Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 19, 1995 TAG: 9509190017
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
If you are the victim of panic attacks and would like to learn how to control them without medication, then you are a candidate for the Panic Self-Help Project at Virginia Tech. Three Department of Psychology graduate students, under the direction of Dr. George Clum, author of "Coping With Panic," are conducting the research project through the mail.
For a $35 fee, a sufferer of panic attacks can enroll in the three-phase project, which could last from 14 weeks to 28 weeks depending upon the point of enrollment.
A participant first is asked to complete a questionnaire with information about his or her symptoms, thoughts while an attack is underway and strategies for coping. Participants are given a written evaluation that includes how his or her attacks compare to attacks suffered by others.
Panic attacks generally come on suddenly and are unexplainable, but include symptoms of rapid heartbeat, faintness, shortness of breath and a feeling of impending doom. Sometimes, a person's hands tingle, or there is a feeling of choking or the person has chest pains and sweats. Panic attacks are generally not just one-time experiences. They occur again and again, but at no particular intervals.
Participation in the research project will not take much time, said graduate student Allison Roodman. A person can work at his own pace with treatment books and workbooks.
Roodman said that even though the study is designed to help people cope with the attacks without medication, a person who is on medication can participate as long as the medicine dosage does not change during the project. The study is for people who are not in active treatment for the attacks, however, she said.
Persons interested in more information can call 231-3235 or 231-6914 or write to Clum at Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech,. Blacksburg 24060-0436, or send an e-mail to aroodmanvt.edu.
Lunch over genes
Pack a lunch Oct. 6 and eat at the Roanoke Valley Graduate Center while you learn more about what makes you you. In a First Friday Research Forum, Dr. Tracy Wilkins, director of biotechnology at Virginia Tech, will discuss research being done at Tech, the University of Virginia and Radford University. The talk is titled "101 Ways to Use a Pair of Genes" and it's free, but reservations are requested by Oct. 4. Call 857-6900 to reserve a chair.
Tuesday lectures
Each Tuesday through Oct. 17 at the Roanoke Valley Mini-Med School, physicians and other professionals will explore issues in medicine and help explain how the body functions. The series is sponsored by Lewis-Gale Foundation at Lewis-Gale Hospital in Salem. Tonight's speaker is Steve Strosnider, a licensed counselor, who will talk about trends in mental health care.
Other topics and dates are: Sept. 26, "New and Unusual Infections," Dr. Lucian Grove; Oct. 3, "Breast Cancer," Dr. Robert B. Williams; Oct. 10, "Head and Neck Cancer," Dr. Tu A. Tran; and Oct. 17, "Future Developments in Neurology," Dr. Howard B. Sherman.
There is a $2 registration fee for each lecture, and it can be paid at the door. However, sponsors ask that you call 774-4022 to reserve a seat.
Pheresis recruitment
The American Red Cross offices in Roanoke and Lynchburg need donors for the platelet pheresis program, which is a blood donation wherein blood is taken from the donor and platelets removed from it and then the blood is returned. Platelets are the clotting cells in the blood and are used primarily by cancer patients.
Platelets are supplied to patients in 34 counties in Virginia and 13 in West Virginia from the two Red Cross offices. In the fiscal year that ended in June, the Roanoke office collected almost 2,900 units of platelets, but the demand is growing.
It takes from 11/2 to 2 hours to make the donation, and appointments are required, said Kelly Whitney, recruiter in the Roanoke office.
To arrange an appointment in Roanoke, call 984-3025; for the Lynchburg office, call (804) 846-4620. The recruiter there is Mary Fabrizio.
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