Week Two

My second week at the Mayo Clinic Hospital has been engaging and eye-opening.

This week was my first one where I had the chance to meet Dr. Steidley's out-of-state clinical patients, whereas previously I met patients who were in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). The more time I spend with Dr. Steidley, the more I get to observe his bedside manner with his patients. I mention this because in the three days that I was at the Mayo Clinic, I have met people from all over the country with each person expressing strong emotions with his or her respective heart condition. From dignified optimism to harrowing despair, I witnessed it all. What was even more remarkable to see was Dr. Steidley's response to each patient. Be it hilarious humor or sincere sympathy, he knew exactly how to console each person, so that when he or she left the room the individual would return home in high spirits.

In the time that I wasn't meeting out-of-state patients, I attended conferences or continued to develop my project.

A conference I thought was astounding was one that discussed the latest technology regarding Stem Cell Engineering for Diseased Tissues. Presented by a doctor from the Rochester Mayo Clinic, he talked about using skin cells from a baby to cultivate stem cells that could then turn into any desirable tissue. The tissue would then be placed into whatever organ and would replace the diseased tissue available in said organ. The significance was that it was now possible to cultivate stem cells without taking them from an embryo, thereby eliminating the controversy regarding the usage and destruction of embryos. I found this advance in science to be (in the truest sense of the word) incredible. The only problem that scientists have now is that this procedure only works for a small subset of a large group of people, so now the issue scientists face is how to make it work for everyone.

A few weeks ago, Dr. Steidley mentioned the possibility of getting a paper published. Now I can say that the possibility is becoming a reality. Yesterday, he and I started on a proposal publication for THAOS. The Transthyretin Amyloidosis Outcomes Survey (THAOS) is a multinational, longitudinal, and observational database that compiles data regarding Transthyretin Amyloidosis for clinicians and patients. Its goal is that through combined knowledge and dedication, effective treatment options for the destructive disease will develop. Even though it was established in 2007, it has only published two articles. However it has a strict rule that each publication has to be original in that the topic has to be something different about amyloidosis, otherwise the Executive Committe won't approve the publication. Our paper is about Myocardial Contraction Fraction and how it may be used for determining patients with Cardiac Transthyretin Amyloidosis. We've already filled the basic information, now we just have to create our hypothesis, determine our methods, elucidate our results, and elaborate our discussion. I look forward to the upcoming weeks, as we work with the patients at the Mayo Clinic to see if MCF is a viable volumetric index for detecting this deadly disease.