SCI/TBI Advisory Council Meeting

January 20, 2006

HSC 333 Sanford School of Medicine – Sioux Falls

PRESENT:                 Leo Hallan, Dr. Barry Timms, Mary Pat Forsberg, Chris Olson, Ryan Green, Jim Tesch

ALSO PRESENT:     Dr. John Koch, Maria Kramer

EXCUSED:                Grady Kickul

GUESTS:                    Dr. Tom Ripperda, Dr. Scott Meyer, Dr. Robert Morecraft

CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order at 11:00 a.m.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

The December 19, 2005 minutes were unanimously approved as distributed.

COUNCIL DISCUSSIONS

Dr. Ripperda’s Application

The main concerns/questions of the Council were justification for the request for purchasing the LiteGait treadmill and collaboration.  Dr. Ripperda gave a brief overview of this project.  Therapy research was first done in stroke patients and now in TBI.  This research project will be devoted to the brain injury population but the equipment may also be used for stroke patients.  Funding this project is essential for the long-term as this pilot grant is the foundation for future research in the area of SC/TBI.  Their main goal is to do research that benefits healthcare and healthcare delivery; everything they do is geared toward the patient.  Dr. Ripperda plans to have the study done and something published within a year. 

For this year, the primary purpose of the equipment will be for this research project; however they may use the equipment for other patients if it doesn’t prevent the research participants from utilizing it.  In the study, the control group will receive an hour of physical therapy a day using the current treatment method and the treatment group will receive a half hour of physical therapy a day plus a half hour of the treadmill therapy.  There will be a total of 20 patients in this study with a general age range of 25-45 years old plus a few people outside of the range.  The Council will make their decision and notify Dr. Ripperda by February 1, 2006. 

The Council discussed the Avera researcher’s visit.  The Council saw this research opportunity as developing a relationship with Avera Research.  Dr. Timms noted that Dr. Ripperda has justified the need for the purchase of the equipment.  Dr. Timms recommended that Avera place a plaque or something on the equipment to recognize that the equipment was funded by the SC/TBI Advisory Council.  Ryan moved approval of the application and Mary Pat seconded.  The Council approved the application 7-0. 

Dr. Yang’s Application Update

Leo requested a letter of collaboration from Dr. Yang and Transplantation Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  Leo noted that Dr. Yang clarified the collaboration stating that if his work proved to be successful, then he could potentially work with the Transplantation Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. 

Dr. Morecraft’s 6-Month Report

Dr. Morecraft thanked the Council for inviting him to give a 6-month update on his research project. Dr. Morecraft’s project is focused on the recovery process following brain trauma (head trauma, stroke, and incomplete spinal cord injury). Dr. Morecraft is most interested in motor recovery.

What he does in his models is create a very controlled lesion to selectively remove the motor cortex. There are three types of lesion scenarios: a mild one where they remove M1, a moderate one where they remove M1 and lateral area 6 (M5), and a severe one where they remove M1, lateral area 6 (M5), and M3. He follows the model’s motor behavior over time so he can quantify their motor abilities. Tests are done once a week prior to creating the lesion and twice a month after the lesion has been created. All of these tests are filmed by four digital cameras to show the progression of the model’s motor behavior.

The SC/TBI Advisory Council is funding the research for the 1st – 3rd months post trauma. The primary goals of this project are determining if spared neuronal linkages reorganize at the spinal cord level, track cellular responses, and track molecular responses. Dr. Morecraft stated that the funding from SC/TBI is vital to the success of this research project. Dr. Morecraft also acknowledged all the people that are helping him to include his technicians, Judy and Kim.
 

Dr. Liu’s Application

Leo addressed Dr. Liu’s application that was recently received.  The Council had several concerns about her proposal.  Concerns included Dr. Liu meeting the application deadline, the hypothesis statement not matching the proposal, and needing to get the proper signatures as she is a USD employee.  Only one Council member could fully understand what Dr. Liu is proposing in her application.  Chris moved that Dr. Timms draft a letter to Dr. Liu expressing the concerns of the Council.  Ryan seconded the motion.  The Council approved Dr. Timms drafting a letter for Leo to Dr. Liu addressing the Council’s concerns and encouraging her to resubmit her application with the concerns addressed. 

Application Guidelines

Ryan moved that the Council give the Executive Committee, Leo and Chris, the authority to revise the application guidelines adding a statement clarifying that letters of collaboration are required with each application and that the applicant needs to provide a detailed description of the in-kind match.  Chris seconded the motion.  The Council approved the above motion unanimously.

The meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.