VCU faculty featured on statewide public radio program

By Joe Kuttenkuler

Blood conserving surgical techniques and minimizing brain damage from strokes are topics VCU professors will discuss on the Virginia public radio program "With Good Reason" now through Feb. 21. The show is carried on 12 different stations throughout the state.

Dr. Bruce Spiess in the Department of Anesthesiology at the VCU Health System will discuss ways VCU is reducing blood usage during certain surgical procedures. Spiess, who also is doing research with blood substitutes, says lowering blood usage and finding alternatives to blood are necessary as the cost of blood continues to rise and supplies periodically run low, prompting the cancellation of surgeries.

Dr. Warren Felton, Division Chairman of Neuro-Ophthalmology, will discuss his work with a new drug that could limit the damage done from a stroke. VCU is one of several dozen centers in the country conducting a clinical trial with a drug designed to reduce the level of a potentially harmful protein that is released by the body during a stroke.

"With Good Reason" can be heard locally each Saturday at 1 p.m. on WCVE 88.9. Previous shows can be accessed through the program's Web site at http://www.virginia.edu/vfh/wgr/.

Founded in 1992, "With Good Reason" is produced for the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and is broadcast in partnership with public radio stations in Virginia, Tennessee and Washington, D.C. It is the only statewide public radio program in Virginia.