Getting Help Today, Giving Help for Tomorrow

Megahn Vasa exemplified the National Jewish ideal of bringing science together with patient care.

 

Like many National Jewish patients, six-year-old Megahn Vasa’s case was complex. She had severe food allergies, asthma, atopic dermatitis and a mysterious, painful rash that kept appearing on her face. Her asthma was out of control, and no one could figure out what was causing the rash.

Reluctant to see yet another doctor who might not help her granddaughter, Kathleen Vasa wondered how National Jewish might be different. She found out at the first visit.

Instead of the usual 15 minutes or less with the doctor, Megahn and Kathleen Vasa met with Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Kirstin Carel, MD, for almost an hour and a half. They discussed everything about her situation, from her symptoms, to lifestyle and medical history. Dr. Carel worked with the Vasas to get Megahn’s asthma under control and taught her how to better monitor it with a peak flow meter. Since Megahn’s face was clear during her first two visits, Dr. Carel asked Kathleen to take pictures during the next outbreak, then used the photos to help diagnose Megahn with eczema herpecticum, a viral infection that can cause a widespread infection in patients with atopic dermatitis. She helped develop detailed action plans for both the asthma and severe nut allergies. She even contacted Megahn’s school to make sure they had received and understood Megahn’s action plan.

“Dr. Carel has been a godsend. She took the time to really understand Megahn’s situation,” said Kathleen Vasa. “Now I don’t feel like I’m alone. I have help.”

Dr. Carel provided Megahn and her grandmother with the traditional personalized care that National Jewish physicians and staff have practiced for more than 100 years. In turn, Megahn has contributed to a new model of personalized care being pioneered at National Jewish. Instead of acting reactively to a patient’s symptoms with a trial-and-error approach, this new model seeks to capitalize on advances in genetics, imaging and biology so that doctors can proactively predict, prevent and treat disease based upon a customized profile of each patient.

Meghan provided a tissue sample for a major research effort at National Jewish that will help make this new model of personalized medicine possible.

Donald Leung, PhD, MD, the Edelstein Family Chair in Pediatric and Clinical Immunology, is leading a $20 million effort to better understand why atopic dermatitis patients are susceptible to skin infections, especially eczema vaccinatum, a severe and potentially deadly side effect of smallpox vaccination.

As a patient with eczema herpeticum, Megahn is a stand-in for the people who may be susceptible to eczema vaccinatum. Megahn knew that giving up a couple of plugs of tissue from the back of her arm would sting. But she was committed to doing it.

“This is how I help people in the future,” said Megahn.

Dr. Leung’s research team has already discovered that atopic dermatitis patients have low levels of antimicrobial proteins in their skin, which are needed to protect against bacterial and viral infections. They have also found that patients like Megahn, who suffer eczema herpeticum, have even lower levels of antimicrobial proteins in their skin. They are now working to learn why this occurs and to find ways to predict who might be susceptible to eczema vaccinatum after a smallpox vaccine.

“Megahn could help us protect millions of people by allowing us to predict who can safely be vaccinated against smallpox,” said Dr. Leung. “Her contribution may also help us understand why atopic dermatitis patients produce fewer antimicrobial proteins and to develop a therapy to improve their immune systems to combat infection.”

 

Learn more about atopic dermatits (eczema).

To learn more about personalized medicine, listen to our podcast featuring National Jewish CEO Michael Salem, MD.