THE LATEST developments in fields as diverse as psychiatry for the elderly, gene therapy for children, preventing restenosis after cardiac surgery in the middle-aged, and health care reform for everyone were presented to science reporters who gathered in Philadelphia, Pa, for the American Medical Association's 12th Annual Science Reporters Conference. The event was cosponsored by the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and supported by an educational grant from Burroughs Wellcome Co, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Preventing Restenosis
Eliot Barnathan, MD, estimates that millions of dollars could be saved by preventing the restenosis of blood vessels that commonly occurs after coronary artery angioplasty and atherectomy. Preventing blockage of coronary artery bypass grafts may result in even greater savings, because fewer patients would require repeat surgery.Barnathan, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, says he believes that the key to preventing restenosis is controlling smooth muscle