April 2011

Dr. Joseph Maroon, professor and vice chairman of the department of neurological surgery was recently the guest of honor of the neurology and neurosurgical societies of the Dominican Republic.  Held in Santo Domingo, over 500 participants from many countries in South America presented clinical and research papers on innovative approaches to diseases of the brain and spine.  

Dr. Maroon gave two presentations.  He presented data on the management of cerebral concussion and specifically discussed the 1.75 million athletes now screened with the ImPACT testing system.  This program was jointly developed by Dr. Maroon and Dr. Mark Lovell, a neuropsychologist also at the University of Pittsburgh.  

His second talk was on epigenetics and longevity—how to live a longer and healthier life.  Dr. Maroon presented information from his book, The Longevity Factor.  He spoke on how nutritional factors, exercise, the avoidance of environmental toxins and stress impact our genes and directly our health and longevity. 

The conference was dedicated to Dr. Jose Joaquin Puello, a fellow trainee of Dr. Maroon’s at Oxford University in England and the second neurosurgeon for the entire island that includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic.