Tiny electrical fields that help your cells communicate are being harvested at the University of Mississippi Medical Center to fight a type of brain cancer that primarily strikes adults.

Dr. Mark Anderson, assistant professor of neurology specializing in neuro-oncology, said the Optune device, designed and distributed by Novocure, delivers a steady stream of low-intensity electric fields that seems to slow or stop glioblastoma cancer cells from multiplying and may cause them to die.

“This electrical field disrupts the cell's ability to divide,” said Anderson, who works with adult patients and is the only physician in Mississippi certified to prescribe Optune.

So far it's worked in multiple brain cancer patients nationwide, shrinking the tumor and destroying the cancer cells. At the same time, it avoids harming healthy cells that need to grow and divide to survive.

A couple of interesting events is scheduled for the upcoming week at the Medical Center.

The Medical Center is proud to announce the following additions to its faculty and leadership staff.