Treatment at McGuire evolving to meet needs

By tracking eyeball movements, doctors may be able to determine if a patient is at higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a study led by a researcher at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond.

The study received wide notice in the Parkinson's disease community and is one example of the cutting-edge care and research available in the Veterans Affairs health care system.

"We are looking at all sorts of patients with neurological disorders, not just Parkinson's disease," said George T. Gitchel, lead author on the study and a research specialist at McGuire's Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center.

The Veterans Affairs health care system, often criticized for being cumbersome and difficult to navigate, has in recent years carved out areas of specialized care in response to veterans' health care needs.

The Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center at McGuire is one of five such centers in the national VA system developed to treat patients suffering multiple traumatic injuries from blasts, such as those from explosives used in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Other treatment areas getting more resources include mental health and neurology, chiefs of those units at McGuire VA said.

The hospital, located on Broad Rock Boulevard in South Richmond, is one of 150 hospitals in the VA health system.

"Since I have been here, in the past three years we doubled our number of physicians" in neurology, said Dr. William Maragos, chief of neurology at McGuire.

"When I arrived there were three physicians (in neurology). We are up to seven. We have added two sleep disorders physicians, two neuromuscular physicians, and we have approval to hire another epilepsy doctor," he said.

McGuire is part of a national consortium of six veterans hospitals singled out to provide comprehensive care, research and outreach around Parkinson's disease, which is incurable.

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Treatment at McGuire evolving to meet needs