HEALTH NOTES

Donor sign-up made easier

Mary Bird Perkins-Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center will begin offering bone marrow registration at the free cancer screening events it holds regularly.

The cancer center has partnered with Be the Match, a national, nonprofit organization that matches patients with donors. The new bone marrow registration will be launched at a breast cancer screening on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., at the BREC administrative office, 6201 Florida Blvd.

Mary Bird Perkins-OLOL Cancer Center hopes to increase the number of registered bone marrow donors in the Baton Rouge area, particularly in minority populations, which are more often unable to find a match on the national registry, according to a news release from the cancer center.

Mayor Kip Holden reached out to the local cancer center “asking for help in making bone marrow registration a more visible priority in the community,” according to the news release.

Patients with diseases such as sickle cell and blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma depend on finding a lifesaving bone marrow match, the cancer center reports.

The bone marrow registration is fairly simple, according to the cancer center.

Those who want to be included on the national registry fill out a two-page form, providing demographic information and medical history. Then a cheek swab is done and sent off with the paperwork to Be the Match.

Appointments are necessary for the breast screening, but not for bone marrow registration. For more information, call [phone] or visit http://www.marybird.org/OLOL.

Event to feature new brain research

New research about the brain and brain-related disorders will be featured at Neuroscience 2012, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) coming to New Orleans Saturday through Wednesday at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, 900 Convention Center Blvd.

There are a number of events for the public at the conference that brings together scientists and physicians from around the world who study the brain and nervous system.

Free events for the public, all at the Morial Convention Center, are:

• “My Life as a Rolling Neurological Clinic,” with speaker and artist Chuck Close. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Hall D.

In 2000, Chose was awarded the U.S. National Medal of Arts; he produced major works of art, notably large-scale portraits of the human face, while coping with impairments of the body and brain, according to the SfN.

• Public symposium on “The Societal Impact and Biology of the Overt and Hidden Dysfunctions Resulting from Traumatic Brain Injury.” Saturday, 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., New Orleans Theater B.
• “The Changing Global Neuroscience Ecosystem: Why it Matters to Our Future,” with speaker Dr. Steven Hyman of the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. Monday, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., New Orleans Theater B.
• Public advocacy forum on “The Developing Brain: How Research and Advocacy is Shaping Public Policy.” Tuesday, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Room 286.

Registration is required to attend the public events and is available on-site, only, at any “attendee services” counter in Hall E or at the location of the event. A valid ID is required to register.

For more information on the conference, visit http://www.sfn.org/am2012.

N.O. students to gain from science award

New Orleans-based Ochsner Clinic Foundation has received a $1.25 million, five-year award from the National Institutes of Health, with the objective of advancing an interest in biomedical research and health sciences among New Orleans area high schools students.

The award, called the Science Education Partnership Award, will fund BEST Science!, a program administered by Ochsner’s Academic Division.

BEST (Bioscience Enrichment for Students and Teachers) is the result of a joint partnership between the Ochsner Medical Division, LSU Health Sciences Center and New Orleans area school districts.

Summer professional development workshops for teachers will begin in the summer of 2013, and curriculum supplements and school laboratory kits will be available in the 2013-2014 school year, according to an Ochsner news release.

Partnership to focus on good health habits

Louisiana 4-H and UnitedHealthcare have launched a new partnership that will help 4-H encourage young people and their families to eat more nutritious food and exercise regularly.

Louisiana is one of 10 states to receive a $30,000 grant and be part of the Eat4-Health partnership with the health-care organization.

Lanette Hebert, the LSU AgCenter regional 4-H coordinator, said in a news release that a statewide food and fitness board of 25 teens will be trained and will plan a statewide healthful-living camp this spring for elementary students.

“The board will also be conducting parish and regional activities ... to encourage people to get more involved in healthful living ...,” Hebert said.

The program kicked off at the annual 4-H event hosted in September at the LSU AgCenter that brought together more than 2,000 families and 4-H students.

The day promoted fitness, with sports competitions, dancing and rock climbing.

Compiled by Ellyn Couvillion

Advocate staff writer