Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Medicine’s Next Frontier: The Brain

In discussions about the future of medicine, I often say that we will understand the brain in the next 25 years as well as we understand the heart today, the majority of knowledge about which we gained just in the last 25 years.

Supporting my assertion was information in a recent article in The Dallas Morning News about a new center for brain research associated with the University of Texas at Dallas that opened this week. I still believe that only one-third of what we do in acute hospitals today will need to be done there in 10- 15 years, and our major surgeries will be in and around the brain. We will discover new ways to treat cancer metastasis and new operative techniques for Parkinsonian and Alzheimer diseases, as well as chronic senile dementia.

CHRISTUS’ new vision statement speaks of being and innovator and partner in health and wellness initiatives, and keeping current on the treatment recommendations coming out of this and other brain study centers will be key as we continue our Journey to Excellence, making sure we are involved in the product lines that will add both quality and quantity of life to the people we serve in our sacred ministry.

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