Warren symposium follows legacy of geneticist giant

If we want to understand how the brain creates memories, and how genetic disorders distort the brain’s machinery, then the fragile X gene is an ideal place to start. That’s why the Stephen T. Warren Memorial Symposium, taking place November 28-29 at Emory, will be a significant event for those interested in neuroscience and genetics. Stephen T. Warren, 1953-2021 Warren, the founding chair of Emory’s Department of Human Genetics, led an international team that discovered Read more

Mutations in V-ATPase proton pump implicated in epilepsy syndrome

Why and how disrupting V-ATPase function leads to epilepsy, researchers are just starting to figure Read more

Tracing the start of COVID-19 in GA

At a time when COVID-19 appears to be receding in much of Georgia, it’s worth revisiting the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Emory virologist Anne Piantadosi and colleagues have a paper in Viral Evolution on the earliest SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequences detected in Georgia. Analyzing relationships between those virus sequences and samples from other states and countries can give us an idea about where the first COVID-19 infections in Georgia came from. We can draw Read more

Boris Spektor

Calming an electrical storm in the heart

AT = anterior tubercle of C6, C = carotid artery, LC = longus colli muscle, T = thyroid gland, IJ = internal jugular vein, compressed

The most recent issue of Emory Medicine features a story that first came to Lab Land’s attention when it was presented as an abstract at the 2017 American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions meeting.

Emory doctors were challenged by a patient who repeatedly developed cardiac arrhythmias, called “refractory electrical storm.” They used a local anesthesia procedure called stellate ganglion block — normally used for complex pain — to calm the storm. Cardiac electrophysiologist Michael Lloyd, who likes solving puzzles, was the one who decided to try it.

Emory anesthesiologist Boris Spektor provided this ultrasound picture of the procedure. Stellate ganglion block is also being tested for conditions such as PTSD. Please read the whole story!

Posted on by Quinn Eastman in Heart Leave a comment