Rehabilitation SciencesAcademic Division and Research Center

Trapped in the hospital bed
The New York Times, May 30, 2013
Forty-three minutes. That's the median time a hospitalized elderly patient spends standing or walking daily. Anyone gets weaker after days spent horizontally, but older people have less of what doctors call physiologic reserve. The good news is that research by UTMB's Dr. Steven Fisher showed that elderly patients went home two days earlier if they did modest amounts of early walking.

UTMB gets $5M to study health care for elderly
Houston Business Journal, May 21, 2013
UTMB has been awarded a $4.9 million grant to study how to care for and promote the health and well-being of elderly patients. All four of UTMB's schools will participate in the study. Dr. James Goodwin, director of UTMB's Sealy Center on Aging in Galveston, will head up the project. This award comes on the heels of a $1.8 million, five-year grant UTMB researchers in Galveston were awarded to apply methods of gene therapy to pain that arises from malfunctions in the nervous system, known as neuropathic pain.

The metabolism miracle for women over 40
Prevention, May 21, 2013
You already know to keep calories and fat in check, but you'll fan the flames of your metabolism by putting another nutrient on your radar: protein, the building block of lean muscle mass. "The amino acids enter your bloodstream and are then absorbed by your muscle tissues and other cells," says UTMB's Douglas Paddon-Jones. "Once the amino acids end up in your muscles, your body starts putting them back together - sort of like Legos - into your muscle tissue."

What you can do now to help prevent age-related muscle loss
MSN Healthy Living, May 15, 2013
UTMB's Douglas Paddon-Jones and Dr. Elena Volpi weigh in on how best to prevent age-related muscle loss. more »

Public Health Symposium on April 3 - Public Health is Return on Investment: Save Lives, Save Money.
April 3, 2013
PMCH held its third annual Public Health Symposium on April 3. Amol Karmarkar and Amit Kumar of Rahabilitation Sciences were commended. (pictured, l to r: Abishek Parmar, Gabriela Vargas, Christine Arcari, Lawrence Panas, Amit Kumar and Amol Karmarkar). more »

Recovery in motion: Post-discharge activity level linked to risk of hospital readmission in elderly
Science Daily, March 12, 2013
A new UTMB study has found a link between the activity levels of elderly people who have just been released from the hospital and the risk that they will require readmission within 30 days. The investigation draws on data collected from 111 patients aged 65 and older, each of whom was fitted with a "step activity monitor" during his or her hospital stay. Worn on the patient's ankle, the pager-sized device counted every step the person took during hospitalization and for a week after discharge. more »

Inside UTMB: OT prof earns national award
Galveston County Daily News, Jan. 29, 2013
Kenneth J. Ottenbacher, professor of occupational therapy and the Russell Shearn Moody Distinguished Chair in the School of Health Professions, has received a prestigious national award for his contributions to occupational therapy. Ottenbacher is the recipient of the 2013 American Occupational Therapy Association and American Occupational Therapy Foundation joint President's Commendation Award in honor of Wilma L. West. more »

2013 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award
Rehabilitation Sciences's Amit Kumar is a recipient of the 2013 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award. The award is presented annually to individuals who carry out Dr. King's dream and have made significant and tangible contributions in the area of servant leadership, community partnership and civic engagement.