UNE’s Dora Mills interviewed about rare disease

Dora Anne Mills, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, University of New England vice president for Clinical Affairs and director of the Center for Health Innovation, was interviewed by WMTW and WCSH about a rare but deadly disease impacting a local hospital.

When a potential case of prion disease was identified at Maine Medical Center, the news stations asked Mills what the disease is and what causes it. She explained that it’s a rare, progressive neurodegenerative disorder, and incidents in hospitals can lead to extreme precautions. "It’s usually because they’ve had very strong exposure to the brain tissue of that person, so for instance, there have been some cases in the United States and other places where surgical tools have transmitted the prions to another patient," Mills said.

Watch the stories from WMTW and WCSH.

To learn more about the Center for Excellence in Health Innovation, visit: http://www.une.edu/academics/centers-institutes/center-excellence-health-innovation

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions