Jouni J. Uitto, MD, PhD, Professor and Chairman of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology, Jefferson Medical College, testified in Washington, DC, as President-Elect of The Society for Investigative Dermatology to support increased funding of the programs of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS).

Following are highlights of Dr. Uittto’s remarks before the Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations, United States House of Representatives:

• Significant advances in molecular and cell biology, genetics, immunology, information processing and laser technology provide unprecedented opportunities for achieving advances in basic research and medical treatment.
• Accessibility of the skin makes it an ideal organ for investigation, both at the basic cellular level and as a tissue. Much of what we see on the outside of the body reflects a person’s health inside. Skin research permits us to assess the effects of new therapies, both for skin diseases and, in some instances, internal diseases.
• As people live longer, dermatologists will be asked increasingly to treat cancers and other skin disorders that appear more often in older people, and to find new and better ways to help prevent and heal common conditions of the elderly.
• There are more than 3,000 different diseases of the skin, hair and nails, which in an average year affect about 60 million Americans. The combined annual cost of medical care and lost wages is estimated to be $7 billion.
• With the advent of technologies in molecular and cell biology and increased understanding of genetic and cellular mechanisms underlying many skin disorders, the time is right for continued and increased funding. 
• The Society for Investigative Dermatology supports the subcommitte’s efforts to double the funding of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) over five years and a 15 percent increase for NIAMS as well.

“Patients in the high volume group often looked better but died earlier,” he says, adding that the new findings have changed the way ARDS patients are now typically treated.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s ARDS Clinical Network, a consortium of 24 hospitals throughout the country, conducted the current trial, which was the first large-scale study to examine this treatment question. 

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