Bracing for the Future, P. 20

NEWS OF THE TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER — VOL. 5 / NO. 2 — MARCH 2018 Bracing for the Future, p. 20 CORRECTING A FIGHTING HOW HIGH GENE THAT CAUSES EPILEPSY WILL DRUG PRICES BLINDNESS, p. 6 WITH FAT, p. 16 CLIMB? p. 28 SKYLINE ON INDIANA $599,990 Montrose Starting at $399,900 Midtown SKYLINE ON INDIANA Starting at $1,245,000 Montrose $799,000 Montrose $649,990 Montrose $887,500Starting at $549,000 Rice Military Oak Forest / Garden Oaks Starting at $289,000 Museum District A FULL-SERVICE REAL ESTATE COMPANY 713-868-7226 URBANLIVING.COM TREC Broker #476135 An Equal Housing Lender. NMLS 70345 President’s Perspective This year the TMC will launch its bike- TMC | PULSE share program and install 14 bike stations Vol. 5 No. 2 throughout the campus, in addition to March 2018 financing three bike-share stations in the Museum District. When we shared our plans with our colleagues across the street at Rice President and Chief Executive Officer University, they doubled the number of William F. McKeon stations they planned for their campus. But what we’re most excited about is com- Vice President of Communications pletion of the initial design phase of TMC3, Christen Bagley our new city center which will be a true “live, work, and play” environment. It marks the Pulse Editor Mark Mulligan/© Houston Chronicle. Used with permission. with Used Chronicle. Houston Mulligan/© Mark first time in our history of more than 70 years Maggie Galehouse that we’re developing one campus to support [email protected] WILLIAM F. McKEON multiple institutions. President and Chief Executive Officer, The TMC3 campus—dubbed the “double Staff Writers Texas Medical Center helix” for its design that evokes the shape of a Alexandra Becker DNA molecule—stretches nearly 30 acres and Christine Hall will serve as the nerve-center for collabora- Ryan Holeywell hen I look out my office window, I see tion and interaction. The base floor of the Shanley Pierce Wthe towering structures that make campus consists of three plazas filled with Britni N. Riley up the Texas Medical Center and take pride trees and vegetation, as well as restaurants, in the world-class research and clinical care retail, commercial and entertainment space Photojournalist that happen every day inside their walls. But to support the community throughout the Cody Duty I have to admit: I’ve been disappointed by day and evenings. what happens outside those walls. The second floor contains shared lab- Contributing Photographers Despite welcoming more than 100,000 oratories so that member institutions can Scott Dalton workers here every day, our campus is lacking work together with each other and alongside Nick de la Torre in vibrant, urban, outdoor activity. For too industry experts. Annie Mulligan long, we’ve lacked the green space, bicycling The top of the double helix will be a infrastructure, and retail and entertainment park that rises 60 feet from the ground and NEWSROOM offerings that are the hallmarks of any lively features regular programming. We’ll provide 713-791-8812 city space. That’s about to change. the community with amenities such as [email protected] But first, how’d we get here? In 1885, build- walking and running trails, bocce courts, ers constructed the world’s first skyscraper in yoga, tai chi, chef gardens, reading ham- ADVERTISING Chicago, and cities around the world followed mocks, children’s education gardens, and Felicia Zbranek-Zeitman suit, rapidly densifying major metropolitan more. The “helix” park will also bridge 713-791-8829 areas. It’s an efficient model, but it comes at a across to the bayou greenway system [email protected] cost: the concrete jungles gradually restricted which will provide access points to the light and air. Here in the medical center, entire Houston community. DISTRIBUTION we’ve become a victim of our own success. The campus and park will be beautiful, Daniel Martinez The collection of facilities we built to serve but that’s not the reason we’re building them. 713-791-6136 patients has crowded out much of our green These amenities are essential if we want to [email protected] space, an essential component of a healthy, attract and retain the millennials who will go vibrant, sustainable community. on to become the intellectual cornerstone of READ US ONLINE Today, cities across the globe have rec- our medical city. tmc.edu/news ognized this oversight and are taking bold We are just beginning our journey to steps to create accessible green spaces that transform the Texas Medical Center, and we FOLLOW US contribute to the health and well-being of will continue to work closely with our part- @TXMedCenter the public. Houston’s philanthropic commu- ners. I’m confident that before long, I’ll see @texasmedcenter nity and civic leaders are making strides to something totally different when I gaze out @thetexasmedicalcenter reclaim and energize our city with an increas- my window across our bustling medical city. ing number of parks and a connected bayou greenway system. We’re doing our part, by bringing more green space to our TMC cam- TMC Pulse is an award-winning pus and shifting our infrastructure emphasis monthly publication of the Texas from cars to people. Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Permission from the editor is required to reprint any material. 2 tmc» pulse | march 2018 Table of Contents march 2018 10 Spotlight: Joel Cowley 13 Curated: BioRhythm 26 On the Side: Kristin “Avery” Acker 36 Solutions 38 Field Notes 4 40 Calendar Say Hello to the SaberCats 14 #MeToo 27 Don’t Lose Sleep Over Daylight Saving Time 31 Hypnosis in the Operating Room 34 Lidia Lopez Gets a Bionic Eye on the cover: A brace is crafted in the workshop at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Houston. tmc» pulse | march 2018 3 oversee all aspects of player safety looked after before, during and after Say Hello to the SaberCats and health, including concussions, by our Baylor medical team.” Houston’s new rugby team is partnering with which have become a prominent In addition to concussions, concern in high-impact sports. other common rugby injuries Baylor College of Medicine “[Rugby’s] include shoulder track record is dislocations, By Shanley Pierce actually better clavicle frac- than in football tures and knee just because of the injuries. Neck way they tackle,” injuries can also ouston has long been a from the ground up, so I feel very said SaberCats occur during Hsports city, with devoted fans privileged, as we all do here at the lead team phy- the scrum, a cheering on the Astros, Texans, SaberCats, to be part of the launch- sician Jason formation used Rockets and Dynamo. This year, ing of Major League Rugby,” said Ahuero, M.D., to restart play the city welcomes the SaberCats—a Houston SaberCats coach Justin assistant pro- Teasdale Judy Credit: in which both new rugby team—whose health will Fitzpatrick, who went from profes- fessor of ortho- SaberCats lead team physician Jason teams lock arms, be managed by a medical team at sional rugby star to coach after pedic surgery at Ahuero, M.D., assistant professor of pack tightly Baylor College of Medicine. three prolapsed discs in his neck Baylor College of orthopedic surgery at Baylor College together and of Medicine, left, with SaberCats coach One of the most popular sports ended his career in 2010. “It’s very Medicine. “They push against Justin Fitzpatrick. worldwide, rugby has gained a exciting times.” don’t hit with their each other with strong fan base in the United States. Those unfamiliar with rugby head. You can do that once and then heads down in an effort to gain Major League Rugby, a new entity, might be surprised by the high level you learn your lesson because you’ll possession of the ball. launched seven teams this year and of contact and collision involved get hurt pretty severely.” “There’s thousands of pounds will kick off its inaugural season in a sport with minimal protective According to Ahuero, who has of pressure on their necks,” Ahuero in April. gear. Rugby players do not wear worked with rugby teams for the said. “If that scrum collapses, the “In life, it’s very rare to have the pads or helmets like football players. past four years, many rugby concus- guy in the center, what they call the opportunity to formulate something Baylor College of Medicine will sions are due to accidental knee-to- ‘hooker,’ is particularly vulnerable to head or head-to-head contact. By a neck injury. That’s a unique rugby contrast, Ahuero said, football play- injury that can be catastrophic.” ers “use their helmets as a battering But Ahuero and his team ram and come in full speed will keep a watchful eye on the to hit somebody.” SaberCats players. Unlike football, Although rugby players come in which physicians and athletic into full contact with each other trainers stand along the sidelines, throughout the game, the rate of rugby physicians “stay on the ball,” concussions is generally consid- following the play up and down the ered to be lower than football due field and even running onto the field to strict reinforcement of proper to tend to an athlete while the match tackling techniques. A 2008 study is underway. published by the British Journal “It’s not like football where a of Sports Medicine found that whistle blows at the end of a play,” collegiate rugby game injury rates Ahuero said. “[Rugby] stops were lower than rates reported by occasionally if there’s a penalty, the National Collegiate Athletic but really, the play is much Association Injury Surveillance more continuous.” System for American football.

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