Kidney Disease

 West Virginia University Hospitals-East and the WVU Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center Eastern Division will sponsor a community mini-medical school program on the effects of diseases on the kidneys. The seminar, titled, "Kidney Disease: What Is It? What Can I Do?," is Tuesday, Oct. 18 in the WVU Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center on the City Hospital campus. The featured speaker is Dr. Paul Welch, board certified nephrologist and internist on staff at City Hospital and Jefferson Memorial Hospital.

 Western Maryland Kidney Walk will begin at noon Sunday, May 15, at Greenbrier State Park, 21843 National Pike, Boonsboro.  In addition to the walk, the event will feature activities for kids, entertainment, food. The walk will make folks aware of the impact of kidney disease, take steps to help prevent kidney disease and encourage organ donation. For more information, contact Carolyn A. Smith-Kennedy at 410-533-3075 or carolynkennedy9@aol.com .

Linda Hartle of Smithsburg, Md., passed away on Jan. 7, 2013, at Meritus Medical Center after a long courageous battle against kidney disease. Linda's wish was to help other kidney patients and their struggle against kidney disease. She will be missed by her dialysis friends she made over the years at Meadows Dialysis at Robinwood Center and she will miss them too. Linda was married to Sidney W. Hartle for 42 years, who preceded her in death this past July. Her father, Harry S. Keller, and also an infant son, Sidney J. Hartle, also preceded her in death.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Only a little blood was shed by West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin following an appearance Monday in Martinsburg to promote the benefits of preventive health for the state's residents. Manchin was in the city to support an ongoing series of preventive health screenings that could indicate chronic kidney disease during an all-day Kidney Early Evaluation Program at West Virginia University Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center Eastern Division. After a brief speech, Manchin rolled up his shirt sleeves and demonstrated just how easy the process was. "It's worth the effort to take care of (our health)

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has named Dr. Josef Coresh the inaugural recipient of the George W. Comstock Professorship in Epidemiology. The professorship honors the legacy of Dr. George Comstock, a physician and professor emeritus at the Bloomberg School, according to a news release from the school. Comstock was a distinguished epidemiologist who conducted seminal research on tuberculosis control and treatment, in addition to cancer, heart disease and lung disease.

Assisted living open house Eden Pines Assisted Living for the Memory Impaired will host an open house from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14, at Eden Pines, 310 Cameo Drive, Hagerstown. Refreshments will be served and tours will be available. For information, call 301-766-9202. Kidney donor awareness CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Kidney Foundation of Central Pennsylvania will hold a "Kidney Donor Awareness Day" from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28, at Alma's Attic, 54 S. Main St. Store hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

 The State Line Ruritan Club in conjunction with Omega Health Care will be sponsoring a community health screening from 7 to 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at State Line Ruritan Building, 15841 Park Drive, State Line, Pa. The cost is $50. A health screen consists of blood tests and self-scoring health lifestyle evaluation. The health screening consists of comprehensive blood testing that includes: complete blood count (CBC), HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol), diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, gout/anemia and health lifestyle evaluation.

Editor's note: Each Sunday, The Herald-Mail will run "A Life Remembered. " This continuing series will take a look back - through the eyes of family, friends, co-workers and others - at a member of the community who died recently. Today's "A Life Remembered" is about Steven Ray Twigg, who died Aug. 23 at the age of 45. His obituary appeared in the Aug. 24 editions of The Morning Herald and The Daily Mail. BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Kelly Michael said she was just 2 years old in 1981 when her mother married Steven R. Twigg - the man she always would call dad. "Besides my husband, he was my best friend," Kelly said by telephone.

As Dr. Matthew Hahn, of Tri-State Community Clinic in Hancock, says, "There's no part of your body left unaffected by diabetes. " "Diabetes is linked to blindness, heart disease, kidney disease, susceptibility to infection, poor circulation and loss of sensation in the feet," Hahn says. "Overall treatment can include visits to numerous types of physicians and anywhere from two to 10 medications. The shame of it all is that all of the suffering and all of the expense is largely preventable.

Diabetes is the fifth-deadliest disease in the United States. The annual cost of diabetes in 2002 was estimated to be $132 billion, or one out of every 10 health-care dollars spent in the nation. According to Susan Akridge, program manager of Robinwood Endocrinology, the elevated blood glucose associated with diabetes causes damage to the body's cells. It also can lead to complications such as blindness, kidney disease, nerve disease and amputation. Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness with 12,000 to 24,000 people a year losing their sight due to diabetes.

Linda Hartle of Smithsburg, Md., passed away on Jan. 7, 2013, at Meritus Medical Center after a long courageous battle against kidney disease. Linda's wish was to help other kidney patients and their struggle against kidney disease. She will be missed by her dialysis friends she made over the years at Meadows Dialysis at Robinwood Center and she will miss them too. Linda was married to Sidney W. Hartle for 42 years, who preceded her in death this past July. Her father, Harry S. Keller, and also an infant son, Sidney J. Hartle, also preceded her in death.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has named Dr. Josef Coresh the inaugural recipient of the George W. Comstock Professorship in Epidemiology. The professorship honors the legacy of Dr. George Comstock, a physician and professor emeritus at the Bloomberg School, according to a news release from the school. Comstock was a distinguished epidemiologist who conducted seminal research on tuberculosis control and treatment, in addition to cancer, heart disease and lung disease.

West Virginia University Health Sciences Center MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Dr. C.H. Mitch Jacques, dean of the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center Eastern Division, retired June 30. Jacques worked for more than 19 years as a physician and instructor. Jacques was the only WVU School of Medicine faculty member who served at all three School of Medicine campuses. From 1993-96, he was chairman of the Department of Family Medicine Charleston; from 1996-2004, he was the Department of Family Medicine chairman in Morgantown; and from 2004-12, he was the dean of the School of Medicine Eastern Division.

A kidney success story Leslie Cochran and Marilee Kerns were saluted in the Maryland House of Delegates on Thursday as part of World Kidney Day. While growing up, Kerns once offered to give her friend Cochran a kidney if she needed it, because of a history of kidney failure in Cochran's family. Later, Cochran needed a kidney and Kerns donated one of hers. Del. Neil C. Parrott, R-Washington, shared that story on the House floor. “I'd like to recognize the heroism of Marilee and the courage of Leslie to go through this hard time and to say that there is hope for kidney disease .... This is a really positive story for Washington County,” Parrott said.

Lee Jenkins was a people person. She touched many lives through her love and concern for others. Her two children describe her as a “solver of problems, counselor without a degree and second mom” to many. “You got her opinion whether you wanted it or not,” said son James “Jimmy” Mills of Hagerstown. “She wasn't afraid to tell you. She was very opinionated.” Daughter Linda Smith of Hedgesville, W.Va., said her mother might not have been famous by the world's standards, but was to those who knew her. Lee Moats grew up in Hancock, raised with six siblings and three stepsiblings.

 West Virginia University Hospitals-East and the WVU Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center Eastern Division will sponsor a community mini-medical school program on the effects of diseases on the kidneys. The seminar, titled, "Kidney Disease: What Is It? What Can I Do?," is Tuesday, Oct. 18 in the WVU Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center on the City Hospital campus. The featured speaker is Dr. Paul Welch, board certified nephrologist and internist on staff at City Hospital and Jefferson Memorial Hospital.

 The State Line Ruritan Club in conjunction with Omega Health Care will be sponsoring a community health screening from 7 to 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at State Line Ruritan Building, 15841 Park Drive, State Line, Pa. The cost is $50. A health screen consists of blood tests and self-scoring health lifestyle evaluation. The health screening consists of comprehensive blood testing that includes: complete blood count (CBC), HDL (good cholesterol), LDL (bad cholesterol), diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, gout/anemia and health lifestyle evaluation.

 Western Maryland Kidney Walk will begin at noon Sunday, May 15, at Greenbrier State Park, 21843 National Pike, Boonsboro.  In addition to the walk, the event will feature activities for kids, entertainment, food. The walk will make folks aware of the impact of kidney disease, take steps to help prevent kidney disease and encourage organ donation. For more information, contact Carolyn A. Smith-Kennedy at 410-533-3075 or carolynkennedy9@aol.com .

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- For more than two centuries, the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has endured -- as has the speculation about what led to his sudden death at age 35 on Dec. 5, 1791. Was the wunderkind composer poisoned by a jealous rival? Did he have an intestinal parasite from an undercooked pork chop? Could he have accidentally poisoned himself with mercury used to treat an alleged bout of syphilis? A report in Tuesday's Annals of Internal Medicine suggests the exalted Austrian composer might have succumbed to something far more commonplace: a streptococcal infection -- possibly strep throat -- that led to kidney failure.

Editor's note: Each Sunday, The Herald-Mail will run "A Life Remembered. " This continuing series will take a look back - through the eyes of family, friends, co-workers and others - at a member of the community who died recently. Today's "A Life Remembered" is about Steven Ray Twigg, who died Aug. 23 at the age of 45. His obituary appeared in the Aug. 24 editions of The Morning Herald and The Daily Mail. BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Kelly Michael said she was just 2 years old in 1981 when her mother married Steven R. Twigg - the man she always would call dad. "Besides my husband, he was my best friend," Kelly said by telephone.