The Jefferson Department of Surgery has created the Jefferson Pancreas Tumor Registry – a longitudinal study in which participants may engage in long-term follow-up and receive information about scientific breakthroughs in pancreatic cancer.

Participants are asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire and may also be asked to provide a blood sample and/or a cheek swab. The questionnaire is designed to capture family health history of a patient with pancreatic cancer or a non-affected family member. The questionnaire also helps document exposure to environmental and occupational factors – such as residential radon, asbestos and secondhand smoke.

“The purpose of the registry is to further study whether pancreatic cancer occurs more frequently in families with a history of the disease,” said Charles J. Yeo, M.D., Samuel D. Gross Professor and Chair, Department of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. “It will also be used to determine the environmental and occupational risk factors to which pancreatic cancer patients have been exposed.”

When it comes to liver transplantation, Jefferson’s Cataldo Doria, M.D., Ph.D. stands out from the crowd.

The Delaware Valley Chapter of the American Liver Foundation (ALF) recently named Dr. Doria “Transplant Surgeon of the Year” for his outstanding service to the medical community and to patients with liver disease.

Dr. Doria is associate professor of Surgery at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and director of the Division of Transplantation at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He has extensive experience in liver and kidney transplantation, as well as numerous other hepato-biliary surgical procedures. And he made history by organizing and participating in the first laparoscopic nephrectomy with ureterectomy for living related kidney transplantation ever performed in Italy.

For more information, read the news release and check out the Jefferson Division of Transplantation website.

More than three million Americans live with epilepsy – a neurological condition involving the brain in which people have seizures. A seizure occurs when part of the brain produces abnormal electrical signals that temporarily interrupt normal electrical brain function.

Michael R. Sperling, MD is director of the Jefferson Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and Baldwin Keyes Professor of Neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. Here, he addresses a patient’s question about treatment options.

Question: It’s been four years since I was diagnosed with epilepsy. My medication is no longer working. What are my options?

Answer: Between 35 and 40 percent of people with epilepsy or a seizure disorder have seizures not completely controlled by medication. Uncontrolled seizures limit independence, restrict employment and educational opportunities, and can cause accidents and injuries, brain damage or dysfunction – and even death.

Most people with epilepsy know within the first two years of taking a medication whether or not it is working. As a rule, if you continue to have seizures after trying two drugs, it’s time to have an evaluation by an epilepsy specialist to verify the diagnosis and determine which treatments might be most effective.

Study after study reinforces the physical, mental and emotional benefits of getting adequate, good-quality sleep. But doing so isn’t always easy – especially since so many people have fast-paced, time-strapped days.

If you know you need more sleep, follow these tips to get more – and better – rest at night: