2021 Edition
“My mission in life is not merely to survive but to thrive and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
-Maya Angelou
ABOUT US
Here at AMWA UTD, we want to do our very best to inform you of all of the issues relevant to women and healthcare, together and separately. We hope that our monthly newsletter becomes an enlightening source to you all as we learn about the multitudes of important topics and issues that we all need to be aware of.
IMPORTANT NATIONAL EVENTS
1/5 @ 8 PM - AMWA LEADS PROGRAM COMMITTEE BIWEEKLY WEBINAR
1/6 @ 6 PM - Technology & Global Public Health Panel
1/19 @ 8 PM- AMWA LEADS PROGRAM COMMITTEE BIWEEKLY WEBINAR
1/23 @ 5:30 PM- Racism in Medicine Panel Discussion
1/24-30 - Us vs. HPV Week Webinar Series
VISIT OUR NATIONAL AMWA INFO TAB FOR MORE INFO
NATIONAL OBSERVANCES
- Thyroid Awareness Month
- National Glaucoma Awareness Month
- National Birth Defects Prevention Month
- Cervical Health Awareness Month
WHEN WILL YOU GET THE COVID19 VACCINE?
BY: JANVI PATEL
The end is near. Hopefully. For the COVID-19 virus that is. By now, most are aware that two vaccines for COVID19 have been released for use recently. Many physicians and government officials have been going to social media to share their experiences getting the vaccine but this leaves one burning question in the mind of most: when will I get the vaccine?
For those who wish to take the vaccine, state governments have devised plans for vaccine rollout. For Texas specifically, more information regarding vaccine rollout can be found on the official website for Texas Health and Human Services. Here is a summary of what can be found on that website regarding vaccine rollout in a digestible manner:
Vaccine rollout depends on vaccine supply as depicted by the figure. Currently, Texas is in possession of a limited supply of the vaccine. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are being distributed.
Vaccine rollout is divided into phases starting with phase 1A and extending all the way to phase 1C, phase 2, 3, and beyond as more of the vaccine becomes available.
Phase 1A consists of front line workers and other medical professionals such as school nurses. Phase 1A also consists of at-risk patients such as those in long-term care facilities. Phase 1B will consist of those that are 65+ or those that are 16+ with at least 1 chronic medical condition including pregnancy. Phase 1B will commence once more of the vaccine can be obtained, the estimated timeline for this is January 2021.
The guidelines for phases are to be determined as more of the vaccine is available for use. It is estimated that the vaccine will be distributed to the general public in Spring 2020.
As of now, this is the most current and accurate information that is available for the COVID-19 vaccine. Though there is much to be determined, the vaccine represents a milestone in the battle against COVID-19 and a hope that soon things will return to normal. Till then, it is important to stay up to date on the latest news regarding the vaccine and practice CDC recommendations and guidelines for interacting with others. Please visit https://www.dshs.texas.gov/ for the latest and more accurate information regarding COVID-19 and the vaccine.
IMPROVING GLAUCOMA PATIENT OUTCOMES
BY: MEGAN ANN ZACHARIAH
We’ve all found ourselves at an optometrist’s office at one point or another in our lives. Either for an annual check-up or to update a prescription, we get the standard rotation of drops, lights, and puffs of air buffeting our eyes. As your resident myopic individual, I find the latter procedure to be the least agreeable in my eyes. However, these annual puffs of air administered by a tonometer in actuality play a critical role in our eye health. On a bad day, this test results in a slight discomfort to the eye, but on a good day, this test can prevent blindness.
A tonometer is a machine with two basic components, a light source and pressurized air. Before administering the air puff, a light beam is emitted from the tonometer and reflects off the cornea back to the machine in order to determine central alignment. Once the eye is aligned, the tonometer administers a puff of air aimed to flatten the cornea, which results in a deflection in the light beam focused on the cornea. This deflection is used to calculate the intraocular pressure of your eye, or the pressure exerted by the internal fluids that give your eye shape. Normal intraocular pressure is anywhere between 12-22 mmHg. Any higher, the results would be impending optic nerve damage and ultimately blindness, a condition known as glaucoma. Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the US and can be triggered by a multitude of factors including diabetes, genetics, or hypertension. One common cause of glaucoma is blockage at the drainage point in the anterior chamber of the eye. Whereas in a healthy eye, the aqueous humor is able to drain through the pace between the iris and the lens, in a patient suffering from glaucoma, this drainage angle is reduced resulting in little to no drainage and an increase in internal fluid pressure.
Though treatments for glaucoma exist, current devices aimed at reducing intraocular medicine are highly invasive and burdensome for the patient. Such is the case for many glaucoma shunts in which biocompatible valves are inserted to assist in the drainage process. Finding more efficient glaucoma treatments is a lucrative area of research in the field of optometry, and Big Idea competition winner Glaucomedi aims to pioneer the movement.
Glaucomedi is a research group based out of UT Southwestern comprised of cofounders Hebah Abdallah, graduate student and UTD BMEN alumni, Jacob Akwal, UTD BMEN undergrad senior, and Dr. Karanjit Kooner, professor of ophthalmology at UT Southwestern among other research engineers that contributed to the project. The group recently won the Big Idea competition for their optimized design of the Ahmed Glaucoma Valve that aids in aqueous humor drainage. The group identified issues with the size and valve mechanisms with unpredictable drainage rates which contribute to many complications including a device lifespan ranging from 1 to 5 years and fibrosis of surrounding tissues.
“We evaluated where things are going wrong...and where we can improve our designs to make an impact on how clinicians use this technology,” says Abdallah. “Current technology is really bulky”, she continues, “and requires extensive tissue manipulation”. Thus the group created an optimized model that reduces the overall size of the valve and allows for a more controlled drainage mechanism that improves the overall quality of life for the patient.
The group will continue their work to produce an FDA approved prototype in the coming years, but their message to UTD students is about raising student awareness about glaucoma. “You’ll be surprised how many students have glaucoma and are not aware of it”, Dr. Konner asserts. Once caught in the early stages it is easy to make lifestyle changes or take preventative medications, but without proper awareness of the disease course, it can quickly escalate into a more serious condition. So among the resolutions, you made for the new year, prioritize your eye health and schedule an eye appointment!
THE REMODELING OF SOCIETY: ELIZABETH BLACKWELL
BY: SHRADDHA TREHAN
“If society will not admit of woman’s free development then society must be remodeled.” – Elizabeth Blackwell
On January 23rd, 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to achieve a medical degree in the United States. The dean of her school, Dr. Charles Lee, stood up and bowed to her after presenting her degree. Ms. Blackwell surpassed misogynistic barriers, survived patriarchal humiliation, and achieved what many believed could not be done in order to prove to all that the pursuit of what you love can never be halted.
Born in Bristol, England on February 3, 1821, Ms. Blackwell’s family emigrated to America when she was 11 years old. Growing up, Elizabeth developed a great passion for the rights of all humans. Her father became very active in the New York abolitionist movement, and so she developed the belief that all men, women, and children deserve to be treated with equal respect and given equal opportunity. At 17, she began to teach at a school her family set up called “The Cincinnati English and French Academy for Young Ladies.” Elizabeth’s heart, however, remained in the ideals of abolitionism and her desire to experience a more stimulating life led her to search for a new career.
Eventually, she landed on the profession of a physician. Through medicine, not only would she have the stimulating life she wanted, but she could treat all people equally. Being met with resistance at every step of the way, with almost all male physicians recommending that she either go to Paris to study or take up a disguise as a man since women were obviously intellectually inferior, she found herself very often being rejected from medical schools. Eventually in October of 1847, on the grounds of a practical joke conducted by the all-male class, she was accepted to Geneva Medical College (now called Hobart College).
Though she found it very difficult to be surrounded by patronizing men day in and day out, she also felt very at home in medical school. After graduation, she continued her studies in Europe, before returning to New York in 1851. Here she established her own practice, and with the help of a mentee and her own sister, they expanded Blackwell’s original dispensary into the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children. Eventually, in 1869, Blackwell returned to Britain. In 1859, Elizabeth had become the first woman whose name was written into Britain’s General Medical Council’s medical registry, so when she returned to England, she was able to begin practicing anew. In 1874, she established the London School of Medicine for Women. Finally, in 1877, after a 30-year long career in medicine, Blackwell officially retired from her medical career. In 1910, Elizabeth Blackwell died at her home in Hastings, Sussex at the age of 61. Her legacy, however, has lived on forever.
In her own time, she influenced 476 other women to become registered medical professionals in England alone. In our time, she has influenced an infinitesimal amount more. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first of us all, serves as our reminder that it can be done. It can all be done. She may have gotten in on a joke, but the joke was on them because she originated one of the best things to ever happen in professional medicine: women.
THE LINK BETWEEN HPV AND CERVICAL CANCER
BY: ZARAH RAHMAN
The female body is extraordinarily fascinating, especially the reproductive system.
Comprised of organs, glands, and accessory ducts, the female reproductive system is an interconnected network that regulates multiple biochemical conditions within the body. A few functions of the reproductive system include: production of eggs for fertilization, provide essential nutrients for growth and development, and restore and maintain hormonal balance. The primary organs of the reproductive system are the vagina, fallopian tubes, uterus, and ovaries. One notable component of the system is the cervix, which makes up the lower third portion of the uterus. The cervix is crucial to reproductive and sexual health as it produces discharge to keep the vaginal environment clean, protects against invasive bacteria from entering the uterus, and can reposition to help sustain a pregnancy. The cervix holds significant responsibility to the proper functioning of the reproductive system, so mutations such as cancer can pose a tremendous risk to women’s health. January is cervical cancer awareness month, and for women, being proactive and seeking early intervention could be lifesaving.
Now you may be thinking, “What is cervical cancer? I’m only 21, am I really at risk?”
Cervical cancer is unique as 70% of cases have been linked to a pathogen known as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States, with roughly 79 million Americans currently infected with the virus and 14 million people newly infected each year. After exposure to HPV, the body’s immune system typically fights off the virus. However, in the case the virus survives (even years after the initial exposure), abnormal cells can begin to grow within the cervix. When the body’s regulatory mechanisms fail, these abnormal cells grow and rapidly divide, ultimately destroying normal body tissue. The accumulation of abnormal cells form masses of tissue known as tumors.
With such a large population already infected with HPV, experts believe almost all sexually active individuals may be exposed to the virus at one point in their lives. That being said, any woman who is sexually active, regardless of age, is susceptible to HPV with it potentially causing cervical cancer down the line.
While the chances of being exposed to HPV may be high, early intervention has proven to be effective against the virus and can significantly reduce the risk of cervical cancer. In 2006, the US approved and distributed a vaccine that protects against various strains of HPV. The vaccine was offered to girls ages 6 years and older and lasts roughly 10 years. The introduction of the vaccine was pivotal to women’s health as it drastically decreased the number of cervical cancer cases in the United States.
In addition to the vaccine, routine checkups and pap smears can help detect precancerous conditions and allow treatments to be initiated early on. Pap smears and other cervical cancer screenings typically begin at 21 years of age.
Lastly, being proactive and practicing safe sex can protect against potential exposure to the virus. Using condoms, dental dams, and limiting the number of sexual partners can help reduce the risk of cervical cancer.
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