Erika Petersen

,

UAMS Surgeons Implant Innovative Device Developed by I3R Researchers to Restore Sense of Touch after Amputation

,

LITTLE ROCK — The first Arkansan and only second person in the world has received an innovative prosthetic hand, developed by researchers at the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research (I³R), that restores a meaningful sense of touch and grip force following surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

The lengthy and detailed operation was led by neurosurgeon Erika Petersen, M.D., with co-leading roles for orthopaedic hand and nerve specialists John Bracey, M.D., and Mark Tait, M.D.

“The surgery went really well,” said Petersen, also a pioneer in the implantation of nerve stimulators for pain and movement disorders. “It’s a great achievement for UAMS, the University of Arkansas and our state. It’s also an exciting promise of what’s to come for people with amputations around the globe.”

https://news.uams.edu/2023/05/23/uams-surgeons-implant-innovative-device-developed-by-i3r-researchers-to-restore-sense-of-touch-after-amputation/

,

UAMS Neurosurgeon’s Study on Breakthrough Treatment for Painful Diabetic Neuropathy Published in Diabetes Care

,

By Linda Satter

Results of a 12-month multicenter randomized clinical trial led by Erika Petersen, M.D., a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), were published online Nov. 29 in Diabetes Care, highlighting the benefits of a breakthrough treatment for patients with painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN).

Petersen, director of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery at UAMS, was the lead investigator in the study that involved 216 patients at 18 centers in the United States. Johnathan Goree, M.D., an associate professor in the UAMS Department of Anesthesiology and director of the Chronic Pain Division, is a co-investigator on the study.

The study, for which UAMS began enrolling participants in 2018, examined results of high-frequency spinal cord stimulation therapy for patients with PDN, a chronic neurological condition that manifests as burning, excruciating, stabbing or intractable pain, or tingling or numbness. Specifically, the study compared the 10 kHz treatment plus conventional medical management to results of the conventional treatment alone, and found that the high-frequency therapy results in significant pain relief and neurological improvements in patients with persistent PDN.

https://news.uams.edu/2021/12/14/uams-neurosurgeons-study-on-breakthrough-treatment-for-painful-diabetic-neuropathy-published-in-diabetes-care/