Page 22 - COM Outlook - Spring 2013

22 COM Outlook . Spring 2013
approved therapies and see whether any of
them have that desired effect.
Dr. Klimas plans to share research and
other data via REDcap (Research Elec-
tronic Data Capture)—“a cloud that has well
validated research tools,”—to study pain and
sleep patterns and share clinical informa-
tion without identifying the patients. REDcap
offers constant access to clinical studies on
multiple patients at various sites. Dr. Klimas
added that many major universities use the
software platform.
While on a tour of the new $5 million
clinic with Dr. Klimas, one is caught up in her
energy and excitement about finding treat-
ment for her patients. She has surrounded
herself with a team of respected scientists
who are equally committed. Using an inter-
disciplinary approach, Dr. Klimas and her col-
leagues are “connecting the dots” to examine
the linkages needed to care for her patients.
It’s an approach that looks at the system
and tries to get balance back. Her work also
strives to make “practical application to an
exciting scientific approach,” she said.
Hers is “a novel treatment with strate-
gies that are not yet modeled,” she added.
The NSU-COM clinics in Davie and Kendall
accommodate around 1,200 patients from
South Florida, throughout the nation, and
around the world. Appointments at the insti-
tute are booked through October of this year,
so managing the clinics and the follow-up
consultations are a top priority.
Dr. Klimas’ methods seek to treat the
whole patient, which is why she is enthusi-
astic about working in the D.O. world, which
is “integrative and the best place for me to
have this program,” she said. The institute
represents a unique concept that combines
research and clinical care. If a patient agrees,
his or her history can be part of clinical data
collected throughout treatment. The multidis-
ciplinary resources available to patients are
in one building, helping the patient avoid the
stress of triage at multiple facilities. There
is no need to repeat the history of illness or
symptoms. The first appointment lasts about
two hours in order to get a comprehensive
report. Subsequent appointments are sched-
uled for an hour. Giving the patient plenty of
attention brings great relief and freedom from
the stress of justifying the use of the medical
system, Dr. Klimas explained.
It is the initial step in “putting patients
back together again—like Humpty Dumpty,”
she said, adding that dealing with the com-
plexities of her patients lets them gain com-
fort in revealing that their experiences “are
complicated, but real.” The team studies what
controls systems and reactions, while also
examining which stimuli in the body cause
symptoms to occur. The institute’s integrated
system coordinates treatment by a very
broad methodology: clinical testing, cognitive
testing, and monitoring the autonomic ner-
vous system (involuntary body functions such
as pulse, breathing, and blood pressure).
In addition to discovering treatments, the
institute works diligently to obtain financial
support. The U.S. Department of Defense
has awarded three grants to the institute,
including a $4 million stipend with the Miami
VA Medical Center on the Gulf War Illness
research. Another supporter, the National
Institutes of Health, oversees three grants
that help fund the institute.
As the institute’s research progresses, Dr.
Klimas hopes to attract investors to support
the groundbreaking work of her diverse and
skilled team. Along with her team, Dr. Klimas
is enabled, respected, and ready to make
a significant interprofessional contribution
toward advancing knowledge about neuroin-
flammatory and neurodegenerative disorders.
“There is a lot of work to do to make
NSU the major research institution Presi-
On February 12, a number of dignitaries attended the
institute’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Dr. Nancy Klimas explains a
treatment procedure to an
institute patient.