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| |  UCLA Neurosurgeon Wins Upjohn Research Prize for New Stroke Therapy LOS ANGELES, Jan. 22, 1996 -- John G. Frazee, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at the U.C.L.A. School of Medicine, was awarded the Grand Prize for his research in cerebral resuscitation by the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company at the annual competition co- sponsored by the National Association of Emergency Medical Services Physicians (NAEMSP). Dr. Frazee's presentation dealt with a breakthrough in the treatment of stroke victims using a new technology known as Neuroperfusion. This technique is based on the concept of retroperfusion, which was pioneered by Eliot Corday, M.D., F.A.C.C., 84, a Senior Research Scientist at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and past president of the American College of Cardiology. Neuroperfusion involves a "pump" device that doctors use during the critical minutes following a victim's stroke by pumping oxygenated blood from an artery in the groin to the brain through a "catheter" or hollow tube to a vein in the neck to the damaged region of the brain. The life-saving Neuroperfusion pump, which has recently been tested successfully on a patient at U.C.L.A. by Dr. Frazee, allows doctors valuable time to repair the brain cell damage using "clot-busting" (thrombolitic) drugs, and if necessary surgery. The pump can also be used to deliver Neuroprotective drugs to the patient while it is supporting the brain with a temporary blood supply. Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and over 500,000 people a year suffer a stroke. A stroke is a permanent brain injury, generally caused by obstruction in an artery that carries oxygenated blood to the brain. The Neuroperfusion technique is unique because it uses the veins (blood vessels which normally return blood to the brain from the heart) to deliver the patient's own, oxygenated blood to the portion of the brain that is at risk of injury from an impending stroke. According to Dr. Frazee, patients who are at risk for stroke are those with rapid onset of new neurological symptoms such as paralysis, numbness, trouble understanding or expressing speech and, in some cases, sudden loss of eyesight. "If the blood supply is not reestablished to the portion of the brain which is in jeopardy within four to six hours from the onset of symptoms, the brain tissue dies," Dr. Frazee explained, "resulting in permanent neurological deficit." "Neuroperfusion can be started within 30 minutes after the patient is diagnosed," Dr. Frazee continued, "and can immediately provide the brain with a temporary supply of oxygenated blood." Dr. Frazee has been conducting experimental work on the Neuroperfusion technique at U.C.L.A. since 1987. His presentation at the Upjohn-NAEMSP meeting, which concluded this week, reviewed the most recent experimental results as well as the results of the first patient treated with Neuroperfusion. This patient was paralyzed on his left side for more than 4-1/2 hours before treatment and he regained full function in his left arm within 30 minutes of the start of the Neuroperfusion pump and went on to have a complete recovery from his stroke. "The Neuroperfusion technique represents a significant step forward in the treatment of stroke victims," Dr. Frazee said. "It not only can reverse neurological symptoms present for a few hours, it can provide physicians with the valuable time needed to implement other procedures which might be of benefit to the patient that would otherwise take too long to implement," he concluded. At the present time, the U.C.L.A. Medical Center is the only hospital in the United States which is approved by the FDA to administer the Neuroperfusion treatment. CONTACT: David Cornett, C.E.O. of Neuroperfusion, Inc., 714-453-0150</
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