.D., a retina specialist at DMC Kresge Eye Institute. He is also the
Robert S. Jampel, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Ophthalmology and Professor of
Anatomy and Cell Biology at Wayne State University School of Medicine.
After dozens of laser treatments to treat the abnormal blood vessels that caused
the vitreous hemorrhage, Haskins’ vision improved significantly. Since then
Haskins, 68, has had a vitrectomy, as well as two cataract surgeries at KEI. She
continues to have checkups every few months, but is able to drive, travel and
live an active life.
“With his encouragement and patience, Dr. Frank helped get my vision back,”
she says. “He is one of the nicest doctors I’ve ever dealt with. He explains things
clearly and takes plenty of time with you. He treats all his patients with respect
and people feel confident in him.”
Dr. Frank, who himself has juvenile-onset (type 1) diabetes, seems to form a
special bond with his diabetic patients. With Haskins, he discusses their common
love of food. “I cook him samples of vegetarian dishes and we share recipes
and talk about good restaurants,” she says. “He is a modest man, but has a lot
of talents.”
Haskins is just one of many diabetic patients Dr.
Frank has provided ongoing treatment to at Kresge.
Some participated in the Early Treatment of Diabetic
Retinopathy Study (ETDRS), a landmark study that
documented the importance of argon laser photocoagulation
in preventing and treating diabetic macular
edema. The study unambiguously demonstrated that
argon laser photocoagulation was effective in preventing
vision loss, and sometimes producing vision
gain, in diabetic macular edema. This treatment
remains the standard of care to this day.
Dr. Frank was on the planning committee for the ETDRS in 1978 that set
up the study, which ran from 1980 to 1991. That involvement stemmed from
research he conducted while at the National Eye Institute from 1972-76.
“We showed that the extensive ‘pan-retinal’ laser treatment that is used to treat
proliferative diabetic retinopathy does have an important adverse effect, namely,
it can constrict the peripheral visual field, sometimes severely. The ETDRS later
confirmed this result,” Dr. Frank said.
In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Frank has been involved in basic laboratory
investigations. While at the National Eye Institute, he was the first to successfully
culture vascular cells from capillaries in the retina, permitting studies of
basic mechanisms of retinal vascular disease.
“My ophthalmologist referred me to another
university medical center, but they couldn’t get me
in for six months. I called KEI and Dr. Frank saw me
within days. He has been my savior ever since.”
(CONTINUED)
Robert N. Frank, M.D.
- Lori Frederick
www.dmc.org