Obese People at Higher Risk of Infection After Colon Surgery

(HealthDay News) -- Obese patients are at a significantly increased risk for surgical site infections after undergoing partial or full removal of the colon, a new study finds.



It included 7,020 patients, aged 18 to 64, who had either partial or total colectomy for colon cancer, diverticulitis or inflammatory bowel disease between 2002 and 2008. Of those patients, 1,243 were obese.



The overall rate of surgical site infections was 10.3 percent, but the rate was higher in obese patients (14.5 percent) than in non-obese patients (9.5 percent). After adjusting for a number of factors, the researchers calculated that obese patients were 60 percent more likely to develop surgical site infections than non-obese patients.



The average cost of colectomy for all the patients was $16,399, but the average cost for obese patients was about $295 more than for non-obese patients.



The researchers also found that surgical site infections greatly increased the cost of the procedure. The average total cost for patients who developed surgical site infections was $31,933, compared to $14,608 for patients without infection. Read more...



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Announcing the Neuroethics Scholars Program @ Emory University

Are you interested in the ethical and social implications of neuroscience and neurotechnology?

The Neuroethics Program of the Emory Center for Ethics is proud to announce the Neuroethics Scholars Program. The program is open to graduate students in any discipline who want to develop their interests at the intersection of neuroscience and ethics.

Deadline for applications: October 15, 2011

Sponsored by the Emory Center for Ethics and its Neuroethics Program, and funded by the Emory Neurosciences Initiative, the Neuroethics Scholars Program is an unprecedented opportunity for Emory graduate studentsto become active in the national Neuroethics community.

Graduate students are invited to propose collaborative or independent projects of interest to them, which could include areas such as:

• Developing Neuroethics curricula and co-teaching Neuroethics topics in both academic and public arenas
• Developing and executing interdisciplinary empirical Neuroethics research projects
• Developing and implementing New Media projects to promote awareness of Neuroethics topics and public outreach
• Exploring the application of neurotechnology in political, social, educational, or health arenas.

Applications with new and innovative ideas that challenge the boundaries of Neuroethics are strongly encouraged.

Support:

Scholarship support is $4000 per year and can be used to supplement current stipends with the approval of the student’s mentor or Division Graduate Supervisor (DGS).

For more information, please visit our website.

David Eagleman visiting Decatur Book Festival

Dr. David Eagleman, neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author, will be attending AJC's Decatur Book Festival this Sunday, Sept 4 as part of his book tour on "Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain." Dr. Karen Rommelfanger a neuroscientist from the Center for Ethics, Neuroethics Program at Emory University will be introducing Dr. Eagleman.

Dr. Eagleman is the director of Baylor College of Medicine’s Initiative on Neuroscience and Law. The website is cleverly named "neulaw.org" reflecting the idea that neuroscience may inform new practices in law that reduce recidivism and emphasize rehabilitation--something he calls "Rational Sentencing." Essentially, he believes, "You are your brain," and by using neurorehabilitation, he promotes a "libertarian sentencing" where criminals can rehabilitate themselves.

A video of Dr. Eagleman speaking about neurolaw can be viewed below.



A video of Dr. Eagleman speaking about his book, Incognito, can be view below.

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