Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center is an internationally recognized leader in innovation, research and clinical excellence that has given rise to breakthroughs in cardiovascular care, neuroscience, oncology, transplantation, and more. Our team’s efforts have led to the creation of many research programs and initiatives to develop advanced treatments found nowhere else in the world.

Our strong alliance with Baylor College of Medicine allows us to bring our patients a powerful network of care unlike any other. Our collaboration is focused on increasing access to care through a growing network of leading specialists and revolutionizing healthcare to save lives and improve the health of the communities we serve. 

Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center is also the first hospital in Texas and the Southwest designated a Magnet® hospital for Nursing Excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, receiving the award six consecutive times.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital studying human brain tumor cells have uncovered a new cell type that has significant implications for the prognosis and patient survival outcomes of the most lethal form of brain cancer: glioma.

Researchers have previously described that glioma and surrounding healthy neurons connect with each other and that neurons communicate with tumors in ways that drive tumor growth and invasiveness. 

This latest research supports the groundbreaking idea that neurons are not the only cells that can generate electric signals in the brain. Researchers found that a third of the cells in glioma also fire electrical impulses (known as “spiking”). The impulses originate from tumor cells that are part neuron and part glia. These hybrid neuron-glia characteristics are also present in the non-tumor human brain. 

The data shows that the more of these spiking hybrid glioma cells a patient has, the better the survival outcome. This information is of great value to doctors and patients in the prognosis of this devastating disease.

These findings offer an enhanced understanding of glioma tumors and normal brain function and highlight the importance of further studying the role these newly identified cells play in predicting patient survival. 

Meningioma, a common brain tumor that can typically be treated successfully with surgery and radiation, can unfortunately reoccur in about 20% of cases and return multiple times. 

Recently, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Washington University School of Medicine have identified clinical and genetic predictors in this most aggressive, treatment-resistant form of meningioma (called multiply recurrent meningiomas, or MRMs) that promise future development of potential biomarkers and therapeutic agents for addressing these challenging tumors.

Researchers explored potential differences at the molecular level between MRMs and meningiomas that don’t come back. In a study of the tumors of 1,186 patients with primary meningiomas, they found that MRMs are more numerous, larger and more common in men than in women. They also found that, at the molecular level, MRMs exhibit chromosomal instability and loss, factors that are more present in aggressive types of many human cancers. Moreover, that the expression of certain genes is different in these recurrent tumors than in meningioma that does not return after treatment.

This information lays the foundation for developing precision medicine and better  predicting at the time of the first surgery which meningiomas will most likely recur repeatedly. Knowing which meningiomas will come back again and again will fundamentally change how they are treated from the very beginning—vital knowledge for surgeons and their patients.

A just released textbook for spinal surgeons and clinicians provides in-depth discussions of spinoplastic surgery, a relatively new field of surgery that promises improved outcomes for spine surgery patients.   

Spinoplastic Reconstruction (Thieme: 2024) is the essential multidisciplinary spine reference on optimizing complex bony and soft tissue reconstruction. Lessons learned from soft tissue reconstruction, wound healing, and infection prevention in plastic surgery and bony arthrodesis strategies, and spinal alignment in orthopaedic surgery and neurosurgery have merged to create this new field of surgery.  

Baylor College of Medicine’s Alexander E. Ropper, M.D., Director of Spinal Neurosurgery; and Sebastian J. Winocour, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.S., Professor and Associate Chief of BCM’s Division of Plastic Surgery were the lead editors.

Spinoplastic Reconstruction encompasses the nomenclature, indications, evidence-based techniques, outcomes, and alternatives that laid the groundwork for spinoplastic surgery.  

This unique resource provides spine surgeons with a better understanding of the tenets of soft tissue reconstruction. Plastic surgeons will also gain a clearer understanding of the challenges faced in complex spine surgery, with the aim of improving collaborative patient management.

The textbook, organized into nine sections and 42 chapters, outlines the historical and future relevance of multidisciplinary surgery and the advent of spinoplastic surgery to ease the growing global disease burden of spin. It is comprised of contributions from an impressive group of multidisciplinary spinoplastic surgery founders and innovators, and includes detailed discussion and pearls on bone healing, bone adjuncts, perioperative management, surgical spine exposures, vascularized autologous bone grafts and flaps, soft tissue spinal reconstruction, and complication management.  

The text also covers traditional and novel approaches for managing common challenges in spine surgery, including pseudoarthrosis and wound infection.

Over the next decade, the US, Russia, Europe, Canada, Japan, China, and a host of commercial space companies will continue to push the boundaries of space travel. 

Future missions to space are reaching ever further into the cosmos and requiring human space travelers to spend longer times than ever before beyond our earthly bonds. Preparations are well underway by governments and businesses for long-distance, long-duration space exploration, including interplanetary exploration by the 2030s. Space travel has also captured the imaginations of entrepreneurs and technologists as new frontiers for tourism, technological advancements, medical discoveries and more. 

Recently, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Space Medicine joined a team of scientists and clinicians from NASA, JPL and other medical centers in the US and Canada to review prior studies as well as unpublished data from NASA to explore the potential health challenges associated with space travel.

Space exploration carries with it a great deal of risk from both known (e.g., ionizing radiation, microgravity) and unknown risk factors. Yet, exploring the short- and long-term impact of space travel on human health is also a relatively new frontier. An urgent need exists for expanded research to determine the true extent of the current limitations of long-term space travel and to develop potential applications and countermeasures for deep space exploration and colonization. 

The state-of-the-art review includes summaries of impact data and studies on each individual organ system and medical screening prior to space travel. Researchers categorized the extraterrestrial environment into exogenous (e.g., space radiation and microgravity) and endogenous processes (e.g., alteration of humans' natural circadian rhythm and mental health due to confinement, isolation, immobilization, and lack of social interaction) and their various effects on human health. 

The review also explores ways of enabling new paradigms for protecting human health in space, as well as the use of emerging Artificial Intelligence based (AI) technology to propel future space health research.

The Baylor College of Medicine Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center (ADMDC) now offers treatment to eligible patients of the first fully-FDA approved treatment for Alzheimer’s disease in more than a decade.  

Leqembi (lecanemab), approved in July 2023, is a monoclonal antibody that works by removing amyloid plaque from the brain. The ADMDC was a site for CLARITY, the pivotal trial that demonstrated efficacy of Leqembi, which is given as a bi-weekly infusion, in slowing cognitive decline in persons in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. 

Dr. Melissa Yu, director of clinical operations for the ADMDC, was the site principal investigator. The ADMDC also participates in the AHEAD trial, which is evaluating whether the generic version of Leqembi will prevent cognitive decline in cognitively normal persons who already have evidence of Alzheimer’s pathology on a PET scan.  

ADMDC is also one of six clinical sites around the US for the U.S. POINTER trial. The landmark, two-year trial, sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association, is testing whether a multi-modal lifestyle intervention targeting diet, physical activity and social engagement will delay the onset of cognitive impairment in older adults with sub-optimally controlled cardiovascular risk factors. In partnership with the Kelsey Research Foundation, the ADMDC enrolled 455 persons (of a total 2,000 participants ages 60-79) from the greater Houston area into the U.S. POINTER trial. Final results of the trial are expected in late 2024. 

The ADMDC offers a number of other Alzheimer’s disease prevention and treatment trials that are open to patients of the Center and the community at large.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine are investigating the effectiveness of higher-frequency deep brain stimulation (DBS) in controlling tremors and other disabling motor signs in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Working with University of Houston biomedical engineer Nuri Ince, Ashwin Viswanathan, MD, and Sameer Sheth, MD, Ph.D., at Baylor College of Medicine have found that electrical stimulation of the brain at higher frequencies (>100 Hz) can immediately control the physical symptoms associated with the disease.

DBS has been the most important therapeutic advancement of the last several decades in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, a progressive nervous system disorder that affects movement in 10 million people worldwide. With DBS, electrodes are surgically implanted in the deep brain to deliver the electrical pulses. However, finding the correct frequency has been time-consuming and imprecise, often requiring months to implant the devices and test them on the patient.

The research team found that higher-frequency stimulation (130-180 Hz), however, induces high-frequency oscillations (~300 Hz, HFO) similar to those observed with pharmacological treatment. Their method may speed up the time it takes to program the devices to the correct frequencies to an almost immediate response. DBS at higher frequencies promises to be an effective alternative to drug therapy and can be personalized to each patient.

A small device implanted in the brains of people with epilepsy can help them when other medications fail to reduce seizure frequency or severity.

The device, called the NeuroPace® RNS® System, has been used for the past decade to treat seizures that are not well controlled with antiepileptic drugs. Approved by the FDA in 2010, the device, once implanted, monitors the brain’s electrical activity, detects abnormalities indicative of seizure onset, and emits small electrical pulses to normalize brain activity and prevent the seizure from occurring.

Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center has treated patients with epilepsy and partial-onset seizures (POS) with the NeuroPace® RNS® System since 2014. Having participated in the NeuroPace clinical trial, St. Luke’s Health is also the most experienced hospital system in the Houston area with this technology. It remains the only device that monitors and responds to brain activity to prevent seizures before they start.

Overall, patients with the implant experience a significant reduction in seizures and an improved quality of life, both physically and mentally, along with improved cognitive functioning. The device works best in someone whose seizures are in one location in the brain. And while patients with the implant may still need medication, they typically need lesser doses.

The longer the device stays in, the better it gets at recognizing and controlling seizures.

“It’s a smart device that’s actually learning about the brain activity, and over time, we are fine-tuning the detection so that it can be very sensitive and also discriminatory from the normal brain activity,” said Dr. Alica M. Goldman, MD, PhD, MS, Professor of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neuroimmunologic disease that affects approximately 1 million Americans. MS an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own immune system attacks parts of the central nervous system.  The disease most commonly occurs as intermittent attacks of neurologic disability (relapses) followed by periods of recovery (remission).  This relapsing-remitting form of MS may eventually evolve into a progressive form of disease referred to as secondary progressive MS.  There has been great progress in MS therapeutics over the past 3 decades to the point that we now have over 20 medications available to treat MS. These disease modifying treatments (DMTs) have led to significant decrease in the frequency of relapse and in the progression of disability in MS patients.  However, there remains no cure for MS and some MS patients will continue to have relapses and progression despite the use of high-efficacy DMTs.

Despite therapeutic advancements over the past several decades, there remains a need for better medications and approaches to treat MS.  Clinical researchers at Baylor College of Medicine’s Maxine Mesinger Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care Center have been involved with research into the use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for MS for over 20 years.  HSCT involves the harvesting of a patient’s own blood-based stem cells, followed by the administration of strong immunosuppressive medications to maximally suppress the immune system.  Once the patient’s immune system is maximally suppressed, the previously harvested stem cells are infused (transplanted), with the idea that they will help populate a new immune system with less propensity to attack the nervous system.

Dr George Hutton led a group at Baylor investigating HSCT in the HALT-MS trial, a multicenter trial funded by the NIH.  This landmark trial was published in Neurology in 2017.  In the HALT-MS trial, a group of highly-active MS patients underwent the HSCT procedure and were followed closely for 5 years.  The trial showed that event-free survival was 69% at 5 years.  This outcome means that 69% of the patients were free of clinical relapse, clinical progression, or change on MRI 5 years after HSCT, without the need for any interval DMT.

The same researchers are now enrolling for the BEAT-MS trial, a larger NIH-funded multicenter trial of HSCT vs. best-available treatment in highly-active MS.  This controlled comparison trial is necessary to better understand the benefit of HSCT in comparison to our best-available FDA approved DMT options.  This trial will be able to answer whether the risks and benefits of HSCT are favorable in comparison to the increasingly effective medications available to treat MS.

From the common to the most complex, our team of experts at Baylor Medicine Pituitary Center diagnose and treat patients with even the rarest pituitary disorders. As one of the top pituitary centers in the region, our team of experts provides prompt multidisciplinary consultations and timely surgical scheduling, with more than 90% of our patients requiring only one night of hospital stay after surgery. Our patients experience excellent postoperative care, very low complication rates, and outstanding outcomes and remission rates on par with or better than most of the other leading centers in the country.

Patients often turn to Baylor College of Medicine for second opinions, especially when told that a treatment or cure for their condition is not possible. In these cases, it is best to evaluate the patient from a fresh lens and perspective without being biased from a prior workup. This may involve ordering new and additional studies or asking questions that were not asked before. 

The resulting second opinion can be much different from the initial prognosis—one that determines another approach that can be life saving.

Dr. Omar Tanweer, director of cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine and a top neurosurgeon, often sees patients who are seeking another opinion after receiving an initial, discouraging diagnosis. Such was the case with Kailey Ratcliff. 

One night the Houston-area nurse had sudden symptoms of twitching and numbness in her face that she thought might be a stroke. Her husband rushed her to the ER of the nearest hospital, where a CT scan revealed a spot on her brain that had caused a seizure. After more tests and a week-long hospital stay, the attending neurosurgeon deemed the spot inoperable and recommended radiation to treat it. 

It was heartbreaking news for Ratcliff, who was put on anti-seizure medication and advised to set aside plans for the family she and her husband had been wanting to start. Then, a referral from a family member’s doctor led Ratcliff to make a telehealth appointment with Dr. Tanweer. 

After reviewing her scans, Dr. Tanweer ordered additional tests, including an MRI, and diagnosed Ratcliff with a cavernous malformation, a clustering of tiny abnormal blood vessels surrounded by normal brain tissue. Dr. Tanweer determined that radiation was not the best way forward but that surgery would be Ratcliff’s best option: specifically, a type of surgery known as an awake craniotomy. 

He enlisted the help of another Baylor expert — neurosurgery chair Dr. Ganesh Rao, who is highly experienced in a procedure called the awake craniotomy. 

Dr. Tanweer describes the shared effort between himself and Rao in Ratcliff’s care. “Collaboration is key in practicing cutting-edge medicine. Dr. Rao is one of the world’s most renowned experts in performing awake brain surgeries. Knowing his expertise, I approached him to see if we could apply those techniques for a creative solution to [Ratcliffe’s] problem. 

“After that, it was extremely smooth and seamless to achieve a great result in her case.”

An awake craniotomy can identify parts of the brain that supply critical functions, including speech and motor function. For Ratcliff, her cavernous malformation was adjacent to a part of the brain that supplies speech function, which the surgeons didn’t want to damage. At a crucial point in the surgery, Ratcliff was woken up mid-operation and was asked to perform certain tasks, such as answering questions and making hand movements to ensure that what the surgeons were removing did not affect her speech or motor functions. 

Ratcliff’s operation was successful, and she was discharged after a brief two-night stay in the hospital. The weeks and months following her surgery included various follow-up scans and visits with her medical team to ensure she was healing well. With time, she was able to reduce her seizure medications and pursue a dream she and her husband had paused due to her condition — starting a family.

From a discouraging diagnosis at a small hospital in a Houston suburb to undergoing a successful craniotomy at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center (BSLMC) in the world’s largest medical center, Ratcliff’s road to recovery would not have been possible had it not been for a trusted referral from family and the optimism of her Baylor College of Medicine and the BSLMC care team.

“I’m pregnant now,” Ratcliff happily shares more than a year postoperation. “Having the surgery allowed me to come off one medication that my OB told me I could not be on if we wanted to try getting pregnant.”

This joyful news could not have been possible had it not been for the second opinion — the second chance — Ratcliff’s team at BSLMC gave her.