Lawrence K. Altman, M.D.

30 Years In, We Are Still Learning From AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2011 May 31;:D.1-?, New York times
Communications to the public often lacked clarity. Because health officials and journalists used the phrase 'bodily fluids' instead of specifying semen, blood and vaginal secretions, many people feared they could contract AIDS from toilet seats or drinking fountains.\n
— id: 133931, year: 2011, vol: , page: D.1, stat: Journal Article,

Ernest McCulloch, 84, Stem Cell Research Pioneer, Dies
Altman, Lawrence K
2011 Feb 2;:B.19-?, New York times
Many scientists now contend that with years of continued research, stem cells may help treat, if not cure, spinal cord paralysis, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, damaged hearts, kidneys and livers, and many other ailments
— id: 133936, year: 2011, vol: , page: B.19, stat: Journal Article,

Memoir points to difficulty of confirming Alzheimer's
Altman, Lawrence K
2011 Feb 27;:N.6-?, Virginian-Pilot (Hampton-Roads, VA)
[...] a procedure does not involve a brain biopsy that doctors would need to diagnose dementia. [...] Reagan was flown to a military hospital near Tucson - not taken to San Diego, as his son writes - and the blood clot, a subdural hematoma, was removed weeks later at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
— id: 133933, year: 2011, vol: , page: N.6, stat: Journal Article,

RON REAGAN BACKS OFF ON DEMENTIA CLAIM
Altman, Lawrence K
2011 Feb 27;:C.4-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
[...] a procedure does not involve a brain biopsy that doctors would need to diagnose dementia. [...] Reagan was flown to a military hospital near Tucson -- not taken to San Diego, as his son writes -- and the blood clot, a subdural hematoma, was removed weeks later at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
— id: 133932, year: 2011, vol: , page: C.4, stat: Journal Article,

Toronto doctor a stem-cell pioneer; Dr. Ernest McCulloch (1926 -2011); Key discovery was a product of both planned research and serendipity
Altman, Lawrence K
2011 Feb 6;:E.7-?, Edmonton Journal
Many scientists now contend that with years of continued research, stem cells may help treat, if not cure, spinal cord paralysis, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, damaged hearts, kidneys and livers, and many other ailments.
— id: 133935, year: 2011, vol: , page: E.7, stat: Journal Article,

Treating an Injured Brain Is a Long, Uncertain Process
Altman, Lawrence K
2011 Jan 10;:A.11-?, New York times
The doctors preserved the skull bone for later replanting. Since surgery, they have used short-acting drugs to put Ms. Giffords in a medical coma that they lift periodically to check on her neurological responses.
— id: 119181, year: 2011, vol: , page: A.11, stat: Journal Article,

When Alzheimer's Waited Outside the Oval Office
Altman, Lawrence K
2011 Feb 22;:D.1-?, New York times
[...] a procedure does not involve a brain biopsy that doctors would need to diagnose dementia. [...] Mr. Reagan was flown to a military hospital near Tucson -- not taken to San Diego, as his son writes -- and the blood clot, a subdural hematoma, was removed weeks later at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn
— id: 133934, year: 2011, vol: , page: D.1, stat: Journal Article,

With Heart Pump, Cheney Resuming Old Life
Altman, Lawrence K; Cooper, Helene; Shear, Michael D
2011 Jan 4;:-?, Ledger (Lakeland, FL)
The fundraiser for [Maria Cino], held at the Alexandria, Va., home of [Dick Cheney]'s former aide Mary Matalin, was his first major foray into partisan Washington political theater since receiving a mechanical heart pump in July that has, most doctors say, saved Cheney's life by taking on the task of helping to push blood through his arteries. With George W. Bush having decided to stay largely silent during [Barack Obama]'s tenure, Cheney embraced the role of public critic, accusing the new, young president of rolling back Bush-era policies and undermining the nation's security. In 2009, Cheney and Obama gave dueling speeches on the same day. At 69, Cheney's heart will never beat at full strength again, doctors say. His new mechanical pump, a partial artificial heart known as a ventricular assist device, leaves patients without a pulse because it pushes blood continuously instead of mimicking the heart's own beat. Most pulseless patients feel nothing unusual, but the devices do pose significant risks of infection. They are implanted as a last resort either for permanent use or as a bridge to transplant until a donor heart can be found. Cheney, who has participated in some of the nation's toughest decisions for decades, now faces a crucial one of his own: whether to seek a full heart transplant
— id: 119185, year: 2011, vol: , page: , stat: Journal Article,

After Heart Procedure, Cheney Re-emerges With New Outlook
Cooper, Helene; Shear, Michael D; Altman, Lawrence K
2011 Jan 5;:A.1-?, New York times
[...] Mr. Cheney has begun resuming his old activities. Besides the Cino fund-raiser, he attended a round of holiday parties in Washington -- leaving whispers in his trail about his weight loss.
— id: 119184, year: 2011, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Big decision looms for Cheney: Heart transplant or not?
Cooper, Helene; Shear, Michael D; Altman, Lawrence K
2011 Jan 5;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
Mr. Cheney, as he did at several holiday receptions in Washington, chatted about his new pump. At one cocktail party, he even opened his coat jacket to show off the pump. While Mr. Cheney is noticeably thinner -- his stiff, one-sided grin now shows up on a markedly leaner face -- he is returning, associates say, to his old life, including hunting and socializing. With former President George W. Bush having decided to stay largely silent during Mr. [Barack Obama]'s tenure, Mr. Cheney had embraced the role of public critic, accusing the new, young president of rolling back Bush-era policies and undermining the security of the United States. In 2009, Mr. Cheney and Mr. Obama gave dueling speeches on the same day. Mr. Cheney's friends and family say that he is making plans to get out in 2011 and do more speeches. On Jan. 20, he is to fly to Texas for the 20th anniversary of the Gulf War with former President George H.W. Bush, the emir of Kuwait, and a host of alumni of that administration, including the former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft and Colin L. Powell, who was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, when Mr. Cheney was defense secretary
— id: 119183, year: 2011, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Cheney gets back to old life, aided by heart pump
Cooper, Helene; Shear, Michael D; Altman, Lawrence K
2011 Jan 6;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
With former President George W. Bush having decided to stay largely silent during Mr. [Barack Obama]'s tenure, Mr. Cheney had embraced the role of public critic, accusing the new, young president of rolling back Bush-era policies and undermining the security of the United States. In 2009, Mr. Cheney and Mr. Obama gave dueling speeches on the same day. Mr. Cheney's friends and family say that he is making plans to get out in 2011 and do more speeches. On Jan. 20, he is to fly to Texas for the 20th anniversary of the Gulf War with former President George H.W. Bush, the emir of Kuwait, and a host of alumni of that administration, including the former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft and Colin L. Powell, who was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, when Mr. Cheney was defense secretary. Mr. Cheney, who is spending the holidays at his ranch in Wyoming, recently had a class of U.S. Military Academy cadets over to his house in McLean, Virginia, to talk about his experiences working for four of the last five Republican presidents. In Wyoming, he has been seen in local stores, stocking up to make chili and spaghetti sauce, 'as well as walking me through how to cook Christmas dinner,' his daughter Liz Cheney said in an e-mail. But most of all, Ms. Cheney said, her father has been working on his book, which is due out this autumn
— id: 119182, year: 2011, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

A New Pumping Device Brings Hope for Cheney
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Jul 20;:D.1-?, New York times
Over the years, Mr. Cheney has had angioplasty to unblock coronary arteries and stents to keep them open; an implanted pacemaker and defibrillator; surgery to repair aneurysms, or ballooning of arteries, behind both knees; and a number of visits to George Washington University Hospital for monitoring and observation, the last in June. In a statement issued on July 14, Mr. Cheney said that he 'was entering a new phase of the disease' with 'increasing congestive heart failure' and chose a pump to 'enable me to resume an active life.'
— id: 119189, year: 2010, vol: , page: D.1, stat: Journal Article,

An Elite Team of Sleuths, Saving Lives in Obscurity
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Apr 6;:D.5-?, New York times
Borrowing a term from news reporting, E.I.S. detectives like to call themselves 'shoe-leather epidemiologists;' they also like to wear ties and lapel pins displaying their logo -- a hole in the well-worn sole of a shoe over a map of the world. Since its creation in 1951, the service has become a bulwark in the nation's defense system against disease, often acting as the public's emergency room
— id: 119196, year: 2010, vol: , page: D.5, stat: Journal Article,

Arnall Patz, 89, a Doctor Who Prevented Blindness
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Mar 16;:B.17-?, New York times
Known then as retrolental fibroplasia, it is now called retinopathy of prematurity, or R.O.P. The oxygen, he found, led to overgrowth of blood vessels in the eye, damaging the retina irreparably. After earning undergraduate and medical degrees from Emory University in Atlanta, Dr. Patz served in the ambulance corps during World War II, often transporting patients from Camp Lee, Va., to Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington
— id: 108893, year: 2010, vol: , page: B.17, stat: Journal Article,

Barton Childs, 93; studied how diseases are inheritedBarton Childs, 93; studied inherited diseases
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Mar 13;:B.9-?, Boston Globe
[...] Dr. Childs helped shape the understanding of inherited diseases as scientists learned more about so-called inborn errors of metabolism, biochemistry, and molecular biology.
— id: 108894, year: 2010, vol: , page: B.9, stat: Journal Article,

Book reopens debate over an F.D.R. medical mystery
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Jan 6;:8-?, International Herald Tribune
In July 1944, Frank H. Lahey, a surgeon in Boston, consulted in [Franklin D. Roosevelt]'s case. In a memorandum to the record that was made public largely through Dr. [Harry S. Goldsmith]'s efforts, Lahey said he told Roosevelt's White House physician, Adm. Ross T. McIntire, that he doubted Roosevelt's capacity to survive another term. But the memorandum did not mention cancer: It focused on the president's failing heart. After McIntire's death in 1959, Dr. [Steven Lomazow] said, 'it fell upon' [Howard G. Bruenn] to protect Roosevelt's wishes to keep his health problems secret. A British physician, Hugh L'Etang, was about to publish a paper suggesting that Roosevelt might have had melanoma, Dr. Lomazow said. Also, he said, the Roosevelt family wanted Bruenn's cooperation in documenting that the president had been mentally capable during the Allies' end-of-war conference at Yalta in February 1945. During the Cold War, detractors had taken to calling him 'the sick man at Yalta' and said that Stalin had taken advantage of him
— id: 108899, year: 2010, vol: , page: 8, stat: Journal Article,

Clement Finch, 94, Dies; A Pioneer in Hematology
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Jul 6;:A.24-?, New York times
Dr. Clement A. Finch, a pioneering hematologist whose research on iron helped improve nutrition and led to advances in diagnosing and treating anemia, died June 28 at his home in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego. Dr. Finch also played a crucial role in showing that hemochromatosis, a genetic disease that causes the body to absorb too much iron from food, could be treated through periodic bleeding
— id: 119191, year: 2010, vol: , page: A.24, stat: Journal Article,

Dr. Barton Childs, 93, Dies; Studied Inherited Diseases
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Mar 9;:A.25-?, New York times
[...] Dr. Childs helped shape the understanding of inherited diseases as scientists learned more about so-called inborn errors of metabolism, biochemistry and molecular biology. If a mother's gene for the Factor VIII blood clotting agent is mutated, that could be harmful to a son, leading to hemophilia, because the gene is on the X that she has supplied to the boy (with the father having supplied the Y)
— id: 108895, year: 2010, vol: , page: A.25, stat: Journal Article,

Dr. Fred Plum, at 86; advanced study of consciousness
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Jun 14;:B.10-?, Boston Globe
Without the benefit of now-standard technologies like CT and MRI scans and ultrasound, the medical field had only a rudimentary understanding of ailments like brain swelling, degenerative brain disease, impaired consciousness and brain death, and doctors could treat few of them.
— id: 119193, year: 2010, vol: , page: B.10, stat: Journal Article,

Dr. James Black, Pharmacologist Who Discovered Beta Blockers, Dies at 85
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Mar 24;:B.17-?, New York times
Not only did the drugs help relieve angina pain, they also lowered death rates. [...] beta blockers are sometimes used to treat migraine headaches and anxiety, among other conditions
— id: 108892, year: 2010, vol: , page: B.17, stat: Journal Article,

FDR SLEUTHS FOCUS ON A SPOT -- MELANOMA?
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Jan 10;:A.7-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
The authors point out that Turner Catledge, then a Washington correspondent for The New York Times and later its executive editor, did not report how awful Mr. Roosevelt looked during an interview at the White House in 1944, months before his nomination to an unprecedented fourth term. The speculation about a melanoma cannot be verified because there was no autopsy and no known biopsy, and most of Mr. Roosevelt's medical records disappeared shortly after his death from a safe in the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md. In their public accounts and the few surviving medical records, his doctors never suggested that they performed a biopsy to determine whether he had any form of cancer.
— id: 108897, year: 2010, vol: , page: A.7, stat: Journal Article,

For F.D.R. Sleuths, New Focus on an Odd Spot
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Jan 5;:D.1-?, New York times
The authors point out that Turner Catledge, then a Washington correspondent for The New York Times and later its executive editor, did not report how awful Roosevelt looked during an interview at the White House in 1944, months before his nomination to an unprecedented fourth term. The speculation about a melanoma cannot be verified because there was no autopsy and no known biopsy, and most of Roosevelt's medical records disappeared shortly after his death from a safe in the United States Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md
— id: 108900, year: 2010, vol: , page: D.1, stat: Journal Article,

Fred Plum, a Pioneering Neurologist, Is Dead at 86
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Jun 13;:A.28-?, New York times
Dr. Plum's immensely influential research improved the diagnosis and treatment of patients who lose consciousness from head injuries, strokes, metabolic disorders and drug overdoses.
— id: 119195, year: 2010, vol: , page: A.28, stat: Journal Article,

James Black, given Nobel for beta blocker discovery
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Mar 25;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
Dr. [James W. Black] started out working in academia, but in 1958 he went against the academic grain by moving to a drug company. 'One thing was clear at that time: Going into industry was a no-no,' he said in an interview in Molecular Interventions, a journal published by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics in Bethesda, Maryland. 'If you were a good scientist, you didn't go into industry.' Jerry Adler, a harmonica virtuoso whose pure, open sound can be heard on the soundtracks to 'Shane,' 'High Noon,' 'Mary Poppins' and other films, but who labored in the shadow of his more famous harmonica-playing older brother, [Larry Adler], died on March 13 in Ellenton, Florida. He was 91 and lived in Sarasota. He was highly sought after as a soloist in films from the 1940s through the 1960s. His credits include the soundtracks for 'Shane,' 'High Noon,' 'The Alamo,' 'You Can't Take It With You,' 'Mary Poppins' and 'My Fair Lady.'
— id: 108891, year: 2010, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

JAMES W. BLACK JUNE 14, 1924 - MARCH 21, 2010 NOBEL PRIZE WINNER, DISCOVERER OF BETA BLOCKERS, OTHER DRUGS
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Apr 2;:B.3-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Not only did the drugs help relieve angina pain, they also lowered death rates. [...] beta blockers are sometimes used to treat migraine headaches and anxiety, among other conditions.
— id: 108890, year: 2010, vol: , page: B.3, stat: Journal Article,

Neurologist advanced the study of brain trauma
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Jun 14;:B.8-?, Virginian-Pilot (Hampton-Roads, VA)
Plum's influential research improved the diagnosis and treatment of patients who lose consciousness from head injury, stroke, metabolic disorder and drug overdose.
— id: 119194, year: 2010, vol: , page: B.8, stat: Journal Article,

Pioneering researcher into comatose state; Coined term for 'locked-in syndrome'
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Jun 15;:B.21-?, Gazette (Montreal, PQ)
Plum's immensely influential research improved the diagnosis and treatment of patients who lose consciousness from head injuries, strokes, metabolic disorders and drug overdoses.
— id: 119192, year: 2010, vol: , page: B.21, stat: Journal Article,

ROBERT M. CHANOCK JULY 8, 1924 - JULY 30, 2010 PEDIATRICIAN CONSIDERED ONE OF THE TOP 20 VIROLOGISTS IN HISTORY
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Aug 8;:C.5-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
On a flight to Korea to work on the Japanese B virus, which causes encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, Dr. Chanock's appendix ruptured. Because of the condition, Army regulations prevented him from going to Korea, and so he did infectious-disease research in Tokyo.
— id: 119187, year: 2010, vol: , page: C.5, stat: Journal Article,

Robert M. Chanock, Leading Virologist, Dies at 86
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Aug 6;:A.21-?, New York times
'Never in the history of infectious diseases has one person developed so much definitive information about the causes of so much human disease in so short a period of time,' Dr. Dorland Davis, another leading scientist, wrote of Dr. Chanock in 1967
— id: 119188, year: 2010, vol: , page: A.21, stat: Journal Article,

Roosevelt's deadly secret; Neurologist revives intriguing theory about what really killed former U.S. president
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Jan 7;:C.8-?, Spectator (Hamilton, Ont)
In July 1944, Dr. Frank H. Lahey, a nationally prominent surgeon in Boston, consulted in [Franklin D. Roosevelt]'s case. In a memorandum to the record that was made public largely through [Harry S. Goldsmith]'s efforts, Lahey said he told Roosevelt's White House physician, Admiral Ross T. McIntire, he doubted Roosevelt's capacity to survive another term. But the memorandum did not mention cancer: It focused on the president's failing heart. After McIntire's death in 1959, [Steven Lomazow] said, 'it fell upon' [Howard G. Bruenn] to protect Roosevelt's wishes to keep his health problems secret. A British physician, Dr. Hugh L'Etang, was about to publish a paper suggesting Roosevelt might have had melanoma, Lomazow said. The authors say that, though it is unclear whether Roosevelt's doctors fully understood the nature of this postulated deficit, 'they certainly knew that the president's lesion was malignant and had metastasized.' The book says the abdominal pains Roosevelt experienced in his last year were 'caused by the cancer that had metastasized to his bowel.'
— id: 108898, year: 2010, vol: , page: C.8, stat: Journal Article,

The Rigors of Treating the Patient in Chief
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Nov 16;:D.1-?, New York times
Since the Civil War, the White House medical staff has been drawn largely from the military. Staff members plan the president's annual physical, rescue guests choking on hors d'oeuvres at White House functions, help foreign leaders seek care in the United States or elsewhere, and plan emergency care should the president need it while traveling
— id: 119186, year: 2010, vol: , page: D.1, stat: Journal Article,

Tiny Pump: Last resort for an ailing heart
Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Jul 20;:A.5-?, Virginian-Pilot (Hampton-Roads, VA)
Over the years, Cheney has had angioplasty to unblock coronary arteries and stents to keep them open; an implanted pacemaker and defibrillator; surgery to repair aneurysms behind both knees; and a number of visits to George Washington University Hospital for monitoring and observation, the most recent in June. In a statement issued on July 14, Cheney said he 'was entering a new phase of the disease' with 'increasing congestive heart failure' and chose a pump to 'enable me to resume an active life.'
— id: 119190, year: 2010, vol: , page: A.5, stat: Journal Article,

President in 'Excellent Health,' Routine Checkup Finds
Altman, Lawrence K; Zeleny, Jeff
2010 Mar 1;:A.18-?, New York times
[...] the president has chronic tendinitis in his left knee area, occasionally takes a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for that condition and needs a modified exercise regimen, including a lower leg muscle strengthening program, Dr. Kuhlman's report said. Mr. Obama showed no evidence of heart disease from an electrocardiogram and a test known as an electron beam CT scan that looks for calcified areas in coronary arteries that may be evidence of coronary artery disease
— id: 110418, year: 2010, vol: , page: A.18, stat: Journal Article,

Routine checkup finds Obama in excellent health
Altman, Lawrence K; Zeleny, Jeff
2010 Mar 2;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
President Barack Obama 'is in excellent health' and likely to remain able to carry out his duties for the rest of his term, his doctor said after completing Mr. Obama's first routine medical checkup since he took office last year. Mr. Obama, 48, continues to struggle to stop his 30-year smoking habit and needs to modify his diet, said Dr. [Jeffrey Kuhlman], a navy captain who led the medical team that performed Mr. Obama's physical Sunday. As for Mr. Obama's smoking, Mr. [Robert Gibbs] said the president had tried to quit but had 'admitted lapses.' It is not known how frequently Mr. Obama smokes, or what the figure is for his total 'pack years,' a standard measure of a smoker's risk for diseases like lung cancer
— id: 110417, year: 2010, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Lautenberg's Cancer Is Curable, Doctor Says
Halbfinger, David M; Altman, Lawrence K
2010 Feb 20;:A.14-?, New York times
[...] his advanced age and Mr. Christie's election had prompted an effort by Democrats to pass legislation that would have prevented the governor from appointing a Republican to the Senate -- whether by specifically requiring him to choose a Democrat or by keeping the seat vacant until a special election could be held
— id: 108896, year: 2010, vol: , page: A.14, stat: Journal Article,

A Quandary in Sweden: Criminals in Med School
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Mar 24;:D.1-?, New York times
In 2008, questions were also added about military discharge history and misdemeanor convictions. Since Mr. Svensson had done nothing wrong in medical school, Karolinska officials said they were powerless to expel him until they discovered his falsified records, blaming the Swedish agency responsible for checking the validity of educational records
— id: 100571, year: 2009, vol: , page: D.1, stat: Journal Article,

A. Stone Freedberg, 101, Pioneer in Study of Ulcers, Dies
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Aug 24;:D.8-?, New York times
Scientific reports taught him that many such patients developed tiny bleeding ulcers in the stomach and small bowel. Since at least 1906, doctors had reported seeing curved bacteria in the stomach of patients who died with ulcers but less often in people without them
— id: 105425, year: 2009, vol: , page: D.8, stat: Journal Article,

Absence of fever in swine flu hinders response
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 May 14;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
'It surprised me and my Mexican colleagues, because the textbooks say that in an influenza outbreak the predictive value of fever and cough is 90 percent,' Dr. [Richard P. Wenzel] said by telephone from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, where he is chairman of the department of internal medicine. Dr. Wenzel said he had urged his Mexican colleagues to test the stools for the presence of the swine virus, formally named A(H1N1). 'If the A(H1N1) virus goes from person to person, and there is virus in the stool, infection control will be much more difficult,' particularly if it spreads in poor countries, he said
— id: 100559, year: 2009, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Charles Lieber, 78, Dies; Studied Alcohol as Toxin
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Mar 11;:A.29-?, New York times
In a conversation published in 2001 in the scientific journal Addiction, Dr. Lieber said his first significant discovery was using antibiotics to reduce the stomach's ability to convert one compound, urea, into another, ammonia, which has a deleterious effect on the brain. In the 1950s, studying patients with alcoholic liver disease, he showed that reducing the amount of ammonia produced in the stomach paralleled their clinical improvement
— id: 97492, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.29, stat: Journal Article,

Chimps made famous by JANE GOODALL give scientists an opening to UNDERSTANDING AIDS Study upends theories of deadly disease's behavior
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Jul 23;:3-?, Houston Chronicle
The only chimpanzee that was naturally infected with the simian virus and underwent standard virological and immunological tests showed none of the typical damage of AIDS, like low CD-4 cell counts and damaged lymph nodes.
— id: 105430, year: 2009, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Chimps with AIDS get ill and die from the virus, study shows
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Jul 23;:A.7-?, Virginian-Pilot (Hampton-Roads, VA)
The finding upsets a widely held scientific belief that chimpanzees, the closest relatives to people, can get the simian AIDS virus but without harm.
— id: 105433, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.7, stat: Journal Article,

Donald F. Gleason, 88, Dies; Devised Prostate Test
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Jan 11;:A.27-?, New York times
'Every prostate cancer patient knows his Gleason score,' said Dr. Bruce Roth, a professor of medicine and urological surgery at Vanderbilt University and an official of the American Society of Cancer Oncology. In 1962, Dr. George Mellinger, the hospital's chief of urology, who also led a cooperative urological research project involving 14 hospitals, asked Dr. Gleason to develop a standardized pathological testing system for prostate cancer
— id: 97498, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.27, stat: Journal Article,

DR. WILLIAM T. CLOSE| JUNE 7, 1924 - JAN. 15, 2009; HELPED CONTROL DEADLY EBOLA EPIDEMIC
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Feb 16;:A.5-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
The team broke the chain of Ebola virus transmission by providing protective clothing for hospital workers, sterilizing equipment and strictly isolating patients in their villages.
— id: 97494, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.5, stat: Journal Article,

EBOLA DOCTOR WILLIAM CLOSE, 84 ACTRESS' FATHER TOOK CHARGE TO LIMIT CONTAGION
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Feb 9;:B.11-?, Sun Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale FL)
Dr. Close's role in the crisis began on a flight from Geneva to Kinshasa. Overhearing comments between two epidemiologists sent from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta to help control the epidemic, Dr. Close asked to join in the conversation. On arrival in Kinshasa, Dr. Close, a man with a take-charge personality, was able to help commandeer pilots and airplanes to ferry equipment to where it was needed. Dr. Peter Piot, a co-discoverer of the Ebola virus, said Dr. Close played 'an indispensable' role in controlling the epidemic by using his direct access to [Mobutu Sese Seko] to gain political and military logistic support
— id: 97495, year: 2009, vol: , page: B.11, stat: Journal Article,

Edwin G. Krebs, 91; Won Nobel in Medicine
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Dec 29;:B.9-?, New York times
After serving in the Navy in World War II, Dr. Krebs returned to St. Louis intending to practice in an academic setting. Because there was a two-year waiting period for further medical training, he worked in biochemistry with Carl F. Cori and Gerty T. Cori, a husband-and-wife team who won a Nobel Prize in 1947 for their research on carbohydrate metabolism and enzymes
— id: 108901, year: 2009, vol: , page: B.9, stat: Journal Article,

Fever Absent in Many Swine Flu Cases
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 May 13;:A.10-?, New York times
Fever is a hallmark of influenza, often rising abruptly to 104 degrees at the onset of illness. Because many infectious-disease experts consider fever the most important sign of the disease, the presence of fever is a critical part of screening patients
— id: 100561, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

Finding upsets thinking about chimpanzees and AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Jul 23;:8-?, International Herald Tribune
The scientists made the discovery by testing hundreds of samples of chimpanzee waste in a nine-year study of three small communities of chimpanzees at the Gombe National Park in Tanzania, which Jane Goodall made famous. While chimpanzees nested in trees at night, a field assistant who sat below them caught urine in a plastic bag held between a forked twig. Researchers also picked up feces from the forest floor. Most chimpanzees were tested at least once a year. More than 40 simian immunodeficiency viruses are known to infect African primates. In many studies, monkeys infected with the virus that causes simian AIDS have not developed AIDS. Only seven naturally infected chimpanzees have been studied in captivity, and five of them died of unknown causes as infants. Infected chimpanzees died or disappeared at a faster rate than uninfected chimpanzees. Workers recovered the bodies of 8 of the 18 chimpanzees that died (7 bodies of 17 infected chimps and 11 bodies of 77 uninfected chimps) and performed autopsies
— id: 105431, year: 2009, vol: , page: 8, stat: Journal Article,

Getting a jump on the next swine flu outbreak; Getting a jump on the next outbreak
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Aug 13;:9-?, International Herald Tribune
Although influenza typically strikes in colder months, the swine flu virus, A(H1N1), has swept through summer camps in North America and parts of Europe. That pattern has led to the belief that many more people will get swine flu than seasonal influenza this fall and winter, or that countries could face outbreaks of both strains, perhaps at different times. Dr. [Richard P. Wenzel] said he had observed a broad spectrum of illness from human swine influenza: people who experienced few or no symptoms to those who rapidly developed complications and died. An odd feature of the new virus is the lack of fever in a significant proportion of documented cases, even after some patients become seriously ill. In Chile, it was about half, in Mexico City about a third. Lack of fever has been noted by other observers in several Canadian cases. Absence of fever among substantial proportions of patients, when fever is specified in the definition of the flu virus, can cause serious underestimation of totals. Also, absence of fever limits the usefulness of thermal scans to identify people who have the virus, and thus control the pandemic. Mexican doctors found the swine influenza virus on the hands of workers, on tables next to patients' beds, on other hard surfaces and on a computer mouse, Dr. Wenzel said. So, he added, 'infection control in hospitals must be assiduous to prevent spread, particularly those with impaired immune systems.'
— id: 105426, year: 2009, vol: , page: 9, stat: Journal Article,

Is This a Pandemic? Define 'Pandemic'
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Jun 9;:D.1-?, New York times
[...] there can be many other factors, including the numbers and percentages of people falling ill and dying; a population's vulnerability to the disease, based on previous rates of infection; and the quality of health care facilities and disease monitoring systems. [...] Dr. William Schaffner, the chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, said that 'we, the public health community, deserve to be chided' about the confusion
— id: 100558, year: 2009, vol: , page: D.1, stat: Journal Article,

Many with swine flu not displaying fever Doctors can't explain why it's symptom missing in some patients
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 May 13;:7-?, Houston Chronicle
Fever is a hallmark of influenza, often rising abruptly to 104 degrees at the onset of illness. Because many infectious disease experts consider fever the most important sign of the disease, the presence of fever is a critical part of screening patients.
— id: 100560, year: 2009, vol: , page: 7, stat: Journal Article,

New Strain Of H.I.V. Is Discovered
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Aug 5;:A.6-?, New York times
European scientists have discovered a new strain of the virus that causes AIDS and linked it to gorillas, creating a mystery about when and how the first patient found to have the strain became infected
— id: 105428, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

Seeking Lessons in Swine Flu Fight
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Aug 11;:D.1-?, New York times
[...] the number of beds in hospital intensive-care units and emergency rooms is limited, as is equipment like mechanical respirators to help patients breathe when the virus attacks the lungs
— id: 105427, year: 2009, vol: , page: D.1, stat: Journal Article,

Sound the alarm? A swine flu bind
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Apr 28;:-?, Spartanburg Herald-Journal
The sudden detection of the new swine influenza virus, A(H1N1), occurred just as scientists were focusing wary eyes on behavioral changes observed in another virus, the A(H5N1) bird flu strain, in Egypt. The W.H.O. and public-health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention find themselves in a delicate balance, obliged to provide information about potentially lethal diseases without causing panic.
— id: 100568, year: 2009, vol: , page: , stat: Journal Article,

Sound the Alarm? A Swine Flu Bind
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Apr 28;:D.1-?, New York times
The sudden detection of the new swine influenza virus, A(H1N1), occurred just as scientists were focusing wary eyes on behavioral changes observed in another virus, the A(H5N1) bird flu strain, in Egypt. The W.H.O. and public-health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention find themselves in a delicate balance, obliged to provide information about potentially lethal diseases without causing panic
— id: 100567, year: 2009, vol: , page: D.1, stat: Journal Article,

Study changes thinking on chimpanzees and AIDS; Study alters thinking on primates and AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Jul 24;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
''Our findings allow us to look at H.I.V. from a new angle, comparing and contrasting chimpanzee and human infections,'' Dr. [Beatrice Hahn] said in an interview. Her team's study was reported in the journal Nature on Thursday. ''We cannot date exactly when chimpanzees first got infected, but we certainly suspect that it was much, much longer than 100 years ago,'' Dr. Hahn said. ''Our gut feeling is that the chimp virus infection is not quite as'' damaging as H.I.V.-1 is in humans. The difference in the way the virus damages tissue, she said, ''leads us to speculate that chimps may be one step ahead in adapting to the virus, and identifying that step would be important.''
— id: 105429, year: 2009, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Study Finds That Chimps Die From Simian AIDS, Dispelling a Widely Held Belief
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Jul 23;:A.6-?, New York times
Two other chimpanzees injected with S.I.V.cpz in captivity did not show such changes. [...] scientists have known little about S.I.V.cpz's effects on chimpanzees in the wild, because they lacked the means to identify and monitor chimp behavior there
— id: 105432, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

Sweden trips over issue of criminals in medical school Case of murderer incites discussion on rights
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Mar 25;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
The 33-year-old student, Karl Helge Hampus Svensson, having been banished from the medical school of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on the ground that he falsified his high school records, has now been admitted to a second well-known medical school - Uppsala, Sweden's oldest university. The circumstances of Mr. Svensson's admission to Uppsala's first-year class - reported in January by Swedish news organizations - are unknown, because none of the officials involved will publicly discuss his case. He apparently uses an assumed name - a customary practice for Swedes seeking to remain anonymous because of a personal threat. Last week, Uppsala officials, responding to concerns about Mr. Svensson's admission, said he had not participated in class work, but did not say why. The Swedish medical licensing agency said that it would not allow Mr. Svensson to practice even if he earned his medical degree. But because the agency's jurisdiction excludes universities, questions arose about whether and how medical school officials should inform patients examined by Mr. Svensson about his criminal past, and what the patients' responses would be
— id: 100569, year: 2009, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Sweden wrestles over rights: Is a murderer fit to become a doctor?
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Mar 25;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
The 33-year-old student, Karl Helge Hampus Svensson, having been banished from the medical school of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on the ground that he falsified his high school records, has now been admitted to a second well-known medical school: Uppsala, Sweden's oldest university. The circumstances of Mr. Svensson's admission to Uppsala's first-year class - reported in January by Swedish news organizations - are unknown, because none of the officials involved will publicly discuss his case. He apparently uses an assumed name - a customary practice for Swedes seeking to remain anonymous because of a personal threat. Last week, Uppsala officials, responding to concerns about Mr. Svensson's admission, said he had not participated in class work, but did not say why. The Swedish medical licensing agency said that it would not allow Mr. Svensson to practice even if he earned his medical degree. But because the agency's jurisdiction excludes universities, questions arose about whether and how medical school officials should inform patients examined by Mr. Svensson about his criminal past, and what the patients' responses would be
— id: 100570, year: 2009, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Ulcer breakthrough long ignored
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Aug 25;:E.8-?, Gazette (Montreal, PQ)
Scientific reports taught him that many such patients developed tiny bleeding ulcers in the stomach and small bowel. Since at least 1906, doctors reported seeing curved bacteria in the stomach of patients who died with ulcers.
— id: 105424, year: 2009, vol: , page: E.8, stat: Journal Article,

Walter Stamm, 64; Helped Curb Chlamydia
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Dec 21;:A.29-?, New York times
'Walt Stamm was a giant in the field of infectious diseases in general and made many seminal clinical research contributions over decades that have transformed the diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infections and pelvic inflammatory disease,' said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, who directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a federal agency that paid for many of Dr. Stamm's studies
— id: 108903, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.29, stat: Journal Article,

Walter Stamm; his research spared many from infertility
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Dec 23;:B.13-?, Boston Globe
'Walt Stamm was a giant in the field of infectious diseases in general and made many seminal clinical research contributions over decades that have transformed the diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infections and pelvic inflammatory disease,' said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, who directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a federal agency that paid for many of Dr. Stamm's studies.
— id: 108902, year: 2009, vol: , page: B.13, stat: Journal Article,

William T. Close, 84, Who Helped Control Ebola Epidemic in Congo, Dies
Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Feb 8;:A.31-?, New York times
Dr. Close was both personal physician to President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, now known as Congo, and chief doctor of the army at the time of the epidemic, which caused widespread panic in the country, three doctors involved in helping to control it recalled in interviews. The team broke the chain of Ebola virus transmission by providing protective clothing for hospital workers, sterilizing equipment and strictly isolating patients in their villages
— id: 97496, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.31, stat: Journal Article,

Cleveland Clinic Gets Victim of Chimp Attack
Altman, Lawrence K; O'Connor, Anahad
2009 Feb 20;:A.26-?, New York times
Ms. Nash underwent more than seven hours of surgery by four teams of surgeons at Stamford Hospital. Because of privacy laws, officials would not comment on Ms. Nash's course of treatment
— id: 97493, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.26, stat: Journal Article,

Lessons for Other Smokers in Obama's Efforts to Quit
Grady, Denise; Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Jan 15-Jan 21;20(3):9A-?, Tennessee Tribune (Nashville TN)
Mr. [Barack Obama]'s heaviest smoking was seven or eight cigarettes a day, but three was more typical, according to an interview published in the November issue of Men's Health magazine. In a letter given to reporters before the election, Mr. Obama's doctor described his smoking history as 'intermittent,' and said he had quit several times and was using Nicorette gum, a form of nicotine replacement, 'with success.' Mr. Obama was often seen chewing gum during the campaign. 'It's generally prompted by a stressful situation, when they're fatigued and they need to concentrate and focus,' Dr, [Neal L. Benowitz] said. 'Obama talked about that People are used to having a cigarette in that situation.' 'Then there is something called hedonic dysregulation,' Dr. Benowitz said. 'It involves pleasure. Nicotine involves dopamine release, which is key in signaling pleasure. When people quit smoking, they don't experience things they used to like as pleasure. Things are not as much fun as they used to be. It's something you get over in time.'
— id: 97497, year: 2009, vol: 20, page: 9A, stat: Journal Article,

Managing a Flu Threat With Seasoned Urgency
Harris, Gardiner; Altman, Lawrence K
2009 May 10;:A.1-?, New York times
'The W.H.O. needs a mechanism to dial down the anxiety levels while educating us about the extent of the transmission,' said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the preventive medicine department at Vanderbilt University. All of this authority is packed into a diminutive woman with large glasses who does not drive, type or cook, is fond of sharp suits and silver pins, and may be among the most qualified people in the world to lead the global response to the threat of a pandemic flu
— id: 100565, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

W.H.O. chief doesn't shy from action against flu Chan draws on strategy in successful battle against SARS in 2003
Harris, Gardiner; Altman, Lawrence K
2009 May 11;:1-?, International Herald Tribune
'When I saw her then, she'd been getting three to four hours of sleep a night for weeks,' said Jeffrey P. Koplan, a former director of the C.D.C. 'They did what they needed to do.' 'With any new disease, it's difficult to understand the full picture,' she said. 'One has to be modest to understand that we are competing against an enemy, the virus. And trying to understand it and reduce the anxiety of the world and reduce the suffering of people, that's not easy.' 'The world's response in a 10-day period was remarkable,' said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 'and W.H.O. deserves credit for being a big part of it.'
— id: 100562, year: 2009, vol: , page: 1, stat: Journal Article,

WHO director general brings seasoned urgency to flu battle
Harris, Gardiner; Altman, Lawrence K
2009 May 10;:A.13-?, Boston Globe
'[...] it really is all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic,' Chan said to the world's gathered news media. Since her announcement, worry over the swine flu outbreak has eased.
— id: 100564, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.13, stat: Journal Article,

With SARS in mind, urgent response to flu W.H.O. chief, who ran Hong Kong health office, keeps the alert level high
Harris, Gardiner; Altman, Lawrence K
2009 May 11;:1-?, International Herald Tribune
'When I saw her then, she'd been getting three to four hours of sleep a night for weeks,' said Jeffrey P. Koplan, a former director of the C.D.C. 'They did what they needed to do.' 'With any new disease, it's difficult to understand the full picture,' she said. 'One has to be modest to understand that we are competing against an enemy, the virus. And trying to understand it and reduce the anxiety of the world and reduce the suffering of people, that's not easy.' 'The world's response in a 10-day period was remarkable,' said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, 'and W.H.O. deserves credit for being a big part of it.'
— id: 100563, year: 2009, vol: , page: 1, stat: Journal Article,

WORLD HEALTH LEADER TAPS OUTBREAK EXPERIENCE
Harris, Gardiner; Altman, Lawrence K
2009 May 10;:A.23-?, Sun Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale FL)
'She is superbly qualified to deal with emergencies like the one we have been living through,' said Dr. Julio Frenk, dean of the Harvard School of Public Health who was [Margaret Chan]'s chief rival when she won the top WHO post in 2006. { SB 'She is the first director-general who has been able to wield these new powers,' said Dr. David L. Heymann, who recently left the organization to become chairman of the Health Protection Agency in Britain. In her announcement on April 29, Chan made it clear that she alone had decided to raise the pandemic alert. 'With any new disease, it's difficult to understand the full picture,' she said. 'One has to be modest to understand that we are competing against an enemy, the virus. And trying to understand it and reduce the anxiety of the world and reduce the suffering of people, that's not easy.'
— id: 100566, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.23, stat: Journal Article,

KENNEDY FOUGHT CANCER AS PATIENT AND AS LEGISLATOR
Kolata, Gina; Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Aug 28;:A.6-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
With these deadly brain cancers in particular, the disease remains poorly understood. [...] even though many patients -- like Mr. Kennedy, who sought treatment at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina -- travel in search of cutting-edge care, there is a limited repertoire of treatments that have been shown to help.
— id: 105423, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

Weighing Hope and Reality in a Cancer Battle
Kolata, Gina; Altman, Lawrence K
2009 Aug 28;:A.1-?, New York times
The bright side is that median survival time for glioblastoma patients has more than tripled in the past 40 years, from about four and a half months to 14 or 15 months today. [...] there are now a few rare patients who live four, five or six years. In the late 1960s, Mary Lasker, a Manhattan philanthropist, was campaigning for an all-out war on cancer and Senator Kennedy became a leading legislative supporter, setting off a tug of war between him and President Nixon for political credit
— id: 105422, year: 2009, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

'STAGGERING' DISPARITY IN HIV AMONG BLACKS
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 30;:A.1-?, Times Union (Albany, NY)
Dr. Helene Gayle, president of CARE and a former director of HIV prevention efforts at the disease control centers, told reporters on Tuesday that the United States needed to devote more resources to care for people with sexually transmitted diseases.
— id: 80866, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

3 Europeans share Nobel medicine prize Virologists worked on AIDS and cancer
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Oct 7;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
The institute said the other half of the award would be shared equally by two French virologists, Dr. Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Dr. Luc Montagnier, for discovering HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Since its discovery in 1981, AIDS has rivaled the worst epidemics in history. An estimated 25 million people have died, and 33 million more are living with HIV. The Karolinska Institute said that discovery of HIV by the French scientists, Barre-Sinoussi and Montagnier, led to blood tests to detect the infection and to antiretroviral drugs that are effective in prolonging the lives of patients. The tests are now used to screen blood donations, making the blood supply safer for transfusions. The viral discovery has also led to an understanding of the natural history of HIV infection in people, which ultimately leads to AIDS unless treated. Dr. John Niederhuber, director of the National Cancer Institute, said Monday that Gallo 'was instrumental in every major aspect of the discovery of the AIDS virus.' He added: 'Dr. Gallo discovered interleukein-2, an immune-system-signaling molecule, which was necessary for the discovery of the AIDS virus, serving as a co-culture factor that allowed the virus to grow. Numerous scientific journal articles, many co-authored by Dr. Gallo and Dr. Luc Montagnier, cite the two scientists as co-discoverers of the AIDS virus.'
— id: 97513, year: 2008, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

3 scientists in Europe share Nobel in Medicine Research on AIDS and cancer is honored
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Oct 7;:6-?, International Herald Tribune
A German virologist, Harald zur Hausen, will receive half the award for his discovery of HPV, the human papilloma virus, according to the announcement made Monday by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, which selects the winners of the medical prize. The discovery led to development of a vaccine against cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women. Zur Hausen, of the University of Heidelberg, was cited for discovering the first HPV type 16, in 1983, from biopsies of women who had cervical cancer. A year later, zur Hausen cloned HPV 16 and another type, 18. The two HPV types are consistently found in about 70 percent of cervical cancer biopsies throughout the world, the institute said
— id: 97514, year: 2008, vol: , page: 6, stat: Journal Article,

5 Pioneers Receive Lasker Medical Prizes
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Sep 14;:A.33-?, New York times
Dr. Endo, 74, was chosen for ushering in a new era in preventing and treating coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States and many other countries, said Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, chairman of the 24-member scientific jury that selects the Lasker recipients
— id: 97517, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.33, stat: Journal Article,

A checklist to protect patients in surgery
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jun 26;:5-?, International Herald Tribune
E. Patchen Dellinger, vice chairman of surgery at the University of Washington, which took part in the WHO research, said that when the checklist is discussed with nonmedical people, 'the most common reaction is the question: 'You mean you haven't been doing this all along?'' Using surgical data from more than one-fourth of the organization's 192 member states, [Atul Gawande]'s team estimated that 234 million major surgical procedures were undertaken each year worldwide. Of the total, 172 million, or 74 percent, are in the wealthier countries and 40 million of those are in the United States. The number of surgical procedures performed in a year is nearly double the number of births 'and is probably an order of magnitude more dangerous,' Gawande's team reported in an article in the journal Lancet, which was released Tuesday
— id: 80881, year: 2008, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

A pill to prevent AIDS? Researchers begin tests
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 5;:5-?, International Herald Tribune
In the face of those bleak findings, some AIDS experts say testing the prophylactic use of antiretroviral drugs - called PrEP for pre-exposure prophylaxis - is now the most promising research in HIV prevention efforts as scientific investigation of vaccines and microbicides continues. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released a report Saturday showing that the number of people newly infected with HIV in the United States in recent years was 40 percent higher than has long been reported, said that PrEP was among the strategies that needed to be developed to substantially reduce the incidence of HIV. 'We cannot wait for the study results to begin to prepare for the optimal use and delivery of PrEP,' said Pedro Goicochea, an investigator in a PrEP study under way in Peru and Ecuador. 'Instead, we should look ahead to consider all of the possible outcomes of these trials and make real plans for making PrEP available to those who can benefit from it, as quickly and safely as possible if it is proven effective.'
— id: 80855, year: 2008, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS conferee calls for end to punitive laws
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 9;:A.2-?, Virginian-Pilot (Hampton-Roads, VA)
The conference theme was 'universal action now' with an emphasis on the urgency of allowing infected people to be treated equally as a human rights issue and of wider use of prevention measures.
— id: 80848, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.2, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS experts say behavioral successes neglected
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 7;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
While the world awaits findings from new AIDS prevention trials, millions of people are becoming infected because governments are overlooking studies showing that behavior modification works, AIDS experts said at the 17th International AIDS conference here
— id: 80851, year: 2008, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS Group Cites Rapes In Zimbabwe As Terror Tool
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 8;:A.6-?, New York times
Noah Novogrodsky, a human-rights lawyer and the advocacy group's legal director, said the evidence would also be shared with the office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights for possible prosecution as crimes against humanity
— id: 80849, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

An update is awaited on McCain and cancer
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 10;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
The melanoma removed in 2000 was Stage IIa on a standard classification that makes Stage IV the most serious. For Stage IIa melanoma, the survival rate 10 years after diagnosis is about 65 percent. But the outlook is much better for patients like [John McCain], who have already survived more than seven years. Even if the melanoma returns, McCain would not be the first sitting president to have had cancer. From what information he has disclosed, he is at increased risk for melanoma and other skin cancers because of his medical history, fair skin and prolonged sun exposure at a young age - long before the wide use of sunscreen. The most serious melanoma was spotted on his temple in 2000 by the attending physician at the U.S. Capitol after it had escaped the eye of McCain's personal physician at Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, in Arizona
— id: 80906, year: 2008, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

At global AIDS meeting, a sobering assessment
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 21;:9-?, International Herald Tribune
Jorge Saavedra, director of the Mexican national AIDS program, underscored the imperative for such information by saying 'if you do not follow the epidemiology of HIV' and the scientific evidence, 'then we will lose the fight against HIV.' 'Development of a vaccine is still more of an art than a science,' said Tadataka Yamada, an official of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle. He added, 'No one country, any one scientist, any one team of scientists will develop the vaccine.' 'The lack of secure and reliable drug supplies is the Achilles' heel of antiretroviral programs,' said Gregg Gonsalves of the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa. 'Central medical stores in many countries often cannot handle this task.'
— id: 80843, year: 2008, vol: , page: 9, stat: Journal Article,

At Meeting On AIDS, Focus Shifts To Long Haul
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 19;:F.1-?, New York times
There were renewed calls for strong advocacy and financing to sustain gains already made, like promoting more antiretroviral therapy in poorer countries, along with male circumcision and behavior modification. Dr. Jorge Saavedra, director of the Mexican national AIDS program, underscored the imperative for such information by saying that 'if you do not follow the epidemiology of H.I.V.' and the scientific evidence, 'then we will lose the fight against H.I.V.' Now, a new test developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention promises a greater ability to pinpoint hot spots of new infections and to control them more quickly, at least in developed countries.
— id: 80844, year: 2008, vol: , page: F.1, stat: Journal Article,

Awards honor work on statins, bacteria and RNA
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Sep 15;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
RNA is the close chemical cousin of DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, the material in a cell nucleus that contains genetic code. These scientists found that snippets of RNA act as genetic regulators governing many activities in animals and plants. Scientists now have implicated micro-RNAs in viral infections, heart failure, cancer, other diseases and in normal functions like muscle action and blood cell specialization. At the time, many scientists were skeptical about the safety of lowering the amount of cholesterol because it was an essential body chemical. But by 1980, [Akira Endo]'s team found that the statin lowered the LDL, or 'bad' cholesterol level known as low-density lipoprotein, in the blood by 17 percent. The three winners in the basic research category were honored for expanding the versatility of RNA, long regarded as DNA's poor cousin. Previous scientific convention held that proteins, not RNAs, governed gene activity in animal cells
— id: 97516, year: 2008, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Beating heart grown in laboratory Test using rat tissue offers humans hope
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 14;:1-?, International Herald Tribune
'We just took nature's own building blocks to build a new organ,' [Doris Taylor] said of her team's report in the journal Nature Medicine. The researchers removed all the cells from a dead rat heart, leaving the valves and outer structure as scaffolding for new heart cells injected from newborn rats. With modifications, scientists should be able to grow a new human heart by taking stem cells from a patient's bone marrow and placing them in a cadaver heart that has been prepared as a scaffold, Taylor said in a telephone interview from her laboratory in Minneapolis. The early success, she said, 'opens the door to this notion that you can make any organ: kidney, liver, lung, pancreas - you name it and we hope we can make it.' 'If it works,' Taylor said, 'it means that there'll be many more organs available for transplants.'
— id: 80941, year: 2008, vol: , page: 1, stat: Journal Article,

Behavioral approaches overlooked in AIDS fight
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 6;:A.4-?, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City UT)
While the world awaits findings from new AIDS prevention trials, millions of people are becoming infected because governments are overlooking studies showing that behavior modification works, AIDS experts said Tuesday. The world cannot treat its way out of the AIDS epidemic, many experts have long said, and a scientific debate exists over the extent to which antiretroviral therapy can reduce transmission of the virus. A pressing need exists to combine HIV prevention and treatment efforts, experts said Tuesday
— id: 80853, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.4, stat: Journal Article,

Behavioral Approaches Overlooked in AIDS Fight
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 6;:A.10-?, New York times
Among the behavior modifications the experts cited: promoting safer sex through delayed intercourse and the use of condoms, decreasing drug abuse, providing access to needle exchange programs and promoting male circumcision
— id: 80854, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

Big gaps in disclosure on candidates' health Contrast with past elections is striking
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Oct 21;:5-?, International Herald Tribune
[Barack Obama] has had a notable medical problem: a difficulty in stopping smoking. It is not known how heavily he smoked. The doctor wrote that Obama began smoking at least two decades ago and had made several efforts to stop. Obama said he quit smoking in 2007 when he began his presidential campaign. But he has 'bummed' cigarettes since then, he has said. The health of the four nominees is a matter of concern because in the past a number of candidates, and in some cases their doctors and aides, have distorted, kept secret or spoken about the facts only at the last minute when medical events forced the issue. Examples include Senator Thomas Eagleton (depression), Senator Paul Tsongas (cancer), Senator Bill Bradley (heart rhythm abnormality) and, as a vice-presidential nominee, Dick Cheney (heart disease). Since [John McCain] selected [Sarah Palin] as his running mate in August, questions about his health have intensified. In recent weeks, more than 2,700 physicians have signed a petition that ran as an advertisement demanding that McCain fully release his health records; the petition is sponsored by Brave New Films, the company led by Robert Greenwald, a Hollywood filmmaker who has contributed $2,250 to Democratic candidates and has made a number of anti-McCain videos. Beyond the advertisement, McCain's health has become the subject of both speculation and distortion on the Internet and other media
— id: 97510, year: 2008, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

BLACK AMERICA RANKS HIGH IN AIDS INCIDENCE
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 30;:A.3-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
— id: 80864, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.3, stat: Journal Article,

Blacks with HIV are nation apart
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 30;:A.1-?, The Grand Rapids Press
If black America were a country, it would rank 16th in the world in the number of people living with the AIDS virus, the Black AIDS Institute, an advocacy group, reported on Tuesday.
— id: 80865, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

CAMPAIGN 2008 / McCain stays quiet on melanoma / After surgery in 2000, senator reveals little on current condition
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 9;:5-?, Houston Chronicle
The operation was performed mainly to determine whether the melanoma, a potentially fatal form of skin cancer, had spread from his left temple to a key lymph node in his neck; a preliminary pathology test at the time showed that it had not. In 1999, during McCain's first race for president, he gave the public an extraordinary look at his medical history - 1,500 pages of medical and psychiatric records that were amassed as part of a U.S. Navy project to gauge the health of former prisoners of war.
— id: 80908, year: 2008, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

Candidates' health is a mystery ELECTIONS 2008
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Oct 21;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
The two other nominees are younger and apparently in good health, but less is known about their medical history. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, 47, the Democratic presidential nominee, released in May a one-page, undated letter from his personal physician stating that he was in 'excellent' health. Late last week, his campaign released the results of standard laboratory tests and electrocardiograms from his checkups in June 2001, November 2004 and January 2007. The findings were normal. The health of the four nominees is a matter of concern because in the past a number of candidates, and in some cases their doctors and aides, have distorted, kept secret or spoken about the facts only at the last minute when medical events forced the issue. Examples include Senator Thomas Eagleton (depression), Senator Paul Tsongas (cancer), Senator Bill Bradley (heart rhythm abnormality) and, as a vice-presidential nominee, Dick Cheney (heart disease). Since [John McCain] selected [Sarah Palin] as his running mate in August, questions about his health have intensified. In recent weeks, more than 2,700 physicians have signed a petition that ran as an advertisement demanding that McCain fully release his health records; the petition is sponsored by Brave New Films, the company led by Robert Greenwald, a Hollywood filmmaker who has contributed $2,250 to Democratic candidates and has made a number of anti-McCain videos. Beyond the advertisement, McCain's health has become the subject of both speculation and distortion on the Internet and other media
— id: 97511, year: 2008, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Cardiologist considered a founder of medical genetics discipline
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 26;:D.15-?, Times-Colonist (Victoria, BC)
It was only four years after the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule by James Watson and Francis Crick, and one year after scientists had established that the correct number of human chromosomes was 46, a finding that helped genetics begin to flourish.
— id: 80868, year: 2008, vol: , page: D.15, stat: Journal Article,

Circumcised men spread AIDS to women in study
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 4;:A.4-?, News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
— id: 80925, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.4, stat: Journal Article,

Creation of a beating rat heart is 'stunning' feat
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 14;:A.01-?, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City UT)
Experts not involved in the Minnesota work called it 'a landmark achievement' and 'a stunning' development, but they and the Minnesota researchers cautioned that the dream, if ever realized, was still a decade away. With modifications, scientists should be able to grow a human heart by taking stem cells from a patient's bone marrow and placing them in a cadaver heart that has been prepared as a scaffold, [Doris A. Taylor] said in a telephone interview from her laboratory in Minneapolis. The early success 'opens the door to this notion that you can make any organ: kidney, liver, lung, pancreas -- you name it and we hope we can make it,' she said
— id: 80939, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.01, stat: Journal Article,

Creation of a beating rat heart is 'stunning' feat
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 14;:A.03-?, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City UT)
Experts not involved in the Minnesota work called it 'a landmark achievement' and 'a stunning' development, but they and the Minnesota researchers cautioned that the dream, if ever realized, was still a decade away. With modifications, scientists should be able to grow a human heart by taking stem cells from a patient's bone marrow and placing them in a cadaver heart that has been prepared as a scaffold, [Doris A. Taylor] said in a telephone interview from her laboratory in Minneapolis. The early success 'opens the door to this notion that you can make any organ: kidney, liver, lung, pancreas -- you name it and we hope we can make it,' she said
— id: 80940, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.03, stat: Journal Article,

Discoverers of AIDS and Cancer Viruses Win Nobel
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Oct 7;:A.8-?, New York times
Dr. zur Hausen of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg 'went against current dogma' by postulating that the virus caused cervical cancer, said the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, which selects the medical winners of the prize, formally called the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
— id: 97515, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

Dr. Michael DeBakey, 99, heart-surgery pioneer OBITUARIES
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 14;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
[Michael E. DeBakey]'s pioneering surgical procedures in bypassing blocked arteries in the neck, legs and heart have been performed on millions of patients around the world. By the time he stopped a regular surgical schedule, when he was in his 80s, he had performed more than 60,000 operations
— id: 80876, year: 2008, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Dr. Michael Lesch: 1939 - 2008
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 30;:6-?, Chicago Tribune
Dr. Michael Lesch, a medical educator whose name is attached to a hereditary disorder characterized by self-mutilation that he helped identify as a medical student, died March 19 while on a fishing trip in Patagonia.
— id: 80895, year: 2008, vol: , page: 6, stat: Journal Article,

Drug-resistant bacteria strikes gay communities
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 22;:7-?, Chicago Tribune
In a study published online by the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the bacteria seemed to be spread most easily through anal intercourse but also through casual skin-to-skin contact and touching contaminated surfaces.
— id: 80932, year: 2008, vol: , page: 7, stat: Journal Article,

Drug-resistant TB on rise in developing nations
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 28;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
'We are seeing levels of multidrug-resistant TB that we never expected - 20 percent is a very high level,' [Mario Raviglione] said. His program, the Global Plan to Stop TB, is a road map for reducing by half TB prevalence and deaths by 2015 compared with 1990 levels. 'In sub-Saharan Africa, HIV and AIDS are dramatically fueling the spread of TB,' the WHO said. TB patients in Latvia and Donetsk who were HIV-infected were almost twice as likely to have a drug- resistant strain of TB as TB patients who were not HIV-infected. Nonetheless, Raviglione said there were success stories. He cited the Baltic countries of Estonia and Latvia as 'the model' because they were once the 'hot spots' for drug-resistant tuberculosis. Today, he said, after a sustained investment and assault on multidrug-resistant TB, rates there are stabilizing
— id: 80912, year: 2008, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Drug-Resistant TB Rates Soar in Former Soviet Regions
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 27;:A.6-?, New York times
''We are seeing levels of multidrug-resistant TB that we never expected -- 20 percent is a very high level,'' Dr. [Mario C. Raviglione] said. His program, the Global Plan to Stop TB, is a road map for reducing by half TB prevalence and deaths by 2015 compared with 1990 levels. ''In sub-Saharan Africa, H.I.V. and AIDS are dramatically fueling the spread of TB,'' the W.H.O. said. TB patients in Latvia and Donetsk who were H.I.V.-infected were almost twice as likely to have a drug-resistant strain of TB as TB patients who were not H.I.V.-infected. Although the report highlights the extent of drug resistance, Dr. Raviglione said there were successes in which governments invested in control measures. He cited the Baltic countries of Estonia and Latvia as ''the model'' because they were the ''hot spots'' 13 years ago for drug-resistant tuberculosis. Today, he said, after a sustained investment and assault on multidrug-resistant TB, rates in these two countries are stabilizing and rates of new tuberculosis are falling
— id: 80916, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

Feds cancel human trial of promising HIV vaccine / Official: More research needed before it is ready
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 18;:4-?, Houston Chronicle
The official who canceled the government trial, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it was becoming clearer that more research and animal testing would be needed before an HIV vaccine was ever marketed.
— id: 80872, year: 2008, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Flu shot advised up to age 18
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 28;:A.3-?, The Grand Rapids Press
In the age recommendation to 18, the aim is to reduce time children and parents lose making visits to pediatricians and missing school, and the need for antibiotics for complications, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, who directs the disease agency's program on immunization and respiratory diseases.
— id: 80914, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.3, stat: Journal Article,

For McCain, health questions still linger
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 9;:A.4-?, Times Union (Albany, NY)
The operation was performed mainly to determine whether the melanoma, a potentially fatal form of skin cancer, had spread from his left temple to a key lymph node in his neck; a preliminary pathology test at the time showed that it had not.
— id: 80911, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.4, stat: Journal Article,

Grady, Denise; Giving up the smoking habit isn't easy - just ask Obama
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Dec 30;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
[Barack Obama]'s heaviest smoking was seven or eight cigarettes a day, but three was more typical, according to an interview published in the November issue of Men's Health magazine. In a letter given to reporters before the election, Obama's doctor described his smoking history as 'intermittent,' and said he had quit several times and was using Nicorette gum, a form of nicotine replacement, 'with success.' Obama was often seen chewing gum during the campaign. 'It's generally prompted by a stressful situation, when they're fatigued and they need to concentrate and focus,' [Neal Benowitz] said. 'Obama talked about that. People are used to having a cigarette in that situation.' 'Then there is something called hedonic dysregulation,' Benowitz said. 'It involves pleasure. Nicotine involves dopamine release, which is key in signaling pleasure. When people quit smoking, they don't experience things they used to like as pleasure.'
— id: 97500, year: 2008, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

H.I.V. Study Finds Rate 40% Higher Than Estimated
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 3;:A.1-?, New York times
The findings confirm that H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, has its greatest effect among gay and bisexual men of all races (53 percent of all new infections) and among African-American men and women
— id: 80862, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

HIV epidemic in the U.S. worse than earlier reports / CDC's findings show the infection rate is 40% higher
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 3;:10-?, Houston Chronicle
The findings confirm that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has its greatest effect among gay and bisexual men of all races (53 percent of all new infections) and among African-American men and women.
— id: 80860, year: 2008, vol: , page: 10, stat: Journal Article,

HIV estimates low, CDC study shows
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 3;:A.4-?, News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
— id: 80861, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.4, stat: Journal Article,

Human Trial For Vaccine Against H.I.V. Is Canceled
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 18;:A.12-?, New York times
The official who canceled the government trial, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it was becoming clearer that more fundamental research and animal testing would be needed before an H.I.V. vaccine was ever marketed
— id: 80874, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.12, stat: Journal Article,

Human trial of HIV vaccine canceled
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 18;:A.10-?, Virginian-Pilot (Hampton-Roads, VA)
— id: 80875, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

In an Extensive and Intricate Operation, a Face Is Remade
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Dec 18;:A.18-?, New York times
Feeling should return to her face in six months, and most facial functions in about a year, leading to her ability to smile after physical therapy to help train the muscles for that function
— id: 97507, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.18, stat: Journal Article,

Lab heart pumps researchers up
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 14;:4-?, Chicago Tribune
Medicine's dream of growing new human hearts and other organs to repair or replace damaged ones received a significant boost Sunday when University of Minnesota researchers reported success in creating a beating rat heart in a laboratory.
— id: 80938, year: 2008, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Lab-grown rat heart brings custom organs closer
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 14;:A.1-?, News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
Using cells from newborn rats, researchers in Minnesota built a new heart that..
— id: 80942, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Lasers May Treat Cancers Of Larynx
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 May 6;:F.5-?, New York times
[...] a team of Harvard doctors is reporting that a new outpatient laser procedure promises to eliminate the need for radiation, preserve speech, shorten treatment time and significantly improve care in other ways for many patients whose cancer is diagnosed early
— id: 80893, year: 2008, vol: , page: F.5, stat: Journal Article,

Leaving Platform That Elevated AIDS Fight
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Dec 30;:D.5-?, New York times
The director needs sound scientific knowledge of the viral disease and its sociological ramifications; appreciation of the economic and political realities of rich and poor countries; and the diplomatic skills to talk to a pope, pharmaceutical industry executives and AIDS activists, among many others
— id: 97501, year: 2008, vol: , page: D.5, stat: Journal Article,

Little spoken on trail: McCain and melanoma
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 10;:7-?, International Herald Tribune
The melanoma removed in 2000 was Stage IIa on a standard classification that makes Stage IV the most serious. For Stage IIa melanoma, the survival rate 10 years after diagnosis is about 65 percent. But the outlook is much better for patients like [John McCain], who have already survived more than seven years. Even if the melanoma returns, McCain would not be the first sitting president to have had cancer. From what information he has disclosed, he is at increased risk for melanoma and other skin cancers because of his medical history, fair skin and prolonged sun exposure at a young age - long before the wide use of sunscreen. The most serious melanoma was spotted on his temple in 2000 by the attending physician at the U.S. Capitol after it had escaped the eye of McCain's personal physician at Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, in Arizona. The Capitol physician also spotted the melanoma on his left arm
— id: 80907, year: 2008, vol: , page: 7, stat: Journal Article,

Longer Drug Regimen Found To Help Babies Avoid H.I.V.
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 5;:A.18-?, New York times
''Making breast feeding safe is an urgent need,'' Dr. Taha Taha, a researcher from Johns Hopkins who led a study in Malawi, said at a news conference. ''Breast feeding has proved to be a major stumbling block in preventing further H.I.V. transmissions from mother to child,'' said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. ''The next series of studies will need to determine the optimal time for treating mothers and infants,'' said Dr. Fauci. whose agency paid for the fifth breast-feeding study
— id: 80924, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.18, stat: Journal Article,

Male circumcision fails to cut female AIDS risk
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 5;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
In the study, all the men and women agreed in writing to participate after they were informed about other ways to prevent HIV infection, wound care and abstention from sex after the surgical circumcision. The men were offered free condoms and the couples were counseled and tested for HIV. There were 1,015 HIV-infected men who agreed to having circumcision immediately or waiting two years for purposes of a scientific control group. The timing was chosen at random, researchers said
— id: 80923, year: 2008, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Male Circumcision No Aid to Women in Study
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 4;:A.12-?, New York times
For many years, epidemiologists observed that the incidence of AIDS was higher in areas of Africa where men were not circumcised and lower in areas where men were circumcised. But many scientists were skeptical that circumcision played a role in acquiring H.I.V. Then in recent years, three scientifically controlled studies in Kenya, South Africa and Uganda convinced the skeptics by showing that male circumcision could reduce the risk of H.I.V. infection by 50 percent to 60 percent. Male circumcision took on new importance because of the failure of scientists to develop a vaccine to prevent AIDS. The success rates of male circumcision were high enough for many AIDS experts to call the procedure a virtual ''vaccine.'' In the study reported here, all the men and women agreed in writing to participate after they were informed about other ways to prevent H.I.V. infection, wound care and abstention from sex after the surgical circumcision. The men were offered free condoms and the couples were counseled and tested for H.I.V. There were 1,015 H.I.V.-infected men who agreed to having circumcision immediately or waiting two years for purposes of a scientific control group. The timing was chosen at random, researchers said
— id: 80926, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.12, stat: Journal Article,

Male Circumcision No Aid to Women in Study
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Summer 2008;6(3):11-?, Attorneys for the Rights of the Child Newsletter
BOSTON - A number of studies showing that circumcision among men reduces their risk of infection from the AIDS virus has raised the hope that the procedure would also benefit their female sexual partners. The study - conducted by the same team of researchers from Johns Hopkins and Uganda who had shown circumcision's benefits among men in earlier studies - is believed to be the first clinical trial to provide scientific data on the effects on women of circumcision in their male partners.
— id: 80879, year: 2008, vol: 6, page: 11, stat: Journal Article,

Many Holes in Disclosure of Nominees' Health
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Oct 20;:A.1-?, New York times
If elected, Senator John McCain of Arizona, 72, the Republican nominee, would be the oldest man to be sworn in to a first term as president and the first cancer survivor to win the office. In recent weeks, more than 2,700 physicians have signed a petition that ran as an advertisement demanding that Mr. McCain fully release his health records; the petition is sponsored by Brave New Films, the company led by Robert Greenwald, a Hollywood filmmaker who has contributed $2,250 to Democratic candidates and has made a number of anti-McCain videos
— id: 97512, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Medical genetics pioneer
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 25;:B.8-?, Gazette (Montreal, PQ)
McKusick was also an early proponent of completely mapping the human genome, 34 years before the feat was achieved in 2003. He influenced the training of the vast majority of medical geneticists through his textbooks, which catalogued thousands of genetic disorders. In 1957, McKusick established a medical genetics clinic, the same year that Dr. Arno G. Motulsky started a similar clinic at the University of Washington. They are believed to be the first medical genetics clinics in the U.S. It was only four years after the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule by James Watson and Francis Crick, and one year after scientists had established that the correct number of human chromosomes was 46, a finding that helped genetics begin to flourish. As a cardiologist in the early 1950s, McKusick became fascinated with Marfan's syndrome, an inherited disorder in which affected patients show an array of signs, including long arms and legs and dislocated eye lenses. They often died of a rupture of the aorta, the body's main artery.
— id: 80869, year: 2008, vol: , page: B.8, stat: Journal Article,

Michael DeBakey, 99, Rebuilder of Hearts, Dies
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 13;:A.1-?, New York times
An early invention, the roller pump, devised while he was in medical school in the 1930s, became the central component of the heart-lung machine, which takes over the functions of the heart and lungs during surgery by supplying oxygenated blood to the brain
— id: 80877, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Michael DeBakey, heart surgeon; 99
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 13;:D.7-?, Times Union (Albany, NY)
The trust he earned helped shape recent history when, in a consultation in Russia, he determined that President Boris N. Yeltsin, who had fallen ill during a re-election campaign in 1996, could undergo coronary bypass surgery.
— id: 80878, year: 2008, vol: , page: D.7, stat: Journal Article,

Michael Lesch, Who Helped Identify a Rare Disorder, Is Dead at 68
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 27;:B.7-?, New York times
Dr. Michael Lesch, a medical educator whose name is attached to a hereditary disorder characterized by self-mutilation that he helped identify as a medical student, died on March 19 while on a fishing trip in Patagonia
— id: 80897, year: 2008, vol: , page: B.7, stat: Journal Article,

MICHAEL LESCH| JUNE 30, 1939 - MARCH 19, 2008; PHYSICIAN WHO HELPED IDENTIFY A RARE DISORDER
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Apr 6;:B.5-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Dr. Michael Lesch, a medical educator whose name is attached to a hereditary disorder characterized by self-mutilation that he helped identify as a medical student, died on March 19 while on a fishing trip in Patagonia.
— id: 80894, year: 2008, vol: , page: B.5, stat: Journal Article,

Mutant flu virus hardy
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 31;:A.9-?, Times Union (Albany, NY)
The standard influenza vaccine still protects against the mutant virus, said Hayden and Dr. Alicia Fry, an influenza epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
— id: 80929, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.9, stat: Journal Article,

Mutant Flu Virus Is Found That Resists Popular Drug
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 31;:A.10-?, New York times
Scientists said they were surprised by the finding because they had believed that mutations of this type generally made the virus less potent and less easily spread among people. The predominant influenza virus circulating this winter is influenza A/H1N1. The Tamiflu-resistant form of the virus, known as influenza A(H1N1 H274Y), has been found with varying frequency in various areas of four European countries, Canada and the United States. There are no immediate plans to recommend changes in the use of Tamiflu, which is also known as oseltamivir, officials from the W.H.O. and the United States said in interviews, because the incidence of the mutant virus is still small. Tamiflu is one of the antiviral drugs used to treat influenza in its early stages. In the United States, the Tamiflu resistant strain was found in 9 of 237, or 3.8 percent of patients from whom influenza type A and B viruses were isolated this winter, and all 9 were in the A(H1N1) category, making them 6.7 percent of those 135 cases, Dr. [Alicia Fry], said in a telephone interview
— id: 80928, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

Mutant influenza virus is found to resist antiviral drug
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 1;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
Scientists said they were surprised by the finding because they had believed that mutations of this type generally made the virus less potent and less easily spread among people. The predominant influenza virus circulating this winter is influenza A/H1N1. The Tamiflu-resistant form of the virus, known as influenza A(H1N1 H274Y), has been found with varying frequency in four European countries, Canada and the United States. There are no immediate plans to recommend changes in the use of Tamiflu, which is also known as oseltamivir, officials from WHO and the United States said, because the incidence of the mutant virus is still small. Tamiflu is one of the antiviral drugs used to treat influenza in its early stages. In the United States, the Tamiflu-resistant strain was found in 9 of 237, or 3.8 percent, of patients from whom influenza type A and B viruses were isolated this winter, and all 9 were in the A(H1N1) category, or 6.7 percent of the 135 cases in that category, [Alicia Fry] said
— id: 80927, year: 2008, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Near-total face transplant performed in Cleveland
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Dec 18;:6-?, International Herald Tribune
Transplant pioneers say the psychological effects of facial damage from injuries, birth defects, burns and a number of diseases can be psychologically devastating. Though reconstructive surgery is possible in many cases, proponents say that in other cases, an experimental face transplant could be worth the risks if patients and donors and their families understand them. In November 2005, a team in Amiens, France, performed the first partial face transplant. The recipient, Isabelle Dinoire, then 38, was seriously disfigured when her Labrador retriever mauled her. In 2006, Chinese doctors did a partial face transplant on a farmer who lost much of the right side of his face in a bear attack. In 2007, a French team performed the third partial facial transplant, on a 29-year-old man. His face had been disfigured by neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder of the nervous system that causes tumors to grow in tissues around nerves
— id: 97505, year: 2008, vol: , page: 6, stat: Journal Article,

New bacteria are striking gay men
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 15;:A.09-?, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City UT)
A new, highly drug-resistant strain of the 'flesh-eating' MRSA bacteria is being spread among gay men in San Francisco and Boston, researchers reported on Monday. The new strain seems to have 'spread rapidly' in gay populations in San Francisco and Boston, the researchers wrote, and 'has the potential for rapid, nationwide dissemination' among gay men. Of the alternatives recommended by the CDC and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim), clindamycin and a tetracycline, 'this strain is resistant to two of those three,' he added. 'In addition, the new strain is resistant to mupirocin, which has been advocated for eradicating the strain from carriers.'
— id: 80935, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.09, stat: Journal Article,

New bacteria is spreading in gay men
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 17;:7-?, International Herald Tribune
Anew, highly drug-resistant strain of the 'flesh-eating' MRSA bacteria is being spread among gay men in San Francisco and Boston, researchers have reported. The new strain seems to have 'spread rapidly' in gay populations in San Francisco and Boston, the researchers wrote, and 'has the potential for rapid, nationwide dissemination' among gay men. The infection can cause unusually severe problems, including abscesses and skin ulcers. The bacteria can invade through the skin to produce necrotizing fasciitis, the scientific name for flesh- eating bacteria
— id: 80934, year: 2008, vol: , page: 7, stat: Journal Article,

New Bacteria Strain Is Striking Gay Men
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 15;:F.7-?, New York times
A new, highly drug-resistant strain of the ''flesh-eating'' MRSA bacteria is being spread among gay men in San Francisco and Boston, researchers reported on Monday. The new strain seems to have ''spread rapidly'' in gay populations in San Francisco and Boston, the researchers wrote, and ''has the potential for rapid, nationwide dissemination'' among gay men. Of the alternatives recommended by the C.D.C. and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim), clindamycin and a tetracycline, ''this strain is resistant to two of those three,'' he added. ''In addition, the new strain is resistant to mupirocin, which has been advocated for eradicating the strain from carriers.''
— id: 80937, year: 2008, vol: , page: F.7, stat: Journal Article,

New focus on children at AIDS conference / Government funds not reaching those in need
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 7;:12-?, Houston Chronicle
A report released at the conference by the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS, an independent, international study group, urged governments and donors to develop new approaches to alleviate the plight of children in areas hard hit by the epidemic.
— id: 80850, year: 2008, vol: , page: 12, stat: Journal Article,

New Focus on Children at AIDS Seminar
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 7;:A.13-?, New York times
A report released at the conference by the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and H.I.V./AIDS, an independent, international study group, urged governments and donors to develop new approaches to alleviate the plight of children in areas hard hit by the epidemic
— id: 80852, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.13, stat: Journal Article,

New HIV 40% greater than reported in U.S.
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 4;:7-?, International Herald Tribune
Dr. Kevin Fenton, who directs HIV- prevention efforts at the agency, said, 'CDC's new incidence estimates reveal that the HIV epidemic is and has been worse than previously known.' A separate historical trend analysis published as part of the study suggests that the number of new infections was probably never as low as the earlier estimate of 40,000 and that it has been roughly stable over all since the late 1990s. Dr. Philip Alcabes, an epidemiologist at Hunter College in New York, raised questions about the validity of the findings. If they are true, Alcabes said in a statement, the agency has undercounted new HIV infections by about 15,000 per year for about 15 years. 'Therefore, there are roughly 225,000 more people living with HIV in the U.S. than previously suspected,' he said. 'The previous estimate was 1 million to 1.1 million.' A number of leading health experts have criticized the agency for not releasing the information earlier. On Nov. 21, CDC officials told AIDS advocacy groups and reporters that the data would be released soon. In an editorial on June 21, The Lancet, an internationally prestigious journal published in London, severely criticized the disease centers for failing to release the information and said, 'U.S. efforts to prevent HIV have failed dismally.'
— id: 80858, year: 2008, vol: , page: 7, stat: Journal Article,

New HIV cases in U.S. far higher than reported
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 4;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
The findings confirm that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has its greatest effect among gay and bisexual men of all races (53 percent of all new infections) and among black American men and women. [Julie Gerberding] said the new findings were 'unacceptable,' adding that new efforts must be made to lower the infection rates. 'We are not effectively reaching men who have sex with men and African-Americans to lower their risk,' she said. CDC officials said the revised figure did not necessarily represent an increase in the number of new infections but reflected the ability of a new testing method to more precisely measure HIV incidence and secure a better understanding of the epidemic
— id: 80857, year: 2008, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Officials Praise New Test That Can Quickly Detect Drug-Resistant TB
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 1;:A.8-?, New York times
The new test was described for reporters by telephone on Monday by officials from the W.H.O. and three other international health groups, the Stop TB Partnership, Unitaid and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, or FIND
— id: 80880, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

Panel Advises Flu Shots For Children Up to Age 18
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 28;:A.18-?, New York times
In a new study reported at Wednesday's meeting, Dr. David K. Shay, who led a team from the C.D.C. and eight state health departments, found that full immunization against flu provided about a 75 percent effectiveness rate in preventing hospitalizations from influenza complications in the 2005-6 and 2006-7 influenza seasons. (The 75 percent rate could range, according to a standard statistical measure known as confidence intervals, from 41 percent to 91 percent.) Vaccines are typically designed to protect against the three strains of influenza. Experts determine the strains based on data from current seasonal transmission and their judgment about future activity. Usually one or two strains are changed in each year's vaccine. Committees from the World Health Organization and the United States Food and Drug Administration voted earlier this month to change all three strains in next season's vaccine. It is the first time that all three strains were changed at once, Dr. Nancy Cox, an influenza expert at the C.D.C., said in a news conference on Feb. 22
— id: 80913, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.18, stat: Journal Article,

Plans for big human trial of AIDS vaccine canceled
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 18;:1-?, International Herald Tribune
The study is known as PAVE for 'partnership for AIDS vaccine evaluation.' PAVE is a consortium of U.S. government agencies and key U.S. government-funded organizations involved in developing and evaluating experimental HIV vaccines. It aims to develop an effective HIV vaccine that no pharmaceutical company or institution is likely to accomplish on its own. Scientists have found no obvious explanation for the failure of the Merck vaccine, which had been considered the most promising candidate for an HIV vaccine. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases helped pay for the trials of the Merck vaccine. The Merck vaccine was the first of a new class of HIV vaccines to get to an advanced stage in human testing. The vaccine was made from a weakened version of a common cold virus, adenovirus type 5, which served as a way to deliver three synthetically produced genes from the AIDS virus. Three doses of the vaccine were injected over six months
— id: 80873, year: 2008, vol: , page: 1, stat: Journal Article,

Pre-Chewed Baby Food Said to Transmit H.I.V.
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 7;:A.23-?, New York times
''It's likely that some cultural influences are involved, and I am sure that people are doing what their grandmothers and aunties did in practices carried through generations,'' Dr. [Kenneth L. Dominguez] said. The first two cases involved boys from Miami infected in the mid-'90s. One boy's infection was detected when he was 39 months old, shortly before his death, after previously testing negative for the virus twice. The mother, who was infected, reported pre-chewing food for the boy. The second boy's mother was uninfected but lived with an infected aunt who pre-chewed his food. He survives. In the third case, a girl from Memphis was found to be infected in 2004 at 9 months old after testing negative for the virus three times. Her mother was infected and pre-chewed food for her daughter
— id: 80922, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.23, stat: Journal Article,

Progress Slows in Detection of New TB Cases
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 18;:A.6-?, New York times
Progress in detecting new cases of tuberculosis is slowing, threatening to increase the risks of transmitting drug-resistant strains, the World Health Organization said Monday
— id: 80900, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

Protective Effects of Circumcision Are Shown to Continue After Trials' End
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 12;:F.6-?, New York times
A follow-up look at men who were circumcised in an African study shows that the procedure's protective effects against H.I.V. last for at least three and a half years, researchers said at the 17th International AIDS Conference here last week.
— id: 80845, year: 2008, vol: , page: F.6, stat: Journal Article,

Quarter of girls in U.S. teen study have an STD
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 12;:A.13-?, Spectator (Hamilton, Ont)
The two most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among all the participants tested were HPV, at 18 per cent, and chlamydia, at 4 per cent, according to the analysis, part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Women may be unaware that they are infected. But the diseases, which are infections caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites, can produce acute symptoms like irritating vaginal discharge, painful pelvic inflammatory disease and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy. The infections also can lead to long-term ailments like infertility and cervical cancer. 'High STD infection rates among young women, particularly young African-American women, are clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk,' said Dr. John M. Douglas Jr., who directs the centers' division of STD prevention.
— id: 80904, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.13, stat: Journal Article,

QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT MCCAIN'S MELANOMA CAMPAIGN EXPECTS TO RELEASE CANDIDATE'S HEALTH RECORDS IN APRIL
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 9;:A.10-?, Sun Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale FL)
The marks are reminders of the melanoma surgery he underwent in August 2000. [John McCain], the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, sometimes tells audiences that he has 'more scars than Frankenstein.' The melanoma removed in 2000 was Stage IIa on a standard classification that makes Stage IV the most serious. For Stage IIa melanoma, the survival rate 10 years after diagnosis is about 65 percent. But the outlook is much better for patients like McCain, who have already survived more than seven years. The most serious melanoma was spotted on his temple in 2000 by the attending physician at the U.S. Capitol after it had escaped the eye of McCain's personal physician
— id: 80910, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

Receptor that guides HIV virus discovered / Finding could lead to new ways to stop AIDS, researchers say
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 11;:9-?, Houston Chronicle
— id: 80920, year: 2008, vol: , page: 9, stat: Journal Article,

Researchers Look to Pill, Taken Daily, to Avert H.I.V.
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 4;:A.11-?, New York times
[...] researchers in a number of countries are conducting trials and planning others to test the unproven strategy that a daily pill, or a combination of drugs, can prevent H.I.V. By mid-2009, more people will be enrolled in such trials than in all of those for H.I.V. vaccines and microbicides, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition said in a report issued here on Sunday at the start of the 17th International AIDS Conference
— id: 80859, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.11, stat: Journal Article,

Researchers try to learn if a pill can prevent AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 5;:8-?, International Herald Tribune
Initial findings might come early next year, although researchers do not know how they will compare with the disappointing results of recent tests of vaccines and HIV microbicides, which are chemicals that women can put in their vaginas to prevent HIV infection. 'We cannot wait for the study results to begin to prepare for the optimal use and delivery of PrEP,' said Pedro Goicochea, an investigator in a PrEP study under way in Peru and Ecuador. 'Instead, we should look ahead to consider all of the possible outcomes of these trials and make real plans for making PrEP available to those who can benefit from it, as quickly and safely as possible if it is proven effective.'
— id: 80856, year: 2008, vol: , page: 8, stat: Journal Article,

Rethinking Is Urged On a Vaccine For AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 26;:A.14-?, New York times
[...] Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the top federal official responsible for AIDS research, agreed that more fundamental knowledge is needed about H.I.V. and the way the body and experimental vaccines respond to it before the goal of a licensed H.I.V. vaccine can be reached
— id: 80898, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.14, stat: Journal Article,

SCIENTISTS CREATE A RAT'S BEATING HEART
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 14;:A.1-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
With modifications, scientists should be able to grow a human heart by taking stem cells from a patient's bone marrow and placing them in a cadaver heart that has been prepared as a scaffold, Ms. Taylor said in a telephone interview from her laboratory in Minneapolis. Todd N. McAllister of Cytograft Tissue Engineering in Novato, Calif., said, 'Doris Taylor's work is one of those maddeningly simple ideas that you knock yourself on the head, saying, 'Why didn't I think of that?'' Mr. McAllister's team has used a snippet of a patient's skin to grow blood vessels in a laboratory, and then implanted them to restore blood flow around a patient's damaged arteries and veins.
— id: 80944, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Scientists create beating rat heart
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 14;:A.3-?, The Grand Rapids Press
— id: 80945, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.3, stat: Journal Article,

Scientists Find New Receptor for H.I.V.
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 11;:A.15-?, New York times
For years, scientists have known that H.I.V. rapidly invades the lymph nodes and lymph tissues that are abundant throughout the gut, or intestines. The gut becomes the prime site for replication of H.I.V., and the virus then goes on to deplete the lymph tissue of the key CD4 H.I.V.-fighting immune cells. Dr. [Anthony S. Fauci], James Arthos, Claudia Cicala, Elena Martinelli and their colleagues showed that a molecule, integrin alpha-4 beta-7, which naturally directs immune cells to the gut, is also a receptor for H.I.V. A protein on the virus's envelope, or outer shell, sticks to a molecule in the receptor that is linked specifically to the way CD4 cells home in on the gut, the researchers said. ''The work we did took nearly two years, and there's little doubt that what we have found is a new receptor,'' Dr. Fauci said in an interview after giving a lecture here, adding that ''we certainly have to learn a lot more about it.''
— id: 80921, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.15, stat: Journal Article,

Scientists find possible key to HIV's attack plan Receptor helps guide virus to lymph tissue
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 12;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
For years, scientists have known that HIV rapidly invades the lymph nodes and lymph tissues that are abundant throughout the gut, or intestines. The gut becomes the prime site for replication of HIV, and the virus then goes on to deplete the lymph tissue of the key CD4 HIV-fighting immune cells. [Anthony Fauci], James Arthos, Claudia Cicala, Elena Martinelli and their colleagues showed that a molecule, integrin alpha-4 beta-7, which naturally directs immune cells to the gut, is also a receptor for HIV. Several other receptor sites for HIV are known. The most important is the CD4 molecule on certain immune cells; the molecule's role as an HIV receptor was identified in 1984
— id: 80919, year: 2008, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Seeking Better Laws On H.I.V.
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 9;:A.11-?, New York times
Another plenary speaker, Dr. Bruno Spire, the president of AIDES, a nongovernmental group in France, also called for improving laws and policies to combat stigma and discrimination against groups most vulnerable to H.I.V., typically gay and bisexual men, injecting drug users and sex workers
— id: 80847, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.11, stat: Journal Article,

Sex Diseases in Many Gay Men Go Unfound, Experts Say
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 13;:A.21-?, New York times
Those diseases, along with syphilis, whose incidence continues to increase, are 'a major threat to gay and bisexual men's health,' said Dr. Kevin Fenton, a top official of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Fenton noted that such diseases increased the risk of contracting and spreading H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. Screening for sexually transmitted infections is a critical part of medical care for sexually active men. The C.D.C. recommends annual blood tests for H.I.V. and syphilis, and other tests for gonorrhea and chlamydia. 'Let's be honest, resources are a challenge at a federal, state and local level,' said Dr. [John M. Douglas Jr.], of the disease control centers. 'We are trying to be as innovative as we can with public health resources,' but 'we need help from others.'
— id: 80902, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.21, stat: Journal Article,

Sex infections found in 1 in 4 teen girls U.S. study finds that among infected, 15% have more than 1 disease
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 13;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
Nearly half the blacks in the study of teenagers ages 14 to 19 were infected with at least one of the diseases monitored in the study - human papillomavirus (HPV), chlamydia, genital herpes and trichomoniasis, a common parasite. The two most common sexually transmitted diseases, or STDs, among all the participants tested were HPV, at 18 percent, and chlamydia, at 4 percent, according to the analysis, part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. 'High STD infection rates among young women, particularly young African-American women, are clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk,' said Dr. John Douglas Jr., who directs the centers' division of sexually transmitted disease prevention
— id: 80901, year: 2008, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Sex Infections Found in Quarter of Teenage Girls
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 12;:A.1-?, New York times
''High S.T.D. infection rates among young women, particularly young African-American women, are clear signs that we must continue developing ways to reach those most at risk,'' said Dr. John M. Douglas Jr., who directs the centers' division of S.T.D. prevention. ''The national policy of promoting abstinence-only programs is a $1.5 billion failure,'' Ms. [Cecile Richards] said, ''and teenage girls are paying the real price.'' ''Far too many young women are at risk for the serious health effects of untreated S.T.D.'s, '' she said
— id: 80903, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Spread of TB undermines AIDS gains
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jun 11;:5-?, International Herald Tribune
Kevin DeCock, director of the HIV department of the World Health Organization, a UN agency, said that health workers might accept the modest risk of becoming infected with HIV through needles and blood. But, he added, 'it is quite another thing if you are at risk by sharing air with patients with HIV' who have tuberculosis that is resistant to standard and second-line drugs. That, he said, 'has the potential to change how health care workers look at the issue of AIDS care.' At least 700,000 tuberculosis cases develop among HIV-infected people each year, and an estimated 230,000 HIV-infected people will die this year from tuberculosis. The number includes many who received standard antiretroviral drugs that can keep HIV in check but who failed to receive drugs that can usually cure nonresistant tuberculosis, said Mario Raviglione, director of tuberculosis control for the WHO
— id: 80885, year: 2008, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

Spread of TB undermining AIDS gains
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jun 11;:6-?, International Herald Tribune
Dr. Kevin DeCock, director of the HIV department of the World Health Organization, a UN agency, said that health workers might accept the modest risk of becoming infected with HIV through needles and blood. But, he added, 'it is quite another thing if you are at risk by sharing air with patients with HIV' who have tuberculosis that is resistant to standard and second-line drugs. That, he said, 'has the potential to change how health care workers look at the issue of AIDS care.' At least 700,000 tuberculosis cases develop among HIV-infected people each year, and an estimated 230,000 HIV-infected people will die this year from tuberculosis. The number includes many who received standard antiretroviral drugs that can keep HIV in check but who failed to receive drugs that can usually cure nonresistant tuberculosis, said Dr. Mario Raviglione, director of tuberculosis control for the WHO. A particular problem is that in 2006, only 12 percent of reported tuberculosis cases worldwide were also tested for HIV; in Africa, the percentage was 22. But Raviglione noted signs of progress. He said that the percentage of tuberculosis patients tested for HIV in Kenya rose to 70 in 2007 from 19 in 2004 and in Malawi to 83 from 25 in 2004. In Rwanda, the percentage rose to 89 from zero
— id: 80884, year: 2008, vol: , page: 6, stat: Journal Article,

Spread of Tuberculosis Seen Slowing Progress on AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jun 10;:A.9-?, New York times
Tuberculosis and AIDS are now epidemic in many areas of the world, and the two infectious diseases must be addressed together, said the officials, who spoke from the United Nations' first high-level meeting on the interaction of the two diseases
— id: 80886, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.9, stat: Journal Article,

Student helped identify disorder that causes self-mutilation
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 30;:C.14-?, Times-Colonist (Victoria, BC)
Dr. Michael Lesch, a medical educator whose name is attached to a hereditary disorder characterized by self-mutilation that he helped identify as a medical student, died on March 19 while on a fishing trip in Patagonia.
— id: 80896, year: 2008, vol: , page: C.14, stat: Journal Article,

Study of Teen girls shows more than a fourth have an std
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 12;:A.1-?, Virginian-Pilot (Hampton-Roads, VA)
Nearly half the blacks in the study of teenagers ages 14 to 19 were infected with at least one of the diseases monitored in the study - human papillomavirus, or HPV; chlamydia; genital herpes; and trichomoniasis, a common parasite. [...] the diseases, which are infections caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites, can produce acute symptoms such as irritating vaginal discharge, painful pelvic inflammatory disease and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy.
— id: 80905, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Surgeons perform face transplant in U.S.
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Dec 18;:5-?, International Herald Tribune
Transplant pioneers say the psychological effects of facial damage from injuries, birth defects, burns and a number of diseases can be psychologically devastating. Though reconstructive surgery is possible in many cases, proponents say that in other cases, an experimental face transplant may be worth the risks if patients and donors and their families understand them. In 2006, Chinese doctors did a partial face transplant on a farmer who lost much of the right side of his face in a bear attack. In 2007, a French team performed the third partial facial transplant, on a 29-year-old man who had been disfigured by neurofibromatosis
— id: 97506, year: 2008, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

Surgeons replace woman's face; U.S. team completes near-total transplant in ambitious operation
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Dec 18;:A.1-?, Waterloo Region Record
The highly experimental procedure, performed within the last two weeks, was the world's fourth partial face transplant, the country's first, and the most extensive and complicated such operation to date. 'This is not cosmetic surgery in any conventional sense,' said Dr. Eric Kodish, chair of the clinic's bioethics department, who was part of the team that interviewed and evaluated the patient's understanding of the risks in the experimental procedure. In late 2004, a Cleveland Clinic institutional review board said a face transplant was ethical and possible and approved [Maria Siemionow]'s scientific blueprint for the experimental procedure. It was the first time any ethics committee in the world had given such permission.
— id: 97508, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Surgeons Transplant Nearly All Of a Face
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Dec 17;:A.22-?, New York times
[...] transplant pioneers say that the psychological effects of facial damage from injuries, birth defects, burns and a number of diseases can be psychologically devastating
— id: 97509, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.22, stat: Journal Article,

TB'S RESISTANCE TO DRUGS REACHES HIGHEST LEVELS SPREAD OF DISEASE DETAILED IN WORLDWIDE STUDY
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 27;:A.12-?, Sun Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale FL)
A decade ago, when WHO first received reports of 9 to 10 percent rates of multiple-drug-resistant TB in some areas, many scientists thought the figure was inaccurate due to a misclassification that mixed new, previously treated and chronic cases together. Experts also said higher rates were not possible, [Mario C. Raviglione] said, but 'we see now it is possible, it tells you they are really doing something wrong in places where this form of TB is spreading.'
— id: 80918, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.12, stat: Journal Article,

Team Creates Rat Heart Using Cells of Baby Rats
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 14;:A.12-?, New York times
Todd N. McAllister of Cytograft Tissue Engineering in Novato, Calif., said, ''[Doris A. Taylor]'s work is one of those maddeningly simple ideas that you knock yourself on the head, saying, 'Why didn't I think of that?'<0>'' Dr. McAllister's team has used a snippet of a patient's skin to grow blood vessels in a laboratory, and then implanted them to restore blood flow around a patient's damaged arteries and veins. ''The heart is a beautiful organ,'' Dr. Taylor said, ''and it's not one that I thought I'd ever be able to build in a dish.'' Beginning Jan. 15, Adam Liptak's column, ''Sidebar,'' will appear on Tuesdays. Dan Barry's column, ''This Land,'' will return on Monday, Jan. 21
— id: 80943, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.12, stat: Journal Article,

The Story Behind Kennedy's Surgery
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 29;:F.1-?, New York times
In the meeting, experts spoke about surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, said the participant, Dr. Raymond Sawaya, chairman of neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine and the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston
— id: 80867, year: 2008, vol: , page: F.1, stat: Journal Article,

U.S. Blacks, If a Nation, Would Rank High on AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 30;:A.10-?, New York times
If black America were a country, it would rank 16th in the world in the number of people living with the AIDS virus, the Black AIDS Institute, an advocacy group, reported Tuesday. Dr. Helene Gayle, president of CARE and a former director of H.I.V. prevention efforts at the disease control centers, told reporters on Tuesday that the United States needed to devote more resources to care for people with sexually transmitted diseases
— id: 80863, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

U.S. cancels large trial of an AIDS vaccine Risk of HIV infection in volunteers cited
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 19;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
The study is known as PAVE, for 'partnership for AIDS vaccine evaluation.' PAVE is a consortium of U.S. government agencies and key federally funded organizations involved in developing and evaluating experimental HIV vaccines. It aims to develop an effective HIV vaccine that no pharmaceutical company or institution is likely to accomplish on its own. Also, the findings among the 3,000 participants in nine countries in which the Merck vaccine was tested suggested that it might have increased risk among vaccine recipients of becoming infected with HIV. After a safety-monitoring committee detected the problems with the Merck vaccine last September, the company halted its study immediately. The Merck vaccine was the first of a new class of HIV vaccines to get to an advanced stage in human testing. The vaccine was made from a weakened version of a common cold virus, adenovirus type 5, which served as a way to deliver three synthetically produced genes from the AIDS virus. Three doses of the vaccine were injected over six months
— id: 80871, year: 2008, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Using nature's building blocks, a beating heart is grown
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 15;:1-?, International Herald Tribune
With modifications, scientists should be able to grow a human heart by taking stem cells from a patient's bone marrow and placing them in a cadaver heart that has been prepared as a scaffold, [Doris Taylor] said in an interview by telephone from her laboratory in Minneapolis. The early success 'opens the door to this notion that you can make any organ: kidney, liver, lung, pancreas - you name it, and we hope we can make it,' she said. Todd McAllister of Cytograft Tissue Engineering in Novato, California, said, 'Doris Taylor's work is one of those maddeningly simple ideas that you knock yourself on the head, saying, 'Why didn't I think of that?' ' McAllister's team has used a snippet of a patient's skin to grow blood vessels in a laboratory, and then implanted them to restore blood flow around a patient's damaged arteries and veins. 'The heart is a beautiful organ,' Taylor said, 'and it's not one that I thought I'd ever be able to build in a dish.'
— id: 80936, year: 2008, vol: , page: 1, stat: Journal Article,

Victor McKusick, 86, Dies; Medical Genetics Pioneer
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jul 24;:B.6-?, New York times
It was only four years after the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule by James Watson and Francis Crick, and one year after scientists had established that the correct number of human chromosomes was 46, a finding that helped genetics begin to flourish
— id: 80870, year: 2008, vol: , page: B.6, stat: Journal Article,

Virus Is Linked to a Powerful Skin Cancer
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 18;:A.15-?, New York times
''We can say we have a culprit with the smoking gun at the scene of the crime, but that still doesn't mean he's guilty,'' Dr. [Patrick S. Moore] said in a telephone interview. ''We have a long way to go to prove that this agent is really the cause,'' he said. ''But the fact that the virus is so strongly associated with the tumor is at least a very good bet that it is playing an important role.'' ''It is not every day,'' Dr. [Anthony S. Fauci] said, ''that you have some pretty compelling molecular proof that a virus is associated, likely causally, with development of a particular cancerous process.''
— id: 80933, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.15, stat: Journal Article,

W.H.O. Issues a Checklist To Make Operations Safer
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jun 25;:A.10-?, New York times
— id: 80883, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

When a Murderer Wants to Practice Medicine
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jan 29;:F.2-?, New York times
No one knows how many Swedish doctors have criminal records, in part because of Swedish laws and culture that emphasize personal integrity. When Mr. [Svensson]'s classmates were asked at a student meeting how many had criminal records, nine other men and women said they did, according to an article in the medical student union's publication, Medicor. No definition of what constituted a crime was given. Speaking of the general problems in admitting a murderer to medical school, Dr. [Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson] said: ''In the final analysis, it comes down to trust, because when you are a patient you are putting your life in someone else's hands.'' Last week, she said that because Mr. Svensson's expulsion was based on a technicality, his case did not resolve the broad issue of who is fit to be a doctor and whether a murderer forfeits the right to become one. That, she repeated, is up to Swedish legislators and government officials, who have given her mixed messages so far
— id: 80930, year: 2008, vol: , page: F.2, stat: Journal Article,

WHO reports problems in detecting TB
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Mar 19;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
Globally, there were 9.2 million new cases and 1.7 million deaths from tuberculosis in 2006, the latest year for which statistics are available. Of these, 700,000 cases and 200,000 deaths were among people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The figures are based on data provided by 202 countries and territories . The new statistics are worrisome because 'the more cases that are detected early interrupt transmission and provide a better chance of cure, and that ultimately has a greater impact on the incidence of the disease,' Dr. Mario Raviglione, the agency's director of tuberculosis control, said
— id: 80899, year: 2008, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

WHO sounds alarm on drug-resistant TB
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 27;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
'We are seeing levels of multiple-drug-resistant TB that we never expected; 20 percent is a very high level,' [Mario Raviglione] said. The Global Plan to Stop TB is a road map for reducing by half TB prevalence and deaths by 2015 compared with 1990 levels. A decade ago, when the WHO first received reports of 9 to 10 percent rates of multiple-drug-resistant TB in some areas, many scientists thought the figure was inaccurate due to a misclassification that mixed new, previously treated and chronic cases together. Experts also said higher rates were not possible, Raviglione said, but 'we see now it is possible, it tells you they are really doing something wrong in places where this form of TB is spreading.' They were the drug resistant tuberculosis 'hot spots' 13 years ago. Today, after a substantial investment and a sustained assault on multiple-drug-resistant TB, rates in these two countries are stabilizing and rates of new TB are falling
— id: 80915, year: 2008, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

World health body issues checklist for safer surgery
Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Jun 26;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
Dr. E. Patchen Dellinger, vice chairman of surgery at the University of Washington, which took part in the WHO research, said that when the checklist is discussed with nonmedical people, 'the most common reaction is the question: 'You mean you haven't been doing this all along?'' The number of surgical procedures performed in a year is nearly double the number of births 'and is probably an order of magnitude more dangerous,' [Atul Gawande]'s team reported in an article in the journal Lancet, which was released Tuesday. Creating an accurate, functional checklist for surgery took many revisions, Gawande said, adding: 'You can make bad checklists, and you can make good checklists. It is very easy to make a bad checklist that people want to throw away and never use.'
— id: 80882, year: 2008, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Swedes Ponder Whether Killer Can Be a Doctor
Altman, Lawrence K; Bostrom, Majsan
2008 Jan 25;:A.1-?, New York times
There was no legal way to expel Mr. [Svensson], because ''no national policy covers the situation,'' Dr. Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson, the Karolinska's president, said last month. The only grounds for expulsion would be if he were a threat to others or had a psychiatric illness, she said. ''That seemed strange to us, so on Wednesday we asked the national agency responsible for verifying application documents to check,'' and they could not verify the transcript, Dr. Wallberg-Henriksson said in a telephone interview on Thursday. ''We were under the assumption that they had done it because that's their responsibility.'' She met with students again when Mr. Svensson identified himself before his classmates. At that meeting, Mr. Svensson spoke for about 10 minutes without apologizing for the murder or his past. He did say, ''Today, I am not the person I was 10 years ago,'' Dr. Wallberg-Henriksson said
— id: 80931, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

McCain's Health Is Called Robust By His Doctors
Altman, Lawrence K; Bumiller, Elisabeth
2008 May 24;:A.1-?, New York times
Specifically, the Armed Forces Institute pathology report said that details about the lesion were 'highly suggestive of a metastasis of malignant melanoma and may represent a satellite metastasis,' with satellite meaning one melanoma had spread to create another
— id: 80889, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

On the Campaign Trail, Few Mentions of McCain's Bout With Melanoma
Altman, Lawrence K; Cooper, Michael
2008 Mar 9;:A.26-?, New York times
The marks are cosmetic reminders of the melanoma surgery he underwent in August 2000. Mr. [John McCain], the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, sometimes tells audiences that he has ''more scars than Frankenstein.'' ''It was a complex problem,'' he said, ''that was handled very skillfully by a team of experts.'' ''No spread of melanoma was found in any of these locations,'' the campaign said. ''However, this preventative procedure had cosmetic side effects for Senator McCain, including swelling at the site of the incision. Thus, the large scar and attendant swelling that Senator McCain has on the left side of his face is not the result of the melanoma itself, which was small and localized, but rather of the more extensive surgical procedure utilized out of a high degree of caution.''
— id: 80909, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.26, stat: Journal Article,

2008: Appreciations, Acknowledgments, and Announcements
Altman, Lawrence K; Green W
2008 Dec;18(6):545-?, Journal of child & adolescent psychopharmacology
— id: 105434, year: 2008, vol: 18, page: 545, stat: Journal Article,

Outside the operating room--economic, regulatory, and legal challenges: a collection of perspectives and panel discussion
Altman, Lawrence K; Mussallem, Michael A; Dresser, Rebecca; Lombardo, Paul A; Ubel, Peter A; White, Christopher L
2008 Nov;75 Suppl 6:S61-S70, Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine
— id: 91459, year: 2008, vol: 75 Suppl 6, page: S61, stat: Journal Article,

Prognosis Usually Bleak For Condition, a Glioma
Altman, Lawrence K; O'Connor, Anahad
2008 May 21;:A.22-?, New York times
Speaking of brain tumors in general and not of Mr. Kennedy's case, Dr. Steven S. Rosenfeld, who directs NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital's brain tumor center, said: I do not know what his surgeons are planning, but we certainly find ourselves with malignant gliomas on that side of the brain where we don't do surgery because of the possibility of damaging speech
— id: 80892, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.22, stat: Journal Article,

W.H.O. Says Iraq Civilian Death Toll Higher Than Cited
Altman, Lawrence K; Oppel, Richard A Jr; Harris, Gardiner
2008 Jan 10;:A.14-?, New York times
The White House said that it had not seen the study and would not comment on its estimated death toll, but that the recent increase in American forces had reduced civilian and military casualties. ''We mourn the deaths of all people in Iraq,'' said Jeanie Mamo, a White House spokeswoman. In a telephone news conference organized by the health organization, a voice identified as that of the Iraqi health minister, Salih Mahdi Mutlab al-Hasnawi, said, ''It is a very sound survey, and the sample is a good sample,'' and ''I believe in those numbers.'' Mohamed M. Ali, a health agency statistician and co-author of the report, said that ''in the absence of comprehensive death registration and hospital reporting, household surveys are the best we can do.'' Even then, the figures collected are likely to be underestimates because ''some homes could not be visited because of high levels of insecurity and more people move residence in times of conflict,'' Mr. Hasnawi, the health minister, said in a statement issued by the W.H.O
— id: 80946, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.14, stat: Journal Article,

Obama's Doctor, Praising His Health, Sees No Obstacles to Service
Altman, Lawrence K; Zeleny, Jeff
2008 May 30;:A.13-?, New York times
The undated letter was released less than a week after Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, released his medical records
— id: 80887, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.13, stat: Journal Article,

McCain healthy, doctors say (folo) Disorder in McCain camp worries some Republicans ELECTIONS 2008
Bumiller, Elisabeth; Altman, Lawrence K
2008 May 26;:1-?, International Herald Tribune
'At the present time, Senator [McCain] enjoys excellent health and displays extraordinary energy,' McCain's primary care physician, Dr. John Eckstein, said Friday in a conference call arranged by McCain's campaign
— id: 80888, year: 2008, vol: , page: 1, stat: Journal Article,

McCain Set To Release Health Data On Friday
Bumiller, Elisabeth; Altman, Lawrence K
2008 May 22;:A.28-?, New York times
Campaign officials have nonetheless said that even if nothing in the records suggests a problem with his health, a rush of news media reports focusing on the cancer surgery was not politically helpful and that they wanted to play down the information as much as possible -- something that the timing of the release would seem to accomplish
— id: 80891, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.28, stat: Journal Article,

Tight Control on Files and Shortened Question Period
Bumiller, Elisabeth; Altman, Lawrence K
2008 May 24;:A.14-?, New York times
The media organizations in the pool included ABC News, The Arizona Republic, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, NBC News, Reuters and The Washington Post
— id: 80890, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.14, stat: Journal Article,

Barack Obama has been on the gum for a long time; Still occasionally falls off the wagon
Grady, Denise; Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Dec 29;:A.10-?, Spectator (Hamilton, Ont)
He told Tom Brokaw of NBC several weeks ago, for example, that he 'had stopped' but that 'there are times where I've fallen off the wagon.' He promised to obey the no-smoking rules in the White House, but whether that meant he would be ducking out the back door for a smoke is not known. His transition team declined to answer any questions about his smoking, past or present, or his efforts to quit. In a letter given to reporters before the election, [Barack Obama]'s doctor described his smoking history as 'intermittent,' and said he had quit several times and was using Nicorette gum, a form of nicotine replacement, 'with success.' 'If nicotine is harmful, it is a minuscule risk compared to cigarette smoking,' [Neal L. Benowitz] said. 'If people want to continue using gum or patches, and not cigarettes, their health will be enhanced.'
— id: 97504, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

Giving up smoking isn't easy for anyone - including Barack Obama
Grady, Denise; Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Dec 30;:5-?, International Herald Tribune
[Barack Obama]'s heaviest smoking was seven or eight cigarettes a day, but three was more typical, according to an interview published in the November issue of Men's Health magazine. In a letter given to reporters before the election, Obama's doctor described his smoking history as 'intermittent,' and said he had quit several times and was using Nicorette gum, a form of nicotine replacement, 'with success.' Obama was often seen chewing gum during the campaign. 'It's generally prompted by a stressful situation, when they're fatigued and they need to concentrate and focus,' [Neal Benowitz] said. 'Obama talked about that. People are used to having a cigarette in that situation.' 'There is increasing evidence that if you can exercise, it's often helpful' in quitting, Benowitz said. 'I hope Obama can still find time to play basketball on a regular basis.'
— id: 97499, year: 2008, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

Lessons for Other Smokers in Obama's Efforts to Quit
Grady, Denise; Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Dec 29;:A.12-?, New York times
In a letter given to reporters before the election, Mr. Obama's doctor described his smoking history as 'intermittent,' and said he had quit several times and was using Nicorette gum, a form of nicotine replacement, 'with success.' The risks of cancer, other lung disease and heart problems come from other chemicals in tobacco smoke
— id: 97503, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.12, stat: Journal Article,

Obama can't quite kick the habit; President-elect stumbles in bid to stop smoking
Grady, Denise; Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Dec 30;:A.2-?, Gazette (Montreal, PQ)
In a letter given to reporters before the election, Obama's doctor described his smoking history as 'intermittent,' and said he had quit several times and was using Nicorette gum, a form of nicotine replacement, 'with success.'
— id: 97502, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.2, stat: Journal Article,

Advocates Share Ideas In Teaching About AIDS
Lacey, Marc; Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Aug 10;:A.16-?, New York times
There was 'a 'planting and eating soybean' project for people living with H.I.V./AIDS in rural Anhui, China,' 'situational analysis and client satisfaction evaluation of A.R.T. centers in India' and 'coordinating procurement planning using logistics data,' to name but a few such studies
— id: 80846, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.16, stat: Journal Article,

Surgeon Is Accused of Hurrying Death of Patient to Get Organs
McKinley, Jesse; Carroll, Melanie; Altman, Lawrence K
2008 Feb 27;:A.1-?, New York times
''It all works exactly the same, the cuts and the procedure,'' Dr. Sade said. ''But the circumstances are quite different.'' Mr. Navarro was diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy, a neurological disorder, when he was 9. ''He would walk like he was drunk,'' said his mother, [Rosa Navarro], a Guatemalan immigrant. ''And when he would play, he would fall like Bambi.'' ''He didn't deserve to be like that, to go that way,'' she said. ''He died without dignity and sympathy and without respect.''
— id: 80917, year: 2008, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

'Knockout' scientists share medicine's biggest prize; Using designer mice to reveal human genetic code and gain greater understanding of life-threatening diseases wins 2007 Nobel for 2 American researchers and 1 Briton
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Oct 9;:A.2-?, Edmonton Journal
When he decided to leave the Harvard faculty in 1973 because members of the department did not get along, he said, and did not recruit sufficient younger scientists, [Mario R. Capecchi] went to Utah. Colleagues told him, he said, that he was 'nuts' to leave Harvard's Ivy League splendour. But Capecchi said [James Watson] told him he could do good science anywhere. Capecchi said the main advantage was that he could work on long- term projects more easily in Utah than at Harvard, where there was a push to get results quickly. Capecchi said that when he reapplied to the NIH in 1984 for the grant it had rejected in 1980, he was told, 'We are glad you didn't follow our advice.' In applying for grants, he said he was told many of his ideas were premature and could not be done. 'Then five years later,' he said, 'I find everyone is doing the same thing.'
— id: 86043, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.2, stat: Journal Article,

4 Winners of Lasker Awards for Research
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Sep 16;:1.22-?, New York times
Dr. [Anthony S. Fauci], who has directed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, marshaled scientific evidence to construct the United States' responses to these two global crises. The Lasker Foundation also cited Dr. Fauci for his role ''in explaining issues of great concern like the science behind emerging biological hazards'' to the public. Although dendritic cells comprise only 1 percent of mouse spleen cells, Dr. [Ralph M. Steinman] found that they were the most powerful cell in priming the immune system. The dendritic cell can adjust the body's defenses by stimulating different T immune cells. ''No one had anticipated that any cell could so efficiently goad T cells into action,'' said Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, the chairman of the Lasker jury and a Nobel laureate from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas
— id: 86052, year: 2007, vol: , page: 1.22, stat: Journal Article,

A combination to fight both HIV and malaria
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Mar 2;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
The combination - taking one inexpensive antibiotic pill each day and sleeping under an insecticide-treated mosquito net - reduced the incidence of malaria by 97 percent compared with a control group, Dr. Anne Gasasira, an AIDS researcher at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, said Wednesday at a medical conference in Los Angeles. She said the findings had already changed medical practice in Uganda. But scientists said they had not yet determined whether the treatment would be as effective in HIV-negative children with malaria
— id: 86126, year: 2007, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

A lack of reliable tests slows fight against TB
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 26;:9-?, International Herald Tribune
The most celebrated example of such discordant findings involved Andrew Speaker, the Atlanta lawyer who caused an international health scare after traveling to Europe in May with what was believed to be extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, known as XDR. This month, Speaker's doctors downgraded his type of tuberculosis to multidrug-resistant, or MDR, after repeating tests that initially gave a different result. The overwhelming majority of tuberculosis cases are caused by bacterial strains that yield to the standard, or first-line, anti- TB drugs. Newer, second-line drugs are used if a strain of tuberculosis is MDR or XDR, which are resistant to the first-line drugs. If tuberculosis strains are not tested for drug resistance as soon as they are found in a patient, the problem may be detected too late to permit a cure. Reliable tests to determine resistance to first-line drugs were developed when the drugs were first marketed about a half-century ago. Fewer resistance tests exist for the newer, second-line drugs needed to treat MDR and XDR tuberculosis, and many of them are difficult to perform
— id: 86068, year: 2007, vol: , page: 9, stat: Journal Article,

A nod of approval for breast-feeding New studies challenge thinking on HIV transmission
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Feb 28;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
A case in point is the effort to encourage formula-feeding instead of breast-feeding to prevent transmission of the virus that causes AIDS from mother to infant. At the 14th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections here on Monday, scientists reported findings from a number of studies citing the dangers of formula-feeding in poor countries that challenged the current recommendations. The findings led participants to urge researchers to find safer ways for breast- feeding and using formula in the battle to stop the AIDS pandemic. Based on earlier studies, the World Health Organization has said that exclusive breast-feeding has a lower risk of transmitting HIV than breast-feeding combined with other fluids or foods
— id: 86132, year: 2007, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Agency Urges A Change In Antibiotics For Gonorrhea
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Apr 13;:A.10-?, New York times
Standard monitoring of gonorrhea cases is conducted among men who go to S.T.D. clinics. New data from such sites in 26 cities show that rates of drug-resistant gonorrhea among heterosexual men at the clinics last year reached 26 percent in Philadelphia and more than 20 percent in Honolulu and four areas in California, Long Beach, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco. ''We are running out of options,'' said Dr. John M. Douglas Jr., who directs the division of sexually transmitted diseases prevention at the centers. Cephalosporins, like their cousin penicillin, thwart bacteria by damaging a microbe's cell wall, not by attacking DNA as the fluoroquinolones do, Dr. Douglas said. In 2000, the centers recommended against fluoroquinolones for any patient who acquired gonorrhea in Hawaii, other Pacific Islands and Asia. The agency extended the recommendation to California in 2002. In 2004, the centers recommended that fluoroquinolones not be used among gay men with gonorrhea
— id: 86112, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS Drugs Reach More People, U.N. Report Says, but Not Enough
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Apr 18;:A.7-?, New York times
Still, the effort is ''a remarkable success'' considering that only 2 percent of infected patients needing antiretroviral therapy were receiving it three years ago, said Dr. Kevin De Cock, the H.I.V./AIDS director at the World Health Organization, a United Nations agency in Geneva. Many numbers were discouraging. In 2006, about six times as many people became infected with H.I.V. as started treatment, meaning prevention efforts are faltering or not in place, Dr. De Cock told reporters by telephone. The Bush administration's emergency plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria were paying for care of about 1.27 million of the two million total, the United Nations said
— id: 86107, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.7, stat: Journal Article,

An Uncertain Prognosis, and Many Risks
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Apr 14;:B.2-?, New York times
Because of the severe pain from having fractured 12 ribs, a tube that is connected to a mechanical ventilator has been placed in Mr. [Jon S. Corzine]'s throat to help him breathe. The tube prevents Mr. Corzine from speaking. The full extent of Mr. Corzine's injuries may not yet be known in part because no diagnostic test is perfect. Doctors may not have been able to perform a full neurological evaluation in the initial hours of Mr. Corzine's treatment because of the pain, the extent of his injuries and his need for medication. Although a CT scan showed no structural brain injury, that X-ray test does not rule out mental or physical damage. Mr. Corzine also suffered a broken lower vertebra, a bone that protects the spinal cord. Mr. Corzine's doctors did not say whether there was any indication of paralysis or other spinal cord damage
— id: 86110, year: 2007, vol: , page: B.2, stat: Journal Article,

Annual Exam Gives Bush Good Marks For Health
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Aug 9;:A.12-?, New York times
The White House did not disclose the diagnosis last August because Lyme disease had not interfered with Mr. [Bush]'s duties, as when he temporarily turned over the powers of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney when he had a colonoscopy in July. Mr. Bush's doctors described him as ''fit for duty,'' a standard military phrase. The findings are consistent with viral illnesses that can be followed by periods of unsteadiness for several weeks, said Dr. Michael G. Stewart, the chief of ear, nose and throat medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell hospital. Untreated Lyme disease can lead to nerve damage, often involving the eighth cranial nerve, the same one affected by vestibular neuronitis. But Mr. Bush's doctors said they did not believe the Lyme infection was linked to his vestibular neuronitis because the skin lesion had not recurred. Mr. Bush weighed 192 pounds, 4 pounds less than last year, a change he attributed to ''less birthday cake.''
— id: 86060, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.12, stat: Journal Article,

Another tool against malaria (folo) Partnership leads to cheaper malaria pill Pharmaceutical giant works with a charity
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Mar 2;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
The combination - taking one inexpensive antibiotic pill each day and sleeping under an insecticide-treated mosquito net - reduced the incidence of malaria by 97 percent compared with a control group, Dr. Anne Gasasira, an AIDS researcher at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, said Wednesday at a medical conference in Los Angeles. She said the findings had already changed medical practice in Uganda
— id: 86127, year: 2007, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Anti-gonorrhea treatment is changing
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Apr 14;:A.03-?, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City UT)
Standard monitoring of gonorrhea cases is conducted among men who go to STD clinics. New data from such sites in 26 cities show that rates of drug-resistant gonorrhea among heterosexual men last year reached 26 percent in Philadelphia and more than 20 percent in Honolulu and four sites in California, Long Beach, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco. Health officials are also concerned about extremely drug- resistant tuberculosis and a number of other microbes like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella penumoniae and Acinetobacter species that are resistant to most antibiotics
— id: 86108, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.03, stat: Journal Article,

ARTHUR KORNBERG MARCH 13, 1918 - OCT. 26, 2007 AMERICAN NOBELIST FOUND HOW DNA FORMS
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Oct 29;:B.3-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
In 1959, Arthur Kornberg was awarded a Nobel Prize in medicine for the discovery of DNA polymerase, an enzyme needed to synthesize the master molecule of heredity.
— id: 80958, year: 2007, vol: , page: B.3, stat: Journal Article,

Arthur Kornberg, 89, awarded Nobel for DNA finding OBITUARY
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Oct 29;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
The Journal of Biological Chemistry initially rejected Kornberg's two classic papers. He said the journal told him that a peer, the noted scientist Erwin Chargaff, had written 'an exceedingly sarcastic letter' in assessing his findings. In 1967, Kornberg and his team became the first to produce the active inner core of a virus in a laboratory. President Lyndon Johnson hailed the report of the feat as 'one of the most important stories you ever read' because it 'opens a wide door to new discoveries in fighting disease and building healthier lives.'
— id: 80957, year: 2007, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Arthur Kornberg, 89, Dies; Won Nobel for DNA Work
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Oct 28;:A.24-?, New York times
The Journal of Biological Chemistry initially rejected Dr. Kornberg's two classic papers. He said the journal told him that a peer, the noted scientist Erwin Chargaff, had written ''an exceedingly sarcastic letter'' in assessing his findings. In 1967, Dr. Kornberg and his team became the first to produce the active inner core of a virus in a laboratory. President Lyndon B. Johnson hailed the report of the feat as ''one of the most important stories you ever read'' because it ''opens a wide door to new discoveries in fighting disease and building healthier lives.'' He complained bitterly, however, that too few scientists studied polyphosphate, largely, he said, because of science's proclivity to work ''in a clannish way.'' With more scientists struggling for grants in an era of tight budgets, he said, ''nobody is going to propose doing anything that is bold or creative,'' like working on polyphosphate
— id: 80959, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.24, stat: Journal Article,

Arthur Kornberg, 89; won Nobel in medicine
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Oct 29;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
In 1967, Kornberg and his team became the first to produce the active inner core of a virus in a laboratory. President Lyndon Johnson hailed the report of the feat as 'one of the most important stories you ever read' because it 'opens a wide door to new discoveries in fighting disease and building healthier lives.'
— id: 80956, year: 2007, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Blood Vessels Grown From Patient's Skin
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Oct 9;:F.5-?, New York times
''This technique has a big potential in the vascular surgical field,'' said Dr. Toshiharu Shinoka, who directs pediatric cardiovascular surgery at Yale and who plans to conduct studies with Cytograft on the new vessel. He called the technique an advance over one he used in operations on children in Japan, in which vessels were grown from cells on a scaffold that then degraded and was absorbed into the body. Doctors not connected with the company agreed on the importance of the new technique. ''A potential benefit may be for infants and children with congenital heart defects,'' said Dr. Deepak Srivastava, director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease at the University of California, San Francisco. Unlike grafts from cadavers, he added, ''the Cytograft vessels should be able to grow as the child does.'' Dr. Sergio A. Garrido, a vascular surgeon in Buenos Aires, said he implanted the Cytograft vessels in the forearm or upper arm under general anesthesia, in a different area from the malfunctioning shunt. The procedure took 60 to 90 minutes. Through surgical gloves, the Cytograft vessel, 5 1/2 to 11 * inches long, felt a little more delicate than a regular vein, he said
— id: 86044, year: 2007, vol: , page: F.5, stat: Journal Article,

Brandt, a leader in fighting AIDS [See Microfilm for Full Text]
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Sep 2;:B.7-?, News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
The News & Observer does not own the rights to republish..
— id: 86055, year: 2007, vol: , page: B.7, stat: Journal Article,

Cardiologist created basis for today's heart treatment
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Sep 29;:B.15-?, Times-Colonist (Victoria, BC)
Dr. Eugene Braunwald, an international leader in cardiology at Harvard, likened Sonnenblick's basic research work to 'what a brilliant mathematician or theoretical physicist does that ultimately allows you to go into space.' Sonnenblick's research began in the 1960s at Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. It continued at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Md.; Harvard; and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in the Bronx, where he was a distinguished university professor of medicine. For providing a framework for understanding normal and abnormal heart function, 'Ed Sonnenblick occupies an honoured place in the pantheon of the greatest heart and blood vessel physiologists of the 20th century,' said Braunwald, who worked with Sonnenblick
— id: 86048, year: 2007, vol: , page: B.15, stat: Journal Article,

Chasing the cure
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jan 2;:A.12-?, National Post (Toronto, Ont)
The physician, Dr. Howard M. Snyder, injected morphine and other drugs, none specific for a heart attack or for Eisenhower's falling blood pressure and irregular pulse. Dr. Snyder, a general surgeon, let Eisenhower sleep until noon at [Mamie Eisenhower]'s family home in Denver where he was staying. Then he called a cardiologist to do an electrocardiogram. Later, the president went by car to a hospital. There, he was largely confined for almost seven weeks to bed, chair rest and limited physical activity. As the son of a radiologist whose office was in our home, I grew up seeing conventional X-rays displayed on my father's light boxes. When I went to London in 1973 to report on the first brain CT scanner, I was astonished to see how it could detect tumors, strokes and other disorders that never could be seen on X-rays. I recalled all the patients with neurological symptoms who had to undergo a special X-ray procedure known as a pneumoencephalogram. In it, a needle was inserted through the back to remove spinal fluid and to inject air to outline structures in the brain. The technique was painful and unable to detect the tiny lesions that are now seen on scans. Then consumerism in medicine grew, more women became doctors, mammography was used more widely along with other advances to detect breast cancer earlier and the government invested more in research on breast cancer. From these changes, doctors began to understand that the cancer was systemic and not confined to the breast. The studies documented that simpler and less disfiguring procedures, often combined with radiation and drugs, were safe treatments
— id: 86141, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.12, stat: Journal Article,

COMPANY WITHDRAWS CONTACT LENS SOLUTION
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 May 29;:A.3-?, Sun Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale FL)
Epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have linked the acanthamoeba keratitis outbreak to AMO Complete Moisture Plus Multi-Purpose Solution. Advanced Medical Optics of Santa Ana, Calif., manufactures the solution, which is used to clean and store soft contact lenses
— id: 86099, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.3, stat: Journal Article,

Contact Lens Solution Pulled After It Is Linked to Infection
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 May 27;:1.18-?, New York times
The authorities said that the link was ''preliminary'' and that it had not determined precisely how the patients became infected. But investigators found that the risk of developing the infection was at least seven times greater for those people who used the AMO product than for those who did not. The company said, ''There is no evidence to suggest that the voluntary recall is related to a product contamination issue and this does not impact any of AMO's other contact lens care products.'' Acanthamoeba infection usually develops slowly and can be difficult to diagnose and treat. Doctors often attribute Acanthamoeba infections at first to a virus, herpes simplex, that is treatable. But the drugs for herpes do not help Acanthamoeba patients. Doctors advise treating the infection as early as possible
— id: 86102, year: 2007, vol: , page: 1.18, stat: Journal Article,

Developed life-saving vaccine
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Apr 3;:E.8-?, Gazette (Montreal, PQ)
The pneumococcal vaccine can prevent the pneumonia, meningitis and blood-system and other infections caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. These infections were long a major cause of illness and death among the elderly and the chronically ill throughout the world. Even healthy adults and infants suddenly died from them. After drug companies developed a vaccine that included 14 serotypes, Austrian proved its safety and effectiveness by supervising clinical trials among military trainees and gold miners in South Africa. They were at greater risk because they worked in crowded conditions. The vaccine was marketed in 1977, at a time when there were up to 750,000 cases of pneumococcal pneumonia in the United States each year
— id: 86116, year: 2007, vol: , page: E.8, stat: Journal Article,

Dr. Edward N. Brandt Jr.: 1933 - 2007; Initiated AIDS fight in the U.S.
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Sep 2;:6-?, Chicago Tribune
Dr. [Edward N. Brandt Jr.], coming to his government job as a medical school administrator, found himself in a difficult position. While AIDS was his first priority, it was not for the rest of the [Reagan] administration, whose policy was to cut costs. But as a physician, Dr. Brandt knew that scientists needed money to study AIDS, although money alone would not suffice
— id: 86054, year: 2007, vol: , page: 6, stat: Journal Article,

Drug resistance forces new tactic on gonorrhea
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Apr 14;:5-?, International Herald Tribune
Standard monitoring of gonorrhea cases is conducted among men who go to sexually transmitted disease clinics. New data from such sites in 26 cities show that among heterosexual men found to have gonorrhea last year, the rate of those infected with a drug- resistant strain reached 26 percent in Philadelphia and more than 20 percent in Honolulu and four sites in California, Long Beach, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco. The United States has an estimated 700,000 new cases of gonorrhea a year, occurring among sexually active people of both sexes at all ages. It is the second most commonly reported infectious disease, behind chlamydia, another sexually transmitted disease. 'We are running out of options,' said Dr. John Douglas Jr., who directs the division of sexually transmitted diseases prevention at the centers. Cephalosporins, like their cousin penicillin, thwart bacteria by damaging a microbe's cell wall, not by attacking DNA as the fluoroquinolones do, Douglas said
— id: 86109, year: 2007, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

Drug-resistant tuberculosis found in 28 countries
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Mar 21;:A.6-?, Spectator (Hamilton, Ont)
That was the case in Tugela Ferry, a rural town in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, when an outbreak of extremely drug- resistant tuberculosis -- XDR-TB for short -- killed 52 of its 53 victims, all of whom were also infected with HIV. The outbreak was detected in 2005, but it did not receive international attention until it was reported at the international AIDS meeting in Toronto last August. Using statistics from recent years, [Karin Weyer] said her team estimated that 6,000 new cases of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis occurred in South Africa each year and that the rate of treatment failure was about 10 per cent. Assuming that most failures were due to the extremely drug-resistant form, a conservative estimate is 600 cases of XDR-TB in her country each year, Weyer said. The outbreak is not limited to Africa. Dr. Paul Nunn, a tuberculosis expert at the World Health Organization, told the meeting here that one or more cases of XDR-TB had been found in at least 28 countries. Extrapolating from data about the multi-drug- resistant form of tuberculosis, Nunn estimated that two-thirds of the XDR-TB cases were from China, India and Russia
— id: 86119, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

Edmund H. Sonnenblick, 74, Is Dead; Pioneer in Treatments for Heart Failure
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Sep 27;:B.7-?, New York times
Dr. Eugene Braunwald, an international leader in cardiology at Harvard, likened Dr. Sonnenblick's basic research work to ''what a brilliant mathematician or theoretical physicist does that ultimately allows you to go into space.'' For providing a framework for understanding normal and abnormal heart function, ''Ed Sonnenblick occupies an honored place in the pantheon of the greatest heart and blood vessel physiologists of the 20th century,'' said Dr. Braunwald, who worked with Dr. Sonnenblick at Harvard and at the heart institute. Dr. Sonnenblick showed his electron micrographs at what was then the most prestigious scientific meeting in biomedical research: the plenary session of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, held in Atlantic City. ''A hush fell over the audience,'' Dr. Braunwald said, as Dr. Sonnenblick showed how heart muscle contractions were dependent on the alignment of certain molecules in the cells
— id: 86050, year: 2007, vol: , page: B.7, stat: Journal Article,

Edward N. Brandt Jr., a Leader on AIDS, Dies at 74
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Sep 1;:A.13-?, New York times
In 1983, Dr. Brandt said that investigating the disease had become ''the No. 1 priority'' of the Public Health Service. At the time, only 1,450 AIDS cases had been reported. William H. Foege, the agency's director at the time, said in an interview Wednesday that ''Ed Brandt continually fought on the inside'' to reduce the number of staff and budget cuts. Dr. Vivian Pinn, who directs the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health, said Dr. Brandt was also recognized as ''the godfather of women's health'' for his efforts as assistant secretary of health and human services to encourage more study of the issue. ''He was instrumental in promoting the careers of many people, especially women in science and women's health,'' Dr. Pinn said
— id: 86056, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.13, stat: Journal Article,

Experts Mostly Back Way U.S. Reacted in TB Case
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 5;:A.8-?, New York times
''If I sat next to a passenger with drug resistant tuberculosis, I would not be happy if I caught it, because I'd be getting a serious disease and need to take toxic drugs for two years and still face death,'' Dr. [Mario C. Raviglione] said. In an e-mail message to other county officials in May, Dr. Steven Katkowsky, director of Fulton County Health Department in Atlanta, which oversaw Mr. Speaker's case, defended making the issue public. At the time, Dr. Katkowsky wrote that ''if we don't say anything as a pre-emptive strike, the questions of what did you know, when, and what did you do are bound to come up.'' Dr. [Frank Plummer], who also directs the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, said that the discordance between the two laboratories in this case ''doesn't make sense'' and that he hoped ''a review will solve the mystery.''
— id: 86077, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

FORMER UW-MADISON PROFESSOR AMONG 3 AWARDED NOBEL PRIZE
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Oct 9;:A.9-?, Wisconsin State Journal
Two Americans - one of them a former UW-Madison professor - and a Briton won the 2007 Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for developing the immensely powerful 'knockout' technology, which allows scientists to create animal models of human disease in mice.
— id: 86047, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.9, stat: Journal Article,

George W. Comstock, 92, Dies; Leader in Fight Against TB
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 18;:A.17-?, New York times
Two sets of studies by Dr. Comstock in the 1940s and '50s had a critical impact on the federal government's response to tuberculosis. One set led public health officials to reject the tuberculosis vaccine known as BCG, which had been under consideration for routine use among American children. Dr. Comstock attributed the discrepancies among the trials to variations in different strains of the BCG vaccine and a lack of standard manufacturing techniques. Later, genetics studies documented that there was no uniformity among BCG vaccines, said Dr. Richard E. Chaisson, a tuberculosis researcher at Johns Hopkins. In the trial, Dr. Comstock and his family took INH themselves to convince the participants of his belief in the therapy's safety, Dr. Chaisson said. After the trial, Dr. Comstock returned and gave INH to those who had received the placebo
— id: 86072, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.17, stat: Journal Article,

GEORGE W. COMSTOCK| JAN. 7, 1915 - JULY 15, 2007; LEADER IN DEVELOPING TREATMENTS FOR TUBERCULOSIS
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 28;:B-3, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Two sets of studies by Dr. Comstock in the 1940s and '50s had a critical impact on the federal government's response to tuberculosis. One set led public health officials to reject the tuberculosis vaccine known as BCG, which had been under consideration for routine use among American children. Dr. Comstock attributed the discrepancies among the trials to variations in different strains of the BCG vaccine and a lack of standard manufacturing techniques. Later, genetics studies documented that there was no uniformity among BCG vaccines, said Richard E. Chaisson, a tuberculosis researcher at Johns Hopkins. In the trial, Dr. Comstock and his family took INH themselves to convince the participants of his belief in the therapy's safety, Mr. Chaisson said. After the trial, Dr. Comstock returned and gave INH to those who had received the placebo
— id: 86067, year: 2007, vol: , page: B, stat: Journal Article,

Health officials' reaction to TB scare gets much support
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 6;:5-?, International Herald Tribune
'If I sat next to a passenger with drug resistant tuberculosis, I would not be happy if I caught it, because I'd be getting a serious disease and need to take toxic drugs for two years and still face death,' [Mario Raviglione] said. 'They did the right thing.' While Speaker's case was unusual in many aspects, it followed the standard ways doctors detect and treat tuberculosis. Doctors detect TB largely through skin tests, X-rays and laboratory tests. After taking sputum and lung secretions from a suspect, doctors smear a portion of the specimen on a glass slide. They add chemical stains to help detect TB bacteria (often nicknamed red snappers) when they look through a microscope. [Frank Plummer], who also directs the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, said the discordance between the two laboratories in this case 'doesn't make sense' and that he hoped a review would 'solve the mystery.'
— id: 86075, year: 2007, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

Heart Patients' Guidelines For Having Other Surgery
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Sep 28;:A.21-?, New York times
The guidelines, 82 pages long, cover a number of wide-ranging medical issues. One is whether to stop taking certain prescribed drugs before an operation. Another is whether to implant stents or perform coronary bypass surgery before conducting other types of elective surgery. If heart patients need emergency nonheart surgery, doctors should forgo heart testing and send a patient straight to an operating room, said the panel's chairman, Dr. Lee A. Fleisher, chairman of anesthesiology and critical care at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In analyzing the published studies, the panel found that most were too small to provide meaningful statistical results, increasing the difficulty of making recommendations. ''A lot of the studies should never have been started or published,'' Dr. Fleisher said in an interview
— id: 86049, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.21, stat: Journal Article,

HEART VALVE BREAKTHROUGHS LEAD TO AWARDS FOR SURGEONS 3 AMERICANS, FRENCHMAN RECOGNIZED
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Sep 16;:A.3-?, Sun Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale FL)
In part to overcome the need for anticoagulant drugs, [Alain Carpentier] began research on use of human cadaver valves and adapting pig valves for human use in 1964. Carpentier found that a liquid chemical, glutaraldehyde, was better than other substances in sterilizing the tissue, reducing its propensity to cause adverse immunologic reactions and lengthening the valve's use. He also combined the animal tissue with a Teflon coating to create a device that could be produced in large amounts and kept on hospital shelves and that can avoid the need for anticoagulant drugs
— id: 86053, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.3, stat: Journal Article,

In Corzine's Fast Recovery, Doctors Cite Timing, Grit and Luck
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 May 13;:1.29-?, New York times
''Quite honestly, I didn't believe it,'' said Dr. [Steven E. Ross], who directs the level one, or most highly accredited, trauma center at the hospital. But he immediately alerted security guards and the public relations staff so they would ''keep people out of my hair'' and help him avoid ''the distractions'' that can interfere with the care of V.I.P.'s. ''All of us thought he would survive,'' Dr. [Robert F. Ostrum] said. He did not ''paint a bleak picture,'' he said, adding, ''but I wanted them to understand the severity of the injuries.'' ''It's counterproductive to tell somebody everything's going to be fine, and then when you do have problems, hear, 'Doctor, you told us everything was going to be fine,' '' Dr. Ross said. ''I would rather tell them about the realities and have everybody happy when things go well.''
— id: 86103, year: 2007, vol: , page: 1.29, stat: Journal Article,

In Moscow in 1996, a Doctor's Visit Changed History
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 May 1;:F.5-?, New York times
''Calling in Dr. [Michael E. DeBakey] was very important, a signal that he was in very serious condition, and consulting with a world leader in surgery this way was almost unthinkable in the Soviet period,'' said Marshall I. Goldman, a Russian expert and senior scholar at Harvard. ''It was a measure of Dr. DeBakey's stature in Russia.'' As a patient, Mr. [Boris N. Yeltsin] ''was not as bossy with me as he was with some of his Russian doctors,'' Dr. DeBakey said, adding: ''He didn't get along with some of the doctors there. But he took a liking to me, listened, and that made things much better.'' My requests for interviews with Mr. Yeltsin were always denied, so I was never able to ask him about Dr. DeBakey. But in a foreword to the Russian edition of Dr. DeBakey's book ''The New Living Heart'' (Adams, 1997), written with Antonio Gotto Jr., Mr. Yeltsin described Dr. DeBakey as ''a magician of the heart'' and ''a man with a gift for performing miracles.''
— id: 86105, year: 2007, vol: , page: F.5, stat: Journal Article,

Infection outbreak baffles officials ; Eye ailment linked to lens solution
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 May 28;:3-?, Chicago Tribune
Epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have linked the acanthamoeba keratitis outbreak to AMO Complete Moisture Plus Multi-Purpose Solution. Advanced Medical Optics of Santa Ana, Calif., manufactures the solution, used to clean and store soft contact lenses
— id: 86100, year: 2007, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Inquiry Into Role of Tuberculosis Patient's Father-in-Law
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 5;:A.17-?, New York times
Yesterday Dr. [Robert Cooksey] did not directly address the question of what he would have done under the same circumstances. ''I wasn't in that situation,'' Dr. Cooksey said on the ABC program ''Good Morning America,'' ''but I probably would have done the very same thing.'' The Fulton County health officials said they ''preferred'' that Andrew Speaker not travel but did not cite a specific reason. Ted Speaker said that he asked a health official whether he was ''just saying this to cover yourself'' and that the official replied, ''Yes.'' Dr. [Julie L. Gerberding] also said that at several times ''he helped us facilitate communication with his son-in-law and the wife,'' Sarah. Dr. Cooksey's ''assistance was actually extremely helpful in getting us in cellphone'' contact with Andrew Speaker in Europe, Dr. Gerberding said, ''to help us determine how to help him get into a safer health care environment.''
— id: 86092, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.17, stat: Journal Article,

Inquiry into TB scare looking at family link Father-in-law of the disease carrier, a tuberculosis expert, under scrutiny
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 6;:9-?, International Herald Tribune
At that point, [Robert Cooksey] said on television, Andrew's smear tests showed no tuberculosis bacteria 'and so, by the guidelines, he was not considered infectious' to others. But guidelines issued by the World Health Organization say that 'patients with multiple drug resistant tuberculosis should not travel until' no tuberculosis bacteria grow on culture tests performed in a laboratory. The Fulton County health officials said they 'preferred' that Andrew Speaker not travel but did not cite a specific reason. Ted Speaker said he asked a health official whether he was 'just saying this to cover yourself' and that the official replied, 'Yes.' [Julie Gerberding] also said that several times 'he helped us facilitate communication with his son-in-law and the wife,' Sarah. Cooksey's 'assistance was actually extremely helpful' in getting the CDC in cellphone contact with Andrew Speaker in Europe, Gerberding said, 'to help us determine how to help him get into a safer health care environment.'
— id: 86089, year: 2007, vol: , page: 9, stat: Journal Article,

John R. Hogness, 85, Dies; Led Institute of Medicine
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 10;:B.7-?, New York times
''I've found it constructive to cloak one's power,'' Dr. Hogness wrote in a family biography, adding that ''nevertheless, when people push me, they find they don't get very far.'' ''The first big study we did was a determination of the actual cost of medical education,'' Dr. Hogness said. ''Nobody had ever done that.'' Grabbing a bullhorn, Dr. Hogness smiled and said, ''Thank you all for coming,'' easing the confrontation
— id: 86074, year: 2007, vol: , page: B.7, stat: Journal Article,

Leader in fight against TB; Regarded as foremost expert in the world. Prevented U.S. from using BCG vaccine on children
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 23;:B.6-?, Gazette (Montreal, PQ)
In the trial, [George Comstock] and his family took INH themselves to convince the participants of his belief in the therapy's safety, Chaisson said. After the trial, Comstock returned and gave INH to those who had received the placebo. Comstock attributed the discrepancies among the trials to variations in different strains of the BCG vaccine and a lack of standard manufacturing techniques. Later, genetics studies documented that there was no uniformity among BCG vaccines, said Richard Chaisson, a tuberculosis researcher at Johns Hopkins
— id: 86070, year: 2007, vol: , page: B.6, stat: Journal Article,

Little-Known Virus Challenges A Far-Flung Health System
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 3;:F.5-?, New York times
The Zika virus, spread by mosquitoes, produces an itchy rash, pinkeye, joint pain and fever. Since its discovery 60 years ago in an ill monkey in the Zika forest in Uganda, it has caused rare cases and outbreaks in Africa and Southeast Asia. There is no specific treatment or vaccine. The illness in Yap resembled another mosquito-borne infection, dengue fever, which has occurred in Micronesia and can cause severe bone pain. But the Yap illness seemed to differ from typical dengue, producing more joint pains and conjunctivitis (pinkeye). Because a C.D.C. function is to detect and control diseases like Chikungunya if they enter the United States, Dr. [Edward B. Hayes]'s team asked for patients' blood samples and permission to send two epidemiologists and an entomologist to Yap
— id: 86079, year: 2007, vol: , page: F.5, stat: Journal Article,

New U.N. Health Chief Sets Her Priorities
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jan 5;:A.8-?, New York times
Dr. [Margaret F. C. Chan] is the first person from China to head a United Nations agency. China has been criticized severely for not sharing information with the world about diseases like influenza and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. Asked whether she felt pressure to favor China, Dr. Chan pledged to be fair, transparent and accountable. ''As an international civil servant, I commit to serve the interests of the member states of the organization,'' she said. In recent decades, as progress in medicine raced ahead, resources for public health grew more slowly, leading to greater global imbalances. Some people live longer and healthier lives while others die prematurely from preventable diseases. ''This is not a healthy situation -- for populations or world security,'' Dr. Chan said. Dr. Chan, who most recently was the health organization's assistant director general for communicable diseases, urged the world to remain vigilant against the threat of H5N1 avian influenza. The peak flu season normally occurs during cold weather. ''Complacency is our biggest enemy,'' she said, in preparing for the next influenza pandemic that could be caused by any strain. She said that scientists had not learned enough about the role of migratory birds in spreading avian flu viruses
— id: 86140, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

New U.N. Plan Commits $2.15 Billion to Fight Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 22;:A.8-?, New York times
An even more serious form, known as XDR-TB for extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, does not respond to any of the fluoroquinolone class and to at least one of three second-line drugs (amikacin, capreomycin and kanamycin) that are given by injection. There are about 450 laboratories in the world now that can detect drug-resistant tuberculosis, although many are not performing to capacity, Dr. Mario C. Raviglione, who directs the health agency's tuberculosis department in Geneva, said in a telephone interview. Under the plan, all laboratories would perform 1.8 million cultures for tuberculosis in 2007 and 2.2 million in 2008, up from the estimated 200,000 in 2006. The laboratories would perform 750,000 drug susceptibility tests in 2007 and 900,000 in 2008, up from 75,000 in 2005
— id: 86083, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

Outbreak of Eye Infections Is Puzzling Health Officials
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 May 28;:A.9-?, New York times
The outbreak resembles one last year that was linked to a different manufacturer's lens solution and a different microbe. In both instances, the cornea, the eye's transparent outer covering, is at risk. But why two different microbes caused the outbreaks is not known. ''It is beyond comprehension,'' said Dr. Dan B. Jones, the chairman of ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, who detected a case of acanthamoeba keratitis, which is behind the current outbreak, on Friday. Acanthamoeba infections have been reported in many countries. Dr. Jones's team is credited for first identifying a corneal infection from acanthamoeba in the United States, in a rancher who was injured in an accident in Texas in 1973. That case did not involve contact lenses: while the rancher was working in a field, a piece of wire and hay hit his eye
— id: 86101, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.9, stat: Journal Article,

Passengers on 2 flights sought for TB testing Infected man crossed Atlantic twice in May
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 May 31;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
The man, who declined to be identified in the newspaper article because of the stigma attached to his diagnosis, said he and his wife had decided to sneak back into the United States via Canada rather than have him be treated in isolation in Italy. 'I'm a very well-educated, successful, intelligent person,' he told the paper. 'This is insane to me that I have an armed guard outside my door when I've cooperated with everything other than the whole solitary- confinement-in-Italy thing.' That appraisal was based on tests showing that the number of tuberculosis bacteria in the man's sputum were too low to be detected but still enough to infect others. [Julie Gerberding] said her agency was erring on the side of caution because the form of tuberculosis, known as XDR TB, is often fatal and is a growing public health threat in many countries. The advisory applies only to crew members on the man's flight and to his fellow passengers, particularly those who were seated next to him and in the two rows behind him and the two rows in front of him. 'We're not concerned about a generic threat to travelers,' Gerberding said
— id: 86096, year: 2007, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Plan for drug-resistant TB unveiled
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 24;:N.7-?, Virginian-Pilot (Hampton-Roads, VA)
Another goal is to increase treatment of drug-resistant cases to 110,000 from about 15,000 in 2005. Such cases occur most commonly in Africa, Eastern Europe, China and India. An even more serious form, known as extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, does not respond to any of the fluoroquinolone class and to at least one of three second-line drugs (amikacin, capreomycin and kanamycin) that are given by injection
— id: 86081, year: 2007, vol: , page: N.7, stat: Journal Article,

Post-coital washing linked to HIV risk
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Aug 22;:L.4-?, Globe & Mail (Toronto, Ont)
A study in Uganda has come up with a surprising finding about sex and HIV: Washing the penis minutes after sex increases the risk of acquiring HIV in uncircumcised men
— id: 86058, year: 2007, vol: , page: L.4, stat: Journal Article,

Project Curbs Malaria in Ugandan Group
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Mar 1;:A.9-?, New York times
The findings also extend to an earlier study that found a reduced frequency of malaria among H.I.V.-infected adults in Uganda who took the antibiotic and slept under bed nets. Dr. Jonathan Mermin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta led the adult study, which was published in The Lancet last year. But Dr. [Anne Gasasira] said that because the adult and pediatric studies used different methodologies, the findings could not be directly compared. In the past, doctors assumed that a child who came to a clinic for fever in Uganda had malaria until it was proved otherwise. But because malaria was far less common among the participants who received the combination therapy, Dr. Gasasira said, doctors now assume that any fever in a young child must be investigated for a cause other than malaria. Dr. [Elaine Abrams], the Columbia expert, said in an interview that the Uganda findings had additional implications for treating H.I.V.-infected children in malarious areas. Because pediatricians are concerned that prolonged use of cotrimoxazole could lead to resistant malaria, they often stop the drug among AIDS patients when tests show significant improvement in the health of their immune system after antiretroviral therapy
— id: 86129, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.9, stat: Journal Article,

Radiology Was Young, And So Was I
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 19;:F.1-?, New York times
Radiologists sometimes made house calls, usually for patients bedridden with a fractured hip. Dad's ''black bag'' was a portable X-ray machine the size of a large suitcase and heavy. Use of portable X-rays was limited, because the radiation exposure time was long and the quality of the films seldom matched those taken in an office. X-ray films were developed in a darkened room with the type of chemical solutions used for camera film. A technician mixed fresh solutions daily, and they stank. Radiologists would give a preliminary ''wet reading'' after looking at the X-rays before they dried. The digital age has eliminated those steps by making X-ray film obsolete. ''The more experienced eye can take in a complex pattern of shadows and images almost at a glance and become instinctively sensitive to an abnormal contour or shadow,'' said Dr. Joseph T. Ferrucci Jr., the emeritus chairman of radiology at Boston University, whose radiologist father was one of my dad's colleagues
— id: 86084, year: 2007, vol: , page: F.1, stat: Journal Article,

Rise of a Deadly TB Reveals A Global System in Crisis
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Mar 20;:F.1-?, New York times
That was the case in Tugela Ferry, a rural town in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, when an outbreak of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis -- XDR-TB for short -- killed 52 of its 53 victims, all of whom were also infected with H.I.V. The outbreak was detected in 2005, but it did not receive international attention until it was reported at the international AIDS meeting in Toronto last August. Using statistics from recent years, Dr. [Karin Weyer] said her team estimated that 6,000 new cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis occurred in South Africa each year and that the rate of treatment failure was about 10 percent. Assuming that most failures were due to the extremely drug-resistant form, a conservative estimate is 600 cases of XDR-TB in her country each year, Dr. Weyer said. The outbreak is not limited to Africa. Dr. Paul Nunn, a tuberculosis expert at the World Health Organization, told the meeting here that one or more cases of XDR-TB had been found in at least 28 countries. Extrapolating from data about the multidrug-resistant form of tuberculosis, Dr. Nunn estimated that two-thirds of the XDR-TB cases were from China, India and Russia
— id: 86120, year: 2007, vol: , page: F.1, stat: Journal Article,

Robert Austrian, 90, Dies; Developed Major Vaccine
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Mar 30;:B.7-?, New York times
Dr. [Robert Austrian] was unconvinced by the prevailing medical wisdom. Through his work as a clinician, epidemiologist and microbiologist, he showed that pneumococcal pneumonia remained a killer. Two vaccines based on Dr. Austrian's work were licensed in 1977 and 1983. Robert Austrian was born in Baltimore on April 12, 1916, the son of Charles Robert Austrian, an infectious diseases expert at Johns Hopkins University, and the former Florence Hochschild. He earned his college and medical degrees from Johns Hopkins, where he also trained as a specialist in internal medicine. At this time, he developed an interest in pneumococcal infections while working with Dr. Barry Wood, a renowned infectious diseases expert. The work was interrupted by World War II. Dr. Austrian was sent to the Fiji Islands to treat casualties from the South Pacific. He also did research on the use of atabrine to treat malaria after the Japanese had obtained most sources of another antimalarial, quinine, Dr. [Harvey M. Friedman] said. Dr. Austrian was then sent to Burma to study scrub typhus, an infection transmitted by mite bites
— id: 86117, year: 2007, vol: , page: B.7, stat: Journal Article,

ROBERT AUSTRIAN| APRIL 12, 1916 - MARCH 25, 2007; DEVELOPED PNEUMONIA VACCINE
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Apr 6;:C.7-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Dr. [Robert Austrian] was unconvinced by the prevailing medical wisdom. Through his work as a clinician, epidemiologist and microbiologist, he showed that pneumococcal pneumonia remained a killer. Two vaccines based on Dr. Austrian's work were licensed in 1977 and 1983. Robert Austrian was born in Baltimore on April 12, 1916, the son of Charles Robert Austrian, an infectious diseases expert at Johns Hopkins University, and the former Florence Hochschild. He earned his college and medical degrees from Johns Hopkins, where he also trained as a specialist in internal medicine. After drug companies developed a vaccine that included 14 serotypes, Dr. Austrian proved its safety and effectiveness by supervising clinical trials among military trainees and gold miners in South Africa. They were at greater risk because they worked in crowded conditions. The vaccine was marketed in 1977, at a time when there were up to 750,000 cases of pneumococcal pneumonia in the United States each year
— id: 86115, year: 2007, vol: , page: C.7, stat: Journal Article,

Role of father-in-law probed (folo) Isolation might end for the TB traveler Tests say he is unlikely to infect others, provided strict precautions are taken
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 6;:9-?, International Herald Tribune
At that point, [Robert Cooksey] said on television, [Andrew]'s smear tests showed no tuberculosis bacteria 'and so, by the guidelines, he was not considered infectious' to others. But guidelines issued by the World Health Organization say that 'patients with multiple drug resistant tuberculosis should not travel until' no tuberculosis bacteria grow on culture tests performed in a laboratory
— id: 86090, year: 2007, vol: , page: 9, stat: Journal Article,

Safety concerns halt trials of HIV microbicide
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Feb 2;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
The trials in Africa and India involved a chemical, cellulose sulfate or Ushercell, and were the second failure of a potential microbicide in a full-scale trial in recent years. In one of the latest trials, a standard check by an independent scientific committee found an increased risk of HIV infection among women who used cellulose sulfate compared with those who used a placebo gel. An ideal microbicide would work in three ways. First, it would kill HIV in the vagina and cervix. Second, the microbicide would prevent any virus that escaped from attaching to a woman's cells, which is the way HIV starts to infect. Third, for any virus that did enter cells, the microbicide would block an enzyme that HIV needs to replicate
— id: 86136, year: 2007, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Scientists Urge New Look At Feeding in AIDS Fight
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Feb 27;:A.15-?, New York times
Dr. [Moses Sinkala] said health officials ''should strongly encourage breast-feeding into the second year of life for infants found to be HIV-infected.'' The reason was that infected infants had a lower death rate the longer they were breast-fed, said Dr. Donald M. Thea of Boston University, a co-author of the Zambian study. In a main address to the conference, Dr. Hoosen Coovadia, an AIDS expert from Durban, South Africa, pointed out the many well-documented advantages of breast-feeding. Dr. Coovadia pleaded with pediatricians and health officials not to lose sight of the fact that breast-feeding provided one of nature's greatest health benefits. United Nations AIDS estimates that 300,000 infants die each year from becoming infected through breast-feeding. Unicef estimates that 1.5 million infants die each year from mothers who avoided breast-feeding
— id: 86135, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.15, stat: Journal Article,

Sex Diseases Still Rising; Chlamydia Is Leader
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Nov 14;:A.21-?, New York times
Chlamydia and gonorrhea are the two most common diseases among those doctors must report in the United States. And the 1,030,911 cases of chlamydia in 2006 are the highest ever recorded for any nationally reported disease in any year, the officials said in releasing their annual report on sexually transmitted diseases. They said that because of underreporting, a more accurate estimate is 2.8 million new chlamydia cases annually. ''Chlamydia is now the most common S.T.D. ever reported,'' Dr. [John M. Douglas Jr.] said, but not by much. The next most common is gonorrhea, with just over one million cases reported each year from 1976 to 1980. The peak for gonorrhea was 1,013,00. Gonorrhea cases then declined steadily. African-Americans account for 69 percent of all gonorrhea in this country. ''The biggest increase in gonorrhea regionally has been in the South, and we do not have a ready explanation for that,'' Dr. Douglas said
— id: 80951, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.21, stat: Journal Article,

Simple, cheap method offers hope on malaria
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Mar 1;:A.11-?, Orlando Sentinel
LOS ANGELES -- A simple, inexpensive and surprisingly powerful combination of treatments all but wiped out malaria in a group of HIV-positive children in a study in Uganda, scientists are reporting. The combination -- taking one inexpensive antibiotic pill each day and sleeping under an insecticide-treated mosquito net -- reduced the incidence of malaria by 97 percent compared with a control group, Dr. Anne Gasasira, an AIDS researcher at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, said at a conference here Wednesday
— id: 86130, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.11, stat: Journal Article,

Study Finds Many Injuries To Surgeons Go Unreported
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 28;:A.13-?, New York times
The survey's senior author, Dr. Martin A. Makary, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins, said in an interview that surgeons had made ''little progress in the last 20 years'' in preventing needle stick injuries. And hospitals, he said, ''are not doing what they should to care for their own providers, their families and patients.'' Such an experience among surgeons in training ''traumatizes their psyche on top of the stress of residency,'' Dr. Makary said. ''They do not know whether to tell their significant other,'' he said, ''and if they do report it to hospital officials, they worry about being stigmatized.''
— id: 86080, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.13, stat: Journal Article,

TB patient allowed back in U.S. despite warning / Border inspector ignored an alert, said infected man looked healthy
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 1;:5-?, Houston Chronicle
The CDC confirmed that the strain of tuberculosis that Speaker has does not match any of the strains in its laboratories. And [Robert Cooksey] said, 'My son-in-law's TB did not originate from myself or the CDC's labs, which operate under the highest levels of biosecurity.' Although health officials said there was a low risk of Speaker transmitting tuberculosis to his fellow passengers, the case raised troubling new questions about the nation's ability to defend its borders against the entry of dangerous infectious diseases and about CDC's ability to handle such threats. Dr. Gwen A. Huitt, an infectious disease expert at the center, said her initial impression was that Speaker was infected with the TB strain by someone else. Huitt said Speaker had traveled extensively over the last six years to countries where tuberculosis is more common
— id: 86095, year: 2007, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

TB Patient Has Surgery to Remove Part of Lung
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 18;:A.16-?, New York times
After Mr. Speaker arrived at National Jewish on May 31 following his widely publicized journey, his doctors were unanimous in recommending surgery in July. A major factor is that a review in 2004 of 15 years' experience in treating resistant tuberculosis at National Jewish found that ''the most important single variable we had associated with favorable outcome was resectional surgery.'' In discussions among the doctors, surgery was ''a gray zone call,'' Dr. [Michael D. Iseman] said in an interview. ''One day I could go argue for it, the next day against it,'' he said. In the best of circumstances, Mr. Speaker could go home to Atlanta as soon as in two to three weeks, Dr. Iseman said. But, he added, ''his situation is so public health delicate that he and we and the authorities in Georgia may wish to treat him here a little bit longer, just so we can assure everyone in the community that he does not have positive cultures.''
— id: 86073, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.16, stat: Journal Article,

TB Patient Is Isolated After Taking Two Flights
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 May 30;:A.14-?, New York times
That appraisal was based on tests showing that the number of tuberculosis bacteria in the man's sputum were too low to be detected but still enough to infect others. Dr. [Julie L. Gerberding] said her agency was erring on the side of caution because the form of tuberculosis, known as XDR TB, was often fatal and a growing public health threat in many countries. ''We're not concerned about a generic threat to travelers,'' Dr. Gerberding said. Dr. Gerberding said doctors had not determined the source of the man's infection. Molecular fingerprints used to distinguish among bacterial strains so far do not match that of any other known case, she said. People who think they may have been exposed to TB or XDR TB can call (800) CDC-INFO for more information
— id: 86098, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.14, stat: Journal Article,

TB scare case not as bad as first thought
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 5;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
On Tuesday, the disease center and the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, where Speaker has been a patient in isolation since June 1, said he did not have XDR-TB. A series of new tests at both institutions shows that Speaker has multiple-drug-resistant TB, or MDR-TB. The condition is still dangerous, but more drug treatments are available. The test findings also raised questions about the accuracy of TB tests at the disease center, a national and reference laboratory for the disease. The center reported in May that its tests showed that Speaker had XDR-TB based on cultures from a bronchoscopy, a lung procedure, at a hospital in Atlanta. On Tuesday, the disease center and the Denver hospital said that as a matter of routine procedure they had performed new tests using three laboratory methods on TB bacteria isolated from Speaker on three occasions. Those new tests consistently showed MDR-TB
— id: 86076, year: 2007, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

TB Tests Show Promise, but Flaws Limit Progress
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 24;:F.5-?, New York times
The overwhelming majority of tuberculosis cases are caused by bacterial strains that yield to the standard, or first-line, anti-TB drugs. Newer, second-line drugs are used if a strain of tuberculosis is MDR or XDR, which are resistant to the first-line drugs. If tuberculosis strains are not tested for drug resistance as soon as they are found in a patient, the problem may be detected too late to permit a cure. ''But no laboratory test for any disease is 100 percent,'' said one member of the panel, Dr. Karin Weyer of the South African Medical Research Council. ''Labs often have problems and can and do make mistakes,'' Dr. Weyer said. The panel also recommended using molecular tests to detect rifampicin resistance as a proxy for MDR tuberculosis. Use of such tests could reliably determine XDR in less than two months, compared with the several months that are often needed now, Dr. Weyer said. Standard tests take weeks to complete because tuberculosis bacteria grow slowly
— id: 86069, year: 2007, vol: , page: F.5, stat: Journal Article,

Tests of Drug to Block H.I.V. Infection Are Halted Over Safety
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Feb 1;:A.3-?, New York times
The trials, in Africa and India, involved a chemical, cellulose sulfate or Ushercell, and were the second failure of a potential microbicide in a full-scale trial in recent years. In one of the latest trials, a standard check by an independent scientific committee found an increased risk of H.I.V. infection among women who used cellulose sulfate compared with those who used a placebo gel. An ideal microbicide would work in three ways. First, it would kill H.I.V. in the vagina and cervix. Second, the microbicide would prevent any virus that escaped from attaching to a woman's cells, the way the virus starts to infect. Third, for any virus that did enter cells, the microbicide would block an enzyme, reverse transcriptase, that the virus needs to replicate. The new findings were surprising, researchers said, because 11 smaller trials of more than 500 women conducted since 1999 showed that cellulose sulfate was safe. The chemical, which was developed as Ushercell by Polydex Pharmaceuticals in Toronto, was active against H.I.V. in laboratory tests
— id: 86137, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.3, stat: Journal Article,

The Feud
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Nov 27;:F.1-?, New York times
Even after their reconciliation last month, Dr. [Michael E. DeBakey] said that Dr. [Denton A. Cooley] had ''disappointed me with his ethics'' and ''poor judgment'' in doing the implant, which was ''a little childish.'' After the reconciliation, he said in an interview that ''there was no reason to consider him an enemy'' and ''we have never had any bad words,'' although ''we haven't had very much in the way of communication.'' In the reconciliation meeting, Dr. Cooley told Dr. DeBakey he regretted that they had become so distant and hoped that the ''temporary truce or cease-fire'' they had reached in their ''rivalry'' and ''small battle'' would become permanent
— id: 80950, year: 2007, vol: , page: F.1, stat: Journal Article,

The surgeon whose skill changed history; Boris yeltsin was running for re-election but he faced a bigger problem. He needed bypass surgery his Russian doctors warned he wouldn't survive. Yeltsin called in an American doctor who said
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 May 6;:A.14-?, Gazette (Montreal, PQ)
'Calling in Dr. [Michael DeBakey] was very important, a signal that he was in very serious condition, and consulting with a world leader in surgery this way was almost unthinkable in the Soviet period,' said Marshall Goldman, a Russian expert and senior scholar at Harvard. 'It was a measure of Dr. DeBakey's stature in Russia.' As a patient, [Boris Yeltsin] 'was not as bossy with me as he was with some of his Russian doctors,' DeBakey said, adding: 'He didn't get along with some of the doctors there. But he took a liking to me, listened, and that made things much better.' My requests for interviews with Yeltsin were always denied, so I was never able to ask him about DeBakey. But in a foreword to the Russian edition of DeBakey's book The New Living Heart (Adams, 1997), written with Antonio Gotto Jr., Yeltsin described DeBakey as 'a magician of the heart' and 'a man with a gift for performing miracles.'
— id: 86104, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.14, stat: Journal Article,

Tough gonorrhea might require last-resort drug
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Apr 13;:A.1-?, Beaumont Enterprise
Standard monitoring of gonorrhea cases is conducted among men who go to STD clinics. New data from such sites in 26 cities show that rates of drug-resistant gonorrhea among heterosexual men last year reached 26 percent in Philadelphia and more than 20 percent in Honolulu and four sites in California, Long Beach, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco. Health officials are also concerned about extremely drug- resistant tuberculosis and a number of other microbes like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella penumoniae and Acinetobacter species that are resistant to most antibiotics. be07 0004 070413 N S 0000000000 00003865
— id: 86111, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Traveler's TB Not as Severe As Health Officials Thought
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 4;:A.11-?, New York times
''Any time there is a concern or a conflict with a test result, we will automatically review those results and see if there is a clear explanation for the difference,'' Dr. [Mitchell L. Cohen] said. Dr. Charles Daley, head of the infectious disease division at National Jewish, said: ''This discrepancy among results happens all the time in labs that do drug-resistance testing, including reference labs. It's a frustration we have to deal with.'' Now, he said, ''We are sure of our results.'' In discussing the discordant findings, Dr. Cohen said that scientists urgently needed improved laboratory techniques and that there were ''a variety of potential explanations.'' Among them are obtaining specimens in different ways or on different days and variations in the bacteria
— id: 86078, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.11, stat: Journal Article,

U.N. Says Global AIDS Effort For Children Falls Far Short
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jan 17;:A.10-?, New York times
''Children affected by AIDS are now more visible and are taken more seriously in global, regional and national forums where they had received little consideration before,'' the United Nations agency said in a report. Better testing to find children with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, and simpler formulations of the antiretroviral drugs that combat the infection have increased the number of children under treatment, Unicef said. Additional factors were lower prices for the drugs and improved skills among health workers. Still, about 10 percent of pregnant women in capital cities in sub-Saharan Africa are infected with H.I.V. But the vast majority of pregnant African women do not have access to drugs that would prevent transmitting the virus to their infants. So about one-third of their children will become infected at or shortly after birth, Unicef said. The data available for 2005 shows that only seven countries cited in the report provided drugs to at least 40 percent of infected pregnant women to prevent H.I.V. among newborns: Argentina (87 percent), Brazil (48 percent), Botswana (54 percent), Jamaica (86 percent), Russia (84 percent), Thailand (46 percent) and Ukraine (90 percent)
— id: 86139, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

U.S. agent let TB carrier pass despite health alert
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 2;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
Russ Knocke, chief press secretary for the Homeland Security Department, would not confirm the agent's rationale for releasing the man, saying only that the case was under investigation by its internal affairs and inspector general's offices. And in yet another twist to the story that seems to grow murkier with each new revelation, Speaker's father-in-law, Robert Cooksey, is a tuberculosis researcher who has worked at the Centers for Disease Control. Also, Italian officials said that they had not learned about the case until Speaker left Italy. Cesare Fassari, a spokesman for Italy's Health Ministry, said that had the Italian health officials been notified in time, they would have 'intercepted the man and invited him to be treated in a hospital' with his permission
— id: 86093, year: 2007, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

U.S. Experts Criticize Bhutto Post-Mortem
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Dec 31;:A.6-?, New York times
Not performing an autopsy of Ms. [Bhutto] ''was a severe mistake, especially in the light of past problems with the murders of national leaders,'' because it will fuel speculation, said Dr. Michael M. Baden, who is a top forensic official for the New York State Police as well as a former New York City chief medical examiner. Seven doctors, but no forensic pathologist, signed Ms. Bhutto's medical report. None were ''trained to pick up the finer points of gunshot wounds'' and other causes of criminal deaths, Dr. Baden said. For example, her doctors said they did not feel a bullet or foreign body, but did not probe for evidence of one. ''With [John F. Kennedy], the treating doctors were wrong about the entrance and exit wounds'' of the bullet-damaged skull, said Dr. Baden, who was chairman of the forensic pathology panel of the House of Representatives select committees on the assassinations of Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
— id: 80947, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

U.S., U.K. scientists win Nobel in medicine
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Oct 9;:A.19-?, Globe & Mail (Toronto, Ont)
Researchers developed technology used in fight against cancer, diabetes, cystic fibrosis and other diseases Two Americans and a Briton won the 2007 Nobel Prize in medicine yesterday for developing the immensely powerful 'knockout' technology that allows scientists to create animal models of human disease in mice. Scientists have developed more than 500 mouse models of human ailments, including those affecting the heart and central nervous system, as well as diabetes, cancer and cystic fibrosis.
— id: 86046, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.19, stat: Journal Article,

Unicef calls AIDS response 'tragically insufficient' Still, the children's agency sees progress
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jan 18;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
'Children affected by AIDS are now more visible and are taken more seriously in global, regional and national forums where they had received little consideration before,' the United Nations children's agency said in a report Tuesday. Better testing to find children with HIV, the AIDS virus, and simpler formulations of the anti-retroviral drugs that combat the infection have increased the number of children under treatment, Unicef said. Additional factors were lower prices for the drugs and improved skills among health workers. The progress since then, though small, has exceeded Unicef's expectations, Peter McDermott, Unicef's chief for HIV/AIDS, told reporters by telephone. 'Children do very well on treatment.' Still, about 10 percent of pregnant women in capital cities in sub-Saharan Africa are HIV-infected. But the vast majority of pregnant African women do not have access to drugs that would prevent transmitting the virus to their infants. So about one-third of their children will become infected at or shortly after birth, Unicef said
— id: 86138, year: 2007, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Variables plague TB drugs; BATTLING XDR TB / A lack of standardized testing methods and critical differences in the way tests are performed are hampering efforts to control the spread of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Aug 5;:D.8-?, Edmonton Journal
The overwhelming majority of tuberculosis cases are caused by bacterial strains that yield to the standard, or first-line, anti- TB drugs. Newer, second-line drugs are used if a strain of tuberculosis is MDR or XDR, which are resistant to the first-line drugs. If tuberculosis strains are not tested for drug resistance as soon as they are found in a patient, the problem may be detected too late to permit a cure. The panel also recommended using molecular tests to detect rifampicin resistance as a proxy for MDR tuberculosis. Use of such tests could reliably determine XDR in less than two months, compared with the several months that are often needed now, [Karin Weyer] said. Standard tests take weeks to complete because TB bacteria grow slowly. The panel emphasized that laboratory workers needed more experience in interpreting results of the tests. As new laboratories are created in the many countries where drug-resistant tuberculosis exists but testing facilities do not, technicians will need to learn how to do the testing. Refresher training is also needed even in the best laboratories because they are mainly in countries with a low incidence of resistant tuberculosis
— id: 86061, year: 2007, vol: , page: D.8, stat: Journal Article,

Washing After Sex May Raise H.I.V. Risk
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Aug 21;:F.7-?, New York times
''Don't just finish and jump out of bed,'' he said. The study findings are counterintuitive, said Dr. Merle A. Sande, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Washington in Seattle, and ''show why you have to do the studies, because until you do them, you just don't know.'' Dr. Sande, who was not involved in the study, said, ''There is still so much we don't understand about the complex factors that influence H.I.V. transmission in the genital tract, but this important study will help.''
— id: 86059, year: 2007, vol: , page: F.7, stat: Journal Article,

WHO offers grim forecast on spike in drug-resistant TB cases
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 7;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
That chilling forecast is based in part on analyses by the organization that show that, on average, a patient infected with drug-resistant tuberculosis in 2004 was resistant to more drugs than a similar patient with that diagnosis in 1994, Dr. Paul Nunn, a TB expert for the organization, said Tuesday. About 420,000, or 5 percent, of the estimated 8.8 million new cases of tuberculosis in the world are resistant to many standard anti-tuberculosis drugs, Dr. Mario Raviglione, who directs the WHO's tuberculosis department, said in an interview. 'It is possible that in some settings drug-resistant tuberculosis could completely replace standard tuberculosis,' Raviglione said
— id: 86087, year: 2007, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

WHO plans $2.15 billion global fight against TB
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 23;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
There are about 450 laboratories in the world now that can detect drug-resistant tuberculosis, although many are not performing to capacity, Dr. Mario Raviglione, who directs the health agency's tuberculosis department in Geneva, said by telephone. Other countries may send teams to well-run laboratories elsewhere to learn how to determine the sensitivity and susceptibility of the bacteria isolated from each case to various drugs. Under the plan, all laboratories would perform 1.8 million cultures for tuberculosis in 2007 and 2.2 million in 2008, up from the estimated 200,000 in 2006. The laboratories would perform 750,000 drug-susceptibility tests in 2007 and 900,000 in 2008, up from 75,000 in 2005
— id: 86082, year: 2007, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Won Nobel for DNA work; Basic research essential to medical advances
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Oct 31;:C.6-?, Gazette (Montreal, PQ)
The Journal of Biological Chemistry initially rejected Kornberg's two classic papers. He said the journal told him that a peer, the noted scientist Erwin Chargaff, had written 'an exceedingly sarcastic letter' in assessing his findings. In 1967, Kornberg and his team became the first to produce the active inner core of a virus in a laboratory. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson hailed the report of the feat as 'one of the most important stories you ever read' because it 'opens a wide door to new discoveries in fighting disease and building healthier lives.' Over the past 15 years, Kornberg focused his research on an enzyme that produced polyphosphate, a substance found in every bacterial, plant and animal cell. Scientists had discarded it as a molecular fossil. But Kornberg and other scientists identified a number of significant functions for polyphosphate and believed it could be used to develop new drugs for a variety of dangerous infections
— id: 80955, year: 2007, vol: , page: C.6, stat: Journal Article,

World Health Agency Warns Of Surge in Drug-Resistant TB
Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jun 6;:A.16-?, New York times
That chilling forecast is based in part on the organization's analyses showing that on average, a patient infected with drug-resistant tuberculosis in 2004 was resistant to more drugs than a similar patient with that diagnosis in 1994, Dr. Paul P. Nunn, a TB expert for the organization, said at a news conference. Health officials say that Mr. Speaker's was not an isolated case because the extremely resistant form has been reported in 37 countries. With the growth of international travel, health officials say that TB anywhere is TB everywhere. About 420,000, or 5 percent, of the estimated 8.8 million new cases of tuberculosis in the world are now resistant to many standard antituberculosis drugs, Dr. Mario C. Raviglione, who directs the W.H.O.'s tuberculosis department, said in an interview. About 30,000 of the 420,000 cases are extremely drug-resistant, meaning they are resistant to first-line and a number of second-line drugs. Dr. Raviglione said the organization had begun to undertake statistical modeling studies to estimate how prevalent drug-resistant tuberculosis might become. Outcomes from such studies depend on a number of variables and none have been published. ''It is possible that in some settings drug-resistant tuberculosis could completely replace standard tuberculosis,'' Dr. Raviglione said
— id: 86091, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.16, stat: Journal Article,

Giuliani's Doctor Says Tests Reveal 'Very Good Health'
Altman, Lawrence K; Cooper, Michael
2007 Dec 27;:A.26-?, New York times
Mr. [Rudolph W. Giuliani] was given a diagnosis of prostate cancer in 2000, which led him to abandon his race for the United States Senate against Hillary Rodham Clinton. Dr. [Valentin Fuster] said that Mr. Giuliani had had a P.S.A. test, which checks for prostate cancer, within the past month, and that it was ''negligible or undetectable.'' ''I got checked out up and down, inside and out,'' he said, adding, ''I think I might have ended up being more tired from the tests afterward than I was from the headache.''
— id: 80948, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.26, stat: Journal Article,

Heart Device Recall Poses A Quandary for Patients
Altman, Lawrence K; Feder, Barnaby J.
2007 Oct 16;:C.2-?, New York times
The risk of a defective wire is low. Medtronic said that about 2.3 percent of the estimated 235,000 patients with the defective wire, or 4,000 to 5,000 people, would experience a lead fracture within 30 months of implantation. But learning through tests that one's defibrillator has a faulty lead can create agonizing decisions for patients and doctors. ''There are different needs for different patients,'' he said. Those who have had frequent abnormal heart rhythms, he said, may be more dependent on the device than others. Even patients in whom no evidence of possible cracks in the leads is found will need to have their Medtronic defibrillators reprogrammed. Dr. John Kassotis, director of cardiac electrophysiology at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, said, ''You can definitely take the leads out if they have been in less than six months and usually if it is less than two years.''
— id: 80961, year: 2007, vol: , page: C.2, stat: Journal Article,

Agent at Border, Aware of Alert, Did Not Detain Man Who Has TB
Altman, Lawrence K; Frosch, Dan; Goodman, Brenda; Grady, Denise; Harris, Gardiner; Mason, Christopher; Rosenthal, Elisabeth
2007 Jun 1;:A.1-?, New York times
The centers said that the strain of tuberculosis that Mr. Speaker has does not match any of the strains in its laboratories. And Dr. [Robert C. Cooksey] said, ''My son-in-law's TB did not originate from myself or the C.D.C.'s labs, which operate under the highest levels of biosecurity.'' Also, Italian officials said that they did not learn about the case until Mr. Speaker had left Italy. Cesare Fasari, a spokesman for Italy's Health Ministry, said that had the Italian health officials been notified in time, they would have ''intercepted the man and invited him to be treated in a hospital'' with his permission. Mr. [Jason Vik] spoke angrily about Mr. Speaker's behavior. ''He stepped on a plane with 487 people, one of the largest aircraft that Boeing makes, and he put us all at risk, just so he could go get married,'' he said
— id: 106300, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Man who traveled with TB tells Senate his side of story
Altman, Lawrence K; Palank, Jacqueline
2007 Jun 8;:8-?, International Herald Tribune
After statements by Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, about her agency's role in detecting the extremely drug-resistant form of the disease and then notifying Speaker about it, he told the committee, 'A few of things you were told are simply not accurate.' Gerberding had just told the committee that her agency learned on May 18 that Speaker had left the country. Gerberding said that her agency did not determine that Speaker had the extremely resistant form of tuberculosis until May 22 and that it then started searching for him in Europe. Speaker said CDC officials, local health officials and his doctors knew of the resistance problem before the May 10 meeting. 'They were all discussing this, because of the fact that there was resistance,' Speaker said, 'and talking about getting me out to Denver.'
— id: 86085, year: 2007, vol: , page: 8, stat: Journal Article,

Man who traveled with TB tells Senate his side of story
Altman, Lawrence K; Palank, Jacqueline
2007 Jun 8;:6-?, International Herald Tribune
Speaking by phone to a Senate panel, Andrew Speaker contradicted some accounts by government officials about the timing of who knew what and when about his plans to travel abroad after being told that he had extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis. Speaker, 31, who is in isolation at a Denver hospital, created an international health scare by taking commercial flights for his wedding in Greece and honeymoon in Europe last month. He spoke from his room at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver to a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Public Health Service. After statements by Dr
— id: 86086, year: 2007, vol: , page: 6, stat: Journal Article,

TB Patient Gives His Account to Congress
Altman, Lawrence K; Palank, Jacqueline
2007 Jun 7;:A.22-?, New York times
After statements by Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about her agency's role in detecting the extremely drug-resistant form of the disease and then notifying Mr. Speaker about it, he told the committee, ''A few of things you were told are simply not accurate.'' ''They were all discussing this, because of the fact that there was resistance,'' Mr. Speaker said, ''and talking about getting me out to Denver.'' Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa and chairman of the subcommittee, said he suspected ''some bureaucratic mismanagement'' in how several government agencies handled Mr. Speaker's case, and announced that he would hold another hearing, but did not set a time
— id: 86088, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.22, stat: Journal Article,

2 drugs combat AIDS in entirely novel ways
Altman, Lawrence K; Pollack, Andrew
2007 Mar 1;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
The two drugs, which could be approved for marketing this year, would add two new classes of drugs to the four that are available to battle HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. That would be especially important to patients whose treatment is failing because their strain of virus has become resistant to drugs already in use. 'This is really a remarkable development in the field,' Dr. John Mellors of the University of Pittsburgh said at a news conference Tuesday at the 14th Annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Los Angeles. Pfizer's drug works by blocking a portal on human immune system cells that HIV uses to enter and infect the cell. It would be the first AIDS drug that works by blocking a protein that is part of the human body rather than something in the virus. About 85 percent of newly infected patients have a virus that uses CCR5, while only about half of patients who have a resistant virus use CCR5. There has been some concern that blocking CCR5 would encourage the development of viruses that use the alternative portal
— id: 86128, year: 2007, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

2 new drugs offer options in HIV fight
Altman, Lawrence K; Pollack, Andrew
2007 Feb 28;:A.8-?, Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA)
[John W. Mellors], who was not involved in the studies but has been a consultant to the manufacturers of the drugs, said he 'wouldn't be going out on a limb' to say the new results were as exciting as those from the mid-1990s, when researchers first discovered that cocktails of drugs could significantly prolong lives. While there are now 20 approved drugs to treat HIV and AIDS, there are only four different mechanisms by which the drugs work. In many patients, the rapidly replicating virus evolves resistance to one or more drugs, usually because patients don't take their drugs on time as prescribed
— id: 86131, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

2 New Drugs Offer Options To Fight H.I.V. in Novel Ways
Altman, Lawrence K; Pollack, Andrew
2007 Feb 28;:A.1-?, New York times
Pfizer's drug works by blocking a protein on human immune system cells that H.I.V. uses as a portal to enter and infect the cell. It would be the first drug that targets the human body rather than the virus. In two Phase 3 studies sponsored by Pfizer involving 1,049 patients, more than 40 percent of patients who received maraviroc had undetectable levels of virus after 24 weeks of a 48-week study. That was about twice the rate of those who received placebo. As in the Merck trials, patients were resistant to three classes of drugs and were receiving an optimized combination of older drugs. About 85 percent of newly infected patients have a virus that uses CCR5 while only about half of highly drug-resistant viruses use that portal. There has been some concern that blocking CCR5 would encourage the development of viruses that use the alternative portal -- and those viruses seem to be associated with worse outcomes
— id: 86133, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS vaccine boosts risk of HIV infection for some
Altman, Lawrence K; Pollack, Andrew
2007 Nov 8;:10-?, Chicago Tribune
The new reports create even more scientific confusion about how to develop a vaccine to stop the global HIV pandemic, which has infected an estimated 39 million people and killed 25 million more. The findings raise questions about whether adenovirus can ever be used as a crucial ingredient in an AIDS vaccine and whether new tacks will be needed. Use of a modified virus as a vector to deliver HIV genes is a new and evolving way to make an AIDS vaccine. The Merck vaccine included three synthetic HIV genes
— id: 80953, year: 2007, vol: , page: 10, stat: Journal Article,

Failure of Vaccine Test Is Setback in AIDS Fight
Altman, Lawrence K; Pollack, Andrew
2007 Sep 22;:A.8-?, New York times
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which conducted the trial with Merck, said in an interview that 'the results are obviously disappointing.'
— id: 86051, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

Fight against HIV could gain 2 drugs ; Treatments that could be approved later this year shown to be safe, successful in studies
Altman, Lawrence K; Pollack, Andrew
2007 Feb 28;:A.8-?, Times Union (Albany, NY)
Merck's drug works by inhibiting the action of integrase, an enzyme produced by the virus that incorporates the virus' genetic material into the DNA of a patient's immune cell. Once incorporated, the viral DNA commandeers the cell to make more copies of the virus
— id: 86134, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

In Tests, AIDS Vaccine Seemed to Increase Risk
Altman, Lawrence K; Pollack, Andrew
2007 Nov 8;:A.22-?, New York times
''The new analyses are both disappointing and puzzling'' because they offer no explanation for the vaccine's failure, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a partner in the vaccine trial. The findings raise questions about whether adenovirus can ever be used as a crucial ingredient in an AIDS vaccine and whether new tacks will be needed. Use of a modified virus as a vector to deliver H.I.V. genes is a new and evolving way to make an AIDS vaccine. The Merck vaccine included three synthetic H.I.V. genes. ''We did a beautiful experiment, but it definitely was a disappointment,'' Dr. Larry Corey of the University of Washington, who led the investigators, said in an interview. ''One lesson is that scientists will have to look at vector-based immunity more thoroughly than we have in the past.''
— id: 80954, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.22, stat: Journal Article,

NEW AIDS DRUGS EXPAND, AUGMENT TREATMENT OPTIONS AN IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PATIENTS WHOSE TREATMENT IS FAILING
Altman, Lawrence K; Pollack, Andrew
2007 Mar 4;:A.9-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Merck's drug works by inhibiting the action of integrase, an enzyme produced by the virus that incorporates the virus' genetic material into the DNA of a patient's immune cell. Once incorporated, the viral DNA commandeers the cell to make more copies of the virus. Pfizer's drug works by blocking a portal on human immune system cells that HIV uses to enter and infect the cell. It would be the first drug for AIDS that works by blocking a protein that is part of the human body rather than something in the virus. About 85 percent of newly infected patients have a virus that uses CCR5 while only about half of patients who have a resistant virus use CCR5. There has been some concern that blocking CCR5 would encourage the development of viruses that use the alternative portal -- and those viruses seem to be associated with worse outcomes
— id: 86124, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.9, stat: Journal Article,

New AIDS drugs show promise ; Doctors, researchers call findings 'remarkable development'
Altman, Lawrence K; Pollack, Andrew
2007 Mar 4;:A.13-?, The Grand Rapids Press
The two drugs, which could be approved for marketing this year, would add two new classes of drugs to the four that are available to battle HIV, the AIDS virus. That would be especially important to tens of thousands of U.S. patients whose treatment is failing because their virus has become resistant to drugs already in use. While there are now 20 approved drugs to treat HIV and AIDS, there are only four different mechanisms by which the drugs work. In many patients, the rapidly replicating virus evolves resistance to one or more drugs, usually because patients don't take their drugs on time as prescribed
— id: 86125, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.13, stat: Journal Article,

Researchers fear trial vaccine may have raised HIV risk
Altman, Lawrence K; Pollack, Andrew
2007 Nov 9;:7-?, International Herald Tribune
The increased risk was principally among a group of people who had pre-existing levels of immunity to a common cold virus known as adenovirus type 5, which was modified to become a critical part of the vaccine. Researchers emphasized that the vaccine itself could not cause AIDS, but one theory is that the cold virus may have activated the immune system in some way to make certain recipients more susceptible to becoming HIV-infected when exposed to the AIDS virus. The vaccine was being tested among 3,000 volunteers at high risk of developing AIDS in nine countries, including those at immunization centers organized by the National Institutes of Health in the United States. Merck's was seen as one of the most promising experimental AIDS vaccines to have been tested on people. Many scientists and AIDS advocates have called the failure of the experimental vaccine a major setback
— id: 80952, year: 2007, vol: , page: 7, stat: Journal Article,

Near Misses Allowed Man With Tuberculosis to Fly to and From Europe, Health Officials Say
Altman, Lawrence K; Schwartz, John
2007 May 31;:A.13-?, New York times
The efforts ''weren't fast enough,'' Dr. [Martin S. Cetron] said, adding that ''we certainly will be learning lessons and looking to improve'' current systems. ''It's irresponsible in active tuberculosis for anyone to be on an airplane -- whether it's multi-resistant or not,'' said Dr. [Richard P. Wenzel], an infectious disease expert at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. At a time when airline passengers have to discard shampoo bottles in the airport security line, Dr. Wenzel said, ''We don't have a simple sort of wand at the airport to wave to say, 'You have tuberculosis.' It really counts on the responsibility of the individual.''
— id: 86097, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.13, stat: Journal Article,

3 Share Nobel in Medicine for a Breakthrough Gene Technique
Altman, Lawrence K; Wade, Nicholas
2007 Oct 9;:F.3-?, New York times
''The technique is revolutionary and has completely changed the way we use the mouse to study the function of genes,'' said Dr. Richard P. Woychik, the lab's director. ''When people come across a novel human gene, one of the first things they think about is knocking it out in a mouse.'' Dr. [Martin J. Evans] had planned to have an ''ordinary day'' off work cleaning his daughter's home in Cambridge, England, where he was visiting when he learned he won the prize. It was ''a boyhood dream come true,'' Dr. Evans told Agence France-Presse. ''Then five years later,'' he said, ''I find everyone is doing the same thing.''
— id: 86045, year: 2007, vol: , page: F.3, stat: Journal Article,

At 70, McCain Takes On Talk of His Age, and Focuses on Experience
Cooper, Michael; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Aug 25;:A.11-?, New York times
''You're getting pretty old!'' she said, after praising his long service to the country. ''And it's such a hard job!'' Sometimes he can come across on television as subdued, or old-looking, analysts said. Frank Luntz, a Republican strategist who once worked for [Rudolph W. Giuliani], a [John McCain] rival for the nomination, has conducted Fox News focus groups gauging people's reactions to the debates. Some people in his groups used words like ''tired'' and ''old'' to describe Mr. McCain, Mr. Luntz said. So, faced with rivals who are younger, but also have put in far less time in elected office, Mr. McCain tries to make a virtue of his age. ''I'm not the youngest candidate,'' he said in his campaign-kickoff speech. ''But I am the most experienced.''
— id: 86057, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.11, stat: Journal Article,

Chief justice recovers, faces a decision on medication
Grady, Denise; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Aug 1;:A.1-?, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
'I would recommend taking medication,' [Gregory L. Barkley] said. 'The intervals tend to get shorter and shorter, and people tend to have recurrent seizures.' He explained: 'The brain learns from practice. The more you practice, the better you get, whether you're playing the piano or having seizures. The more you have, the more you're going to have. Most neurologists feel that the best way to intervene is to get the seizures under control as quickly as possible.' Dr. Robert S. Fisher, director of Stanford University's epilepsy center and a past president of the American Epilepsy Society, said: 'In my view, it would be reasonable not to treat. It sounds like he went 14 years between seizures, and that's a lot of pills to take to prevent the next seizure 14 years from now. The new ones are better than the old ones in terms of side effects, but they all have potential side effects and risks.'
— id: 86065, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

ROBERTS IS FACING TOUGH CHOICES ON EPILEPSY
Grady, Denise; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Aug 1;:A-1, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
'I would recommend taking medication,' Dr. [Gregory L. Barkley] said. 'The intervals tend to get shorter and shorter, and people tend to have recurrent seizures.' He explained: 'The brain learns from practice. The more you practice, the better you get, whether you're playing the piano or having seizures. The more you have, the more you're going to have. Most neurologists feel that the best way to intervene is to get the seizures under control as quickly as possible.' Dr. Robert S. Fisher, director of Stanford University's epilepsy center and a past president of the American Epilepsy Society, said: 'In my view, it would be reasonable not to treat. It sounds like he went 14 years between seizures, and that's a lot of pills to take to prevent the next seizure 14 years from now. The new ones are better than the old ones in terms of side effects, but they all have potential side effects and risks.'
— id: 86064, year: 2007, vol: , page: A, stat: Journal Article,

Roberts must weigh medication, side effects
Grady, Denise; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Aug 1;:A.3-?, Orlando Sentinel
Despite his quick recovery from the seizure he suffered Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts faces a complex diagnosis and a difficult decision. Because the seizure was his second -- he had a similar one in 1993 -- he meets the criteria for epilepsy, and he and his doctors will have to decide whether he should take medication to prevent further seizures, according to neurologists not involved in his care. Neither the chief justice nor his doctors would comment Tuesday
— id: 86063, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.3, stat: Journal Article,

Roberts Facing Medical Option On 2nd Seizure
Grady, Denise; Altman, Lawrence K; Zezima, Katie
2007 Aug 1;:A.1-?, New York times
''I would recommend taking medication,'' Dr. [Gregory L. Barkley] said. ''The intervals tend to get shorter and shorter, and people tend to have recurrent seizures.'' ''That said,'' he went on, ''the reason one doesn't immediately put everybody on the medications when they have seizures is that there are side effects to all the medications.'' ''Fifteen percent will have some problem with the first drug that will lead to discontinuation and a different drug,'' Dr. [Hauser] added. ''Virtually everybody will have some side effects.''
— id: 86062, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Chief Justice Is Admitted To Hospital After Seizure
Greenhouse, Linda; Altman, Lawrence K; McNeil, Donald G
2007 Jul 31;:A.11-?, New York times
He had no lasting effects from the earlier incident and was ''fully recovered'' from the seizure he suffered about 2 p.m. Monday, the court said, adding that the chief justice had undergone ''a thorough neurological evaluation, which revealed no cause for concern.'' Christopher Burke, a spokesman for Penobscot Bay Medical Center, told The Associated Press, ''It's my understanding he's fully recovered.'' In an interview on Monday evening, Dr. David J. Langer, the director of cerebrovascular neurosurgery at St. Luke's-Roosevelt, Beth Israel and Long Island College Hospital, said that medical care after such a seizure should include ''a good M.R.I., CAT scan and EEG.'' All these tests are available at the Penobscot Bay Medical Center, according to the hospital's Web site
— id: 86066, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.11, stat: Journal Article,

Clinton to Offer an AIDS Policy, Joining Her Main Rivals
Healy, Patrick; Altman, Lawrence K; Cooper, Michael
2007 Nov 27;:A.27-?, New York times
Mr. [John Edwards], in a plan released in September, promises to ''strengthen'' financing for such research. Mr. [Barack Obama], who put out parts of his plan at different times this year, said he would ''expand'' such financing. According to a paper outlining the [Hillary Rodham Clinton] plan, which her campaign provided, Mrs. Clinton supports giving young people ''age-appropriate information about H.I.V./AIDS and how to protect themselves against it.'' She also backs federal financing for needle exchange programs, as do Mr. Edwards and Mr. Obama. Mr. Edwards has said his strategy would include holding his administration's health and human services secretary ''accountable'' for issuing an annual H.I.V./AIDS report that shows progress on Mr. Edwards's goals. He also has said he would appoint a ''strong'' director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy
— id: 80949, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.27, stat: Journal Article,

Corzine, Condition Upgraded, Leaves Intensive Care
Kocieniewski, David; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Apr 24;:B.1-?, New York times
Tom Shea, the governor's chief of staff, said Mr. [Jon S. Corzine] would not resume his official duties until some time after he is released from the hospital. Richard J. Codey, a fellow Democrat who is president of the State Senate, has been acting governor since the April 12 accident when the Chevrolet Suburban Mr. Corzine was riding in, moving at 91 miles per hour with emergency lights flashing, collided with another car and then slammed into a guardrail on the Garden State Parkway. For now, though, Mr. Corzine cannot even get himself out of bed to sit in a chair, something Dr. [Robert F. Ostrum] said would be a milestone. The doctors said they hoped Mr. Corzine could sit upright for an hour or two later this week. ''That would be a big deal,'' Dr. Ostrum said. Dr. [Steven E. Ross], left, head of trauma, and Tom Shea, Gov. Jon S. Corzine's chief of staff, at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, N.J. (Photo by Tom Mihalek for The New York Times)(pg. B4)
— id: 86106, year: 2007, vol: , page: B.1, stat: Journal Article,

Corzine Is Critically Injured in Car Crash on Parkway
Kocieniewski, David; Chen, David W; Altman, Lawrence K; Kelley, Tina
2007 Apr 13;:B.1-?, New York times
Richard J. Codey, the State Senate president and a Democrat like Mr. [Jon S. Corzine], stepped in as acting governor during the surgery, and is expected to remain in charge as long as Mr. Corzine is hospitalized. Governor Corzine was traveling, as he normally does, in a two-car caravan. Officials said the two troopers in the car following Mr. Corzine stopped to care for him rather than chase the red truck. A New Jersey state trooper at the scene of the crash on the Garden State Parkway in Galloway Township, where the governor was hurt when his car hit a guardrail. Two others in the car were also injured. (Photo by Colin Archer/Associated Press)(pg. B1); Jon S. Corzine (pg. B8)
— id: 86113, year: 2007, vol: , page: B.1, stat: Journal Article,

Climate Change Testimony Was Edited by White House
Revkin, Andrew G; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Oct 25;:A.16-?, New York times
''It was not watered down in terms of its science,'' Ms. [Dana Perino] said. ''It wasn't watered down in terms of the concerns that climate change raises for public health.'' The testimony that remained said, ''Climate change is anticipated to have a broad range of impacts on the health of Americans and the nation's public health infrastructure.'' But a line saying ''the public health effects of climate change remain largely unaddressed'' was gone, and the testimony focused on the ways health agencies were already prepared to tackle any problems
— id: 80960, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.16, stat: Journal Article,

Bush Has 5 Polyps Removed In Colon Cancer Screening
Rutenberg, Jim; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Jul 22;:A.20-?, New York times
Before the screening, Mr. [Bush] sent a letter to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, and the president pro tem of the Senate, Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, in which he invoked Section 3 of the 25th Amendment of the Constitution in transferring power to Mr. [Dick Cheney]. Afterward, he sent another letter declaring, ''I am presently able to resume the discharge of the constitutional powers and duties of the office of the president of the United States.'' Mr. [Scott M. Stanzel] said Mr. Bush was in ''good humor'' and planned to take a bicycle ride later in the day
— id: 86071, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.20, stat: Journal Article,

Tangle of Conflicting Accounts In TB Patient's 12-Day Odyssey
Schwartz, John; Altman, Lawrence K; Grady, Denise; Goodman, Brenda; Pomerance, Rachel; Harris, Gardiner; Kitsantonis, Niki;
2007 Jun 2;:A.1-?, New York times
When asked why the health organization could not move more quickly and catch up with Mr. Speaker before he took more flights, Dr. [Julie L. Gerberding] said in the press conference that much of the previous week's activity had been spent debating issues concerning the laws and regulations that govern isolation and quarantine in the United States and internationally. The World Health Organization regulations, she said, are ''wonderful statements of principles'' that do not provide ''operational details of things like who should pay to move a patient, or who should care for a patient.'' She said, ''I think a central question that we will be grappling with is, whose patient is it?'' Though their accounts differ, the county health authorities and Mr. Speaker agree that the officials did not try to forcibly restrict Mr. Speaker's movement. Dr. [Steven R. Katkowsky], the county official, said that the law presented ''kind of a Catch-22'' when it comes to restricting the activities of tuberculosis patients against their will. ''A patient has to be noncompliant before you can intervene,'' he said. ''There's no precedent for a court stepping in before a patient has proven himself to be non-compliant.'' It would have been an extraordinary step that, while not unheard of in tuberculosis cases, would evoke a centuries-old struggle to balance public health and individual liberty. The term ''quarantine'' comes from the Italian phrase ''quaranta giorni,'' or ''40 days,'' the amount of time Venetians isolated those coming into port in the plague years of the 14th century, said Robert Klitzman, a co-founder of the Columbia University Center for Bioethics and an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the university's College of Physicians and Surgeons
— id: 86094, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Cheney Is Treated for a Blood Clot After His Global Trip
Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Mar 6;:A.17-?, New York times
An ultrasound revealed a deep venous thrombosis, a blood clot, in the lower part of his left leg. He was treated with anticoagulant medication, which he will take for several months, and he returned to work. Although blood clots in the leg can be dangerous if left untreated, experts say most are successfully treated with the anticoagulant drugs that the White House says Mr. [Dick Cheney] is now receiving. The blood clot that was discovered in Mr. Cheney's leg on Monday was in a vein, not an artery, and several independent experts said there was most likely no connection between it and the 2005 surgery. Dr. Cameron Akbari, a senior vascular surgeon at Washington Hospital Center in the District of Columbia, said Mr. Cheney's history of heart disease put him at only ''a very slightly increased risk'' of developing a deep venous thrombosis. Vice President Dick Cheney speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars yesterday. Mr. Cheney experienced discomfort in a leg after the speech. (Photo by Chris Kleponis/Bloomberg News)
— id: 86123, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.17, stat: Journal Article,

Cheney treated for blood clot in his leg
Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Mar 7;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
An ultrasound revealed a deep venous thrombosis, a blood clot, in the lower portion of his left leg. He was treated with anticoagulant medication, which he will take for several months, and he returned to work. Although blood clots in the leg can be dangerous if left untreated, experts say most are successfully treated with the anticoagulant drugs that the White House says [Dick Cheney] is now receiving. In September 2005, Cheney underwent surgery to repair aneurysms, bulges in the arteries that can spawn dangerous blood clots, behind both knees. Doctors implanted devices known as stent-grafts in each of Cheney's legs. The blood clot that was discovered in Cheney's leg on Monday was in a vein, not an artery, and several independent experts said there was most likely no connection between it and the 2005 surgery. Dr. Cameron Akbari, a senior vascular surgeon at Washington Hospital Center in the District of Columbia, said Cheney's history of heart disease put him at only 'a very slightly increased risk' of developing a deep venous thrombosis
— id: 86121, year: 2007, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Cheney treated for clot in left leg
Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Mar 6;:A.02-?, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City UT)
An ultrasound revealed a deep venous thrombosis, a blood clot, in the lower portion of his left leg. He was treated with anti- coagulant medication, which he will take for several months, and he returned to work. Although blood clots in the leg can be dangerous if left untreated, experts say most are successfully treated with the anti-coagulant drugs that the White House says [Dick Cheney] is now receiving. In September 2005, Cheney underwent surgery to repair aneurysms, bulges in the arteries that can spawn dangerous blood clots, behind both knees. Doctors implanted devices known as stent-grafts in each of Cheney's legs. The blood clot that was discovered in Cheney's leg on Monday was in a vein, not an artery, and several independent experts said there was most likely no connection between it and the 2005 surgery. Dr. Cameron Akbari, a senior vascular surgeon at Washington Hospital Center in the District of Columbia, said Cheney's history of heart disease put him at only 'a very slightly increased risk' of developing a deep venous thrombosis
— id: 86122, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.02, stat: Journal Article,

White House Spokesman's Cancer Recurs and Spreads
Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Mar 28;:A.15-?, New York times
There was no word on when Mr. [Tony Snow] might return to the podium or on his prognosis. Approximately 60 percent of Stage III colon cancer patients survive five years after initial treatment. But experts say no reliable survival rates on colon cancer recurrence are available. Mr. Snow, 51, has long known that he was at risk for colon cancer. His mother died of the disease when he was 17. He was screened every two to three months, but nonetheless received a diagnosis in 2005 of Stage III colon cancer, meaning that the disease had spread to the lymph nodes but not to other organs. Dr. Harmon J. Eyre, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, said that though ''cancer recurrence is a serious situation,'' new drugs had improved treatment for some patients whose colon cancer had spread. With this latest diagnosis, Mr. Snow is considered to have Stage IV colon cancer, the most advanced
— id: 86118, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.15, stat: Journal Article,

Thompson Discloses He Is in Remission From Lymphoma
Zeleny, Jeff; Altman, Lawrence K
2007 Apr 12;:A.18-?, New York times
As many Republicans voice frustration about their chances in the 2008 election, a cadre of political allies has been vigorously promoting a candidacy for Mr. [Fred D. Thompson]. A sampling of polls in the last month have placed Mr. Thompson near the top of the Republican field. Dr. [Bruce D. Cheson] said he first examined Mr. Thompson on April 7, 2005, about six months after the former senator had noticed a lump under his jaw. Pathologists at the National Institutes of Health ultimately determined that it was a marginal zone lymphoma, which is an unusual type of a common cancer and affects the immune system. Dr. Cheson said that he could have withheld any therapy for months because the cancer was slow-growing. But Mr. Thompson chose to receive radiation to the neck ''because he did not want to have a visible lump in his neck given his high profile,'' Dr. Cheson said
— id: 86114, year: 2007, vol: , page: A.18, stat: Journal Article,

1981: The AIDS Epidemic Begins
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Apr 24;:26-?, New York Times Upfront (Student Edition)
Since AIDS first made headlines 25 years ago, it killed 25 million people worldwide and infect 40 million more in one of the worst epidemics in history. Altman relates that in 1985 he was greeted with skepticism about AIDS in Africa, even though the disease had begun to take a devastating toll there. Here, he details the outbreak of AIDS and why many people, including doctors, did not recognize an epidemic in the making and take steps to try to contain it
— id: 81259, year: 2006, vol: , page: 26, stat: Journal Article,

A Familiar Pair Urge Greater Attention for AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 15;:A.12-?, New York times
Both men praised the Bush administration's program, Pepfar, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a five-year, $15 billion program that serves 16 countries, 13 of them in Africa. One part of the program aims to help provide pregnant women with the pills to have healthy babies. For example, Mr. [Bill Gates] said, a simple drug therapy can help most infected mothers avoid passing the AIDS virus to newborns. But, in part because of stigma, poor countries are unable to provide that treatment for an overwhelming majority of pregnant women. As for stigma, Mr. [Bill Clinton] cited China's experience in reversing its position on AIDS. ''Initially, the Chinese were in denial about AIDS, and then they decided they wouldn't be, and they turned on a dime,'' he said
— id: 81211, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.12, stat: Journal Article,

A prostate cancer is linked to new virus
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 25;:A.06-?, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City UT)
The researchers, who reported their finding at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in San Francisco, do not know whether the virus causes prostate cancer, infection or any other ailment in humans. The virus, called XMRV, could prove to be harmless. The XMRV virus is closely related to a group of retroviruses found in mice and known as xenotropic murine leukemia virus. (Xenotropic means the virus crossed species.) Though such viruses can cause disease in animals other than mice, there has been no documented human infection until the new report. The XMRV virus acts differently from viruses known to cause cancers, [Don Ganem] said. In known links, the virus is in the cancer cell, not in the stroma, and every cell in the tumor is infected
— id: 81278, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.06, stat: Journal Article,

A rare success in Africa's struggle against AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 15;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
Reflecting those efforts, Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, told the conference on Sunday night that there was 'a new sense of optimism' in Africa because 'the world is doing far more than ever before to fight AIDS.' Gates and his wife, [Melinda Gates], who have made stopping AIDS the priority for their foundation, gave keynote addresses at the conference. They called for increased global access to HIV prevention and treatment programs and greater efforts to break the stigma of AIDS. Since the Zambian government opened 18 clinics in April 2004, death rates from AIDS have been reduced to compare favorably to those in the United States among patients who had taken standard anti-retroviral drugs for at least three months, said Dr. Jeffrey Stringer, who led the team that reported the Lusaka findings. Dr. Peter Piot, the executive director of the UN's AIDS program, said in an opening talk that the world must develop a sustainable plan to treat and prevent AIDS over the next several decades. 'We must ensure that no credible national AIDS plan goes unfunded, now or in the decades ahead,' Piot said
— id: 81210, year: 2006, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Account of Doctors Raises Questions on Heart Injury
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 15;:A.18-?, New York times
Dr. Peter Banko, the Texas hospital's emergency department medical director, said doctors there did an ultrasound, a CT scan and a cardiac catheterization, which provide two-dimensional images. Dr. Banko said the hospital had a 64-slice CT scan that could provide three-dimensional images, but he did not say that the doctors performed the more sophisticated one on Mr. [Harry M. Whittington], or if so, when. Doctors try to synchronize such CT X-rays with the heartbeat to avoid blurring from motion, said Dr. Jeffrey P. Goldman, a specialist in heart CT scans at Manhattan Diagnostic Radiology. But, Dr. Goldman said, doctors cannot synchronize a CT scan in patients with atrial fibrillation. Metal in a pellet can cause a different kind of blurring in CT scans. But the Texas doctors did not say that they performed a 64-slice CT scan after they learned Mr. Whittington had a pellet near his heart and before he developed the abnormal rhythm
— id: 81290, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.18, stat: Journal Article,

Advanced artificial heart approved for sale in U.S.
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Sep 7;:5-?, International Herald Tribune
Earlier devices were much larger and intended as a bridge to heart transplants. The titanium and plastic Abiomed device can be used only in patients who are near death from the failure of both of the natural heart's pumping chambers. It can be implanted only in people 18 and older who are ineligible for a transplant and whose life expectancy would be a month without it. The diseased heart is removed to make room for the two-pound, or 0.9 kilogram, device. Implanted, a coil transfers power across the skin and recharges the device from the outside. An internal battery and a controller that monitors and controls the heart rate are implanted in the abdomen. The approval on Tuesday followed an extensive review of the panel's concerns and discussions with Abiomed, agency officials said. A second advisory panel review was not warranted because of the talks with Abiomed, said Heidi Valetkevitch, a spokeswoman for the agency. No implants were performed while the petition to sell the device was under review
— id: 81195, year: 2006, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS data offer hope, progress
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 31;:A.1-?, Times Union (Albany, NY)
Elsewhere, the number of new AIDS infections continues to rise or continues at its current pace. And public health efforts are reaching only a small proportion of people at risk, said Dr. Peter Piot, the U.N. AIDS executive director. 'It's a very complex epidemic,' said Piot, adding AIDS should no longer be considered as a single epidemic but as many diverse ones. India, for example, appears to have surpassed South Africa as the country with the largest number of HIV infections. India has 5.7 million infected people, and South Africa has 5.5 million, but the difference may not be statistically meaningful. Showing no sign of decline, South Africa has a prevalence rate of about 19 percent of 47 million people. In India, the rate is less than 1 percent of its population of 1.1 billion. In Haiti, the percentage of pregnant women infected with HIV has declined to 3.7 percent in 2003-04 from 9.4 percent in 1993, Piot said. The report, issued every other year, comes on the eve of a U.N. General Assembly session. Despite the positive trends, Piot reported grim findings from China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Russia and Vietnam, with signs of outbreaks in Bangladesh and Pakistan, Piot said
— id: 81241, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS declining worldwide?
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 31;:A.04-?, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City UT)
New surveys suggest that the global AIDS epidemic has begun to slow, with a decline in new HIV infections in about 10 countries, the head of the U.N. AIDS program said here Tuesday in the most comprehensive international report ever issued on the disease. Elsewhere, the number of new AIDS infections continues to rise or continues at its current pace. Meanwhile, public health efforts are reaching only a small proportion of people at risk, said Dr. Peter Piot, the U.N. AIDS executive director. In Haiti, the percentage of pregnant women infected with HIV has declined to 3.7 percent in 2003-04 from 9.4 percent in 1993, Piot said in releasing the agency's report at a news conference. The report, issued every other year, comes on the eve of a U.N. General Assembly session. Despite the positive trends, Piot reported grim findings from China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Russia and Vietnam, with signs of outbreaks in Bangladesh and Pakistan, Piot said
— id: 81237, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.04, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS drugs aren't going to children Improving access is 'urgent priority'
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 17;:8-?, International Herald Tribune
The official, Dr. Kevin De Cock, who directs the organization's AIDS program, said that an estimated 800,000 children worldwide under the age of 16 needed antiretroviral drugs to stay alive. Yet while they account for 14 percent of AIDS deaths, they make up only 6 percent of recipients of antiretroviral drug therapy. At the same time, less than 10 percent of pregnant women with HIV in poor- and middle-income countries are receiving the simple regimen of pills that can prevent the transmission of the AIDS virus to their newborns. This contrasts to the rich countries that have virtually eliminated pediatric AIDS, De Cock said
— id: 81203, year: 2006, vol: , page: 8, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS Effort in Zambia Hailed as a Success
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 14;:A.6-?, New York times
Reflecting those efforts, Bill Gates said at the conference Sunday night that there was ''a new sense of optimism'' in Africa because ''the world is doing far more than ever before to fight AIDS.'' Mr. Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, and his wife, Melinda, who have made stopping AIDS the top priority for their foundation, gave keynote addresses at the conference. They called for increased global access to H.I.V. prevention and treatment programs and greater efforts to dispel the stigma of AIDS. One was the Zambian government's leadership in promoting the program and its decision to eliminate medical fees for patients seeking H.I.V. care. The second was the use of nurses and physician assistants to compensate for a critical shortage of doctors. The third was use of a computerized system to monitor patients. The fourth was the large amount of money made available by the Bush administration initiative, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a five-year, $15 billion program that serves 16 countries, 13 of them in Africa. Dr. Peter Piot, the executive director of the United Nations AIDS program, said in an opening talk that the world must develop a sustainable plan to treat and prevent AIDS over the next several decades. ''We must ensure that no credible national AIDS plan goes unfunded, now or in the decades ahead,'' Dr. Piot said
— id: 81215, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS infection slows in 10 nations, UN says But experts point to 'complex epidemic'
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jun 1;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
Outside of those countries which include Haiti, Cambodia, Kenya and Zimbabwe the number of new AIDS infections continues to rise or hover at its current pace. Meanwhile, public health efforts are reaching only a small proportion of people at risk, Dr. Peter Piot, the executive director of Unaids, said Tuesday. 'It's a very complex epidemic,' he said. 'We can no longer talk about AIDS' as a single epidemic but as many diverse ones. The progress against AIDS in some regions represents dividends from a surge in financing since 2001, when the United Nations pledged its commitment to stem the epidemic by 2010. That declaration called for countries to report regularly on their responses to AIDS. The report, the most comprehensive survey ever compiled from country data, pointed to the 2001 UN meeting as a turning point for AIDS financing. In 2005, the United States and the rest of the world spent $8.3 billion on AIDS, compared with $1.6 billion in 2001
— id: 81235, year: 2006, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS Is on the Rise Worldwide, U.N. Finds
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Nov 22;:A.14-?, New York times
At the same time, the prevalence of H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, among young people has declined in eight countries in Africa, showing that prevention efforts can work, United Nations officials said. The officials said they were encouraged by new data showing declines in H.I.V. prevalence among young people from 2000 to 2005 in eight African countries: Botswana, Burundi, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. In Portugal, new H.I.V. infections among injecting drug users declined after the introduction of special prevention programs focused on H.I.V. and drug use
— id: 81184, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.14, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS pandemic worse in all regions, UN says
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Nov 23;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
At the same time, the prevalence of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, among young people has declined in eight countries in Africa, showing that prevention efforts can work, UN officials said Tuesday. 'Even limited resources can give high returns when investments are focused on reaching people most at risk and adapted to changing national epidemics, said Dr. Paul De Lay of the international body's AIDS program, known as Unaids. Nevertheless, 'these estimates are amongst the most robust for any disease of global public health importance,' said Dr. Kevin De Cock, the World Health Organization's chief AIDS official. The global death total would be even higher without the efforts undertaken in recent years to provide anti-retroviral therapy to hundreds of thousands of AIDS patients in poor countries, De Cock said. Still, he said, such drug therapy has not reached enough poor people to match the degree of decline in death rates seen in wealthy countries
— id: 81182, year: 2006, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

AIDS therapy push leaving children behind
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 18;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
The official, Dr. Kevin De Cock, who directs the organization's AIDS program, said Wednesday that around the world an estimated 2.3 million children 15 and under are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and that 800,000 of them needed anti-retroviral drugs to stay alive. Of the 800,000, only 60,000 to 100,000 are receiving therapy. At the same time, De Cock said, fewer than 10 percent of pregnant women with HIV in poor and middle-income countries are receiving the simple regimen of pills that can prevent the transmission of the AIDS virus to their newborns. By contrast, rich countries have virtually eliminated pediatric AIDS. Many critics also said that HIV would develop a resistance to the drugs if people in poor countries did not take them as prescribed. De Cock said the World Health Organization was watching for drug resistance among patients receiving anti-retroviral therapy and that the information would start to become available later this year
— id: 81201, year: 2006, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Alfred Nobel And the Prize That Almost Didn't Happen
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Sep 26;:F.1-?, New York times
Nobel wrote his will in Swedish a year before his death while he lived in Paris, and the portion dealing with the prizes was one long paragraph. It named the groups to make the awards: the Karolinska Institute (medicine), the Swedish Academy of Sciences (chemistry and physics), the Swedish Academy (literature) and the Norwegian Parliament (peace). Later, economics was added as a separate prize. Nobel was unhappy in love, never married and described himself as a loner. Mr. [Ragnar Sohlman] wrote that when one of Nobel's brothers asked for a biographical note, Nobel said about himself: ''Alfred Nobel -- a pitiful half-life which ought to have been extinguished by some compassionate doctor as the infant yelled its way into the world.'' The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen, top, won in physics for his discovery of X-rays, and [Emil von Behring] won in medicine for developing a diphtheria immunization. Alfred Nobel's will, below, which he drew up himself, was challenged in court by disinherited relatives. (Photo by Bettmann/Corbis); (Photo by Corbis); (Photo by Nobel Foundation)(pg. F6); THE BENEFACTOR -- [Alfred Nobel], shown in 1853, the Swedish inventor of dynamite, bequeathed the bulk of his estate to establish the prizes that bear his name. (Photo by Nobel Foundation)(pg. F1)
— id: 81190, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.1, stat: Journal Article,

Antibiotic resistance in pets grows, suggesting link to infections in humans
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Mar 23;:5-?, International Herald Tribune
The bacteria can cause the same variety of problems in animals and humans, including skin infections, abscesses, joint infections and death. The infections can be difficult to treat, raising concern about the potential for animals to serve as sources of infection among their human contacts. Are some people acquiring the antibiotic-resistant staphylococcal infections from pets? Or are pets being infected from exposure to people? If so, how often are each occurring? Methicillin-resistant staphylococcal infections have been found among horses, and outbreaks have occurred in equine hospitals. But no cases of infection among horses have been linked to people, [Nina Morano] said in an interview
— id: 81271, year: 2006, vol: , page: 5, stat: Journal Article,

Article on Bird Flu Criticizes Effort to Monitor Cats and Dogs
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Apr 6;:A.10-?, New York times
Cats, tigers and leopards are known to have been infected with the virus in Asia and Europe. An author of the article, Dr. Albert Osterhaus, a virologist and veterinarian at Erasmus Medical Center, has performed experiments showing that cats can give the virus to other cats. But whether they do so in real life, and if so how often, is unknown. The team has found that cats can be infected through the respiratory tract. Cats can also be infected when they ingest the virus, which is a novel route for influenza transmission in mammals. But cats excrete only one-thousandth the amount of virus that chickens do, or less, he said. Among the many unknowns is how long cats can excrete the virus, the minimal amount of virus it takes to cause infection and whether cats can excrete the virus without developing signs of illness
— id: 81266, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

As in Sharon's Case, Handling Of Stroke Has Many Variables
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 17;:F.5-?, New York times
Heparin, a short-acting anticoagulant, is given to prevent a recurrent stroke, not to dissolve the offending clot. But giving it can be dicey in the early stages of a stroke because it can help turn a mild ischemic stroke into a devastating bleeding one. Ischemic strokes account for a vast majority of strokes. They occur because the brain is starved of oxygen and other vital nutrients from a clot that forms in a brain artery or that breaks off from a larger artery elsewhere in the body and travels to lodge in a brain artery. Also, a long-term buildup of fats in the walls of brain arteries can narrow the vessels and reduce flow to critically low levels, causing an ischemic stroke. The two categories make it imperative to use CT and M.R.I. imaging scans in the initial care. The distinction between ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes is critical because drugs like T.P.A. and urokinase can rapidly reverse the damage from an ischemic stroke, but giving them for a hemorrhagic stroke is like pouring gas on a fire
— id: 81300, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.5, stat: Journal Article,

At Arizona Conference, Praise for French Face Transplant Team
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 19;:A.16-?, New York times
The French team, headed by Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard of Lyon and Dr. Bernard Devauchelle of Amiens, was loudly applauded after members showed detailed pictures of the procedure and answered technical questions about the experiment that was performed in Amiens in November. The patient, identified as Isabelle Dinoire, 38, was transferred Wednesday to Amiens, near her home, from Lyon. In Lyon, experts at Dr. Dubernard's hospital, which is a leader in immunology, monitored her immuno-suppressive drugs and treated her for one rejection reaction. Some critics also charged that the French doctors were breaching ethics by simultaneously conducting two experiments in the same patient. One experiment was the face transplant. The other was injecting Ms. [Dinoire] with bone marrow that the doctors had taken from the donor in hopes of reducing the amount of antirejection drugs she will need
— id: 81297, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.16, stat: Journal Article,

At first a halfhearted patient ; At 98, pioneering surgeon Michael DeBakey is the oldest survivor of an operation he devised
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Dec 26;:3-?, Chicago Tribune
An anxious Katrin DeBakey called two of her husband's colleagues: Dr. Mohammed Attar, his longtime physician, and Dr. Matthias Loebe, who was covering for Dr. George Noon, DeBakey's surgical partner for 40 years. They came to the house quickly. After listening to DeBakey, they shared his suspicion of an aortic dissection
— id: 81174, year: 2006, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Big grants by Gates for HIV vaccine
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jul 20;:3-?, Chicago Tribune
Most licensed vaccines work by stimulating the body to make neutralizing antibodies. But experimental HIV vaccines have failed to produce such antibodies. The virus' propensity to mutate and produce different genetic subtypes will require an effective vaccine to produce antibodies that can neutralize a wide range of strains
— id: 81222, year: 2006, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Bird flu report warns of pets' possible role
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Apr 7;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
Cats, tigers and leopards are known to have been infected with the virus in Asia and Europe. An author of the article, Dr. Albert Osterhaus, a virologist and veterinarian at Erasmus Medical Center, has performed experiments showing that cats can give the virus to other cats. But whether they do so in real life, and if so how often, is unknown. Among the many unknowns is how long cats can excrete the virus, the minimal amount of virus it takes to cause infection and whether cats can excrete the virus without developing signs of illness. Dogs, foxes, seals and other carnivores may be vulnerable to the H5N1 virus, Osterhaus said. Tests in Thailand have shown the virus has infected dogs without causing apparent symptoms
— id: 81264, year: 2006, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Birth Defect Led to Stroke In Senator, Doctors Say
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Dec 15;:A.36-?, New York times
Mr. [Tim Johnson], a Democrat from South Dakota, is expected to be in intensive care for several days -- also standard -- while doctors determine if any brain damage occurred that would affect movement or intellectual ability. Admiral [John F. Eisold] and experts not involved in Mr. Johnson's case said it was too early to tell how well he might recover. Admiral Eisold and Mr. Johnson's family have not said where in the brain the bleeding occurred or how large the hemorrhage was, and they have not disclosed other factors that could be important in determining the seriousness of his illness. For example, it is not known whether doctors had previously detected the malformation in Mr. Johnson's brain. Dr. [David J. Langer] said that if Mr. Johnson's condition was deteriorating rapidly, doctors most likely did not have time to obtain critical details from a magnetic resonance imaging scan and probably operated after performing a CT X-ray scan. In general, malformations of the sort that caused Mr. Johnson's stroke are best detected on M.R.I.'s
— id: 81179, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.36, stat: Journal Article,

Blasting of Kidney Stones Has Risks, Study Reports
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Apr 10;:A.18-?, New York times
For now, the Mayo researchers hypothesize that shock wave therapy for kidney stones increases the risk for diabetes by damaging the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, a gland through which the shock waves may pass. They also theorize that shock waves may increase the risk for hypertension by scarring the kidneys and affecting their secretion of hormones, like renin, that can influence blood pressure. Her team did not want to release the findings early because the Mayo Clinic is one of a very few medical centers that still uses the same model lithotripter, Dornier HM3, in use in 1985, she said. Over the years, manufacturers have developed newer model machines that narrow the range of shock waves but that break up fewer stones. Because most urologists use the newer models, Dr. [Amy Krambeck] said, ''we can't say that every lithotripter causes'' the diabetes and hypertension complications. Mayo urologists discuss all alternatives for treating kidney stones with patients but use lithotripsy less than other procedures, Dr. Krambeck said. After learning the results of their study, the doctors began informing patients who were considering lithotripsy about ''correlations with possible side effects'' but without specifying which ones or the data, she said. Now they will provide that information
— id: 81263, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.18, stat: Journal Article,

Bright Spots, Lost Chances On AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Sep 12;:F.5-?, New York times
Four million people in the world became infected with H.I.V. last year, raising to 40 million the number now living with the virus that causes AIDS. Though governments, foundations and others are spending billions of dollars each year, the United Nations and AIDS experts say billions more are needed for drugs to help infected people in poor countries and for measures to prevent others from becoming infected. The Stephen Lewis Foundation of Toronto showed considerable imagination. The foundation, created by Mr. Lewis, the United Nations special envoy for AIDS in Africa, conducted a highly successful grass-roots gathering of about 300 African and Canadian grandmothers over the three days before the AIDS conference. African grandmothers who have lost children to AIDS and are now caring for their grandchildren described their lives to Canadian grandmothers (very few of whom are dealing with AIDS in their immediate families). The AIDS conferences, held every two years, aim to bridge science, politics and a number of other fields. The International AIDS Society's duty extends beyond holding conferences, said Dr. Pedro Cahn, an Argentine AIDS expert who is the group's new president. ''We have to raise our voice,'' Dr. Cahn said of the scientists who are the society's leaders
— id: 81194, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.5, stat: Journal Article,

Children Slip Through Cracks of AIDS Efforts, W.H.O. Says
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 17;:A.15-?, New York times
The official, Dr. Kevin M. De Cock, who directs the organization's AIDS program, said that an estimated 2.3 million children 15 and under around the world are infected with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, and that 800,000 of them needed antiretroviral drugs to stay alive. Of the 800,000, only 60,000 to 100,000 are receiving therapy. While the children account for 14 percent of AIDS deaths, they make up only 6 percent of recipients of antiretroviral drug therapy. Many of the children are orphans. At the same time, Dr. De Cock said, fewer than 10 percent of pregnant women with H.I.V. in poor and middle-income countries are receiving the simple regimen of pills that can prevent the transmission of the AIDS virus to their newborns. By contrast, rich countries have virtually eliminated pediatric AIDS. Dr. De Cock also described an inequity in antiretroviral treatment for injecting drug users, particularly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. There, these users account for more than 70 percent of people infected with H.I.V. but about a quarter of those receiving treatment
— id: 81205, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.15, stat: Journal Article,

Chimp virus tied directly to human AIDS in Africa
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 27;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
By studying chimpanzee droppings in remote African jungles, scientists have found direct evidence of a missing link between a chimpanzee virus and the one that causes human AIDS, they reported. Scientists have long suspected that chimpanzees are the source of the human AIDS pandemic because at least one subspecies carries a simian immune deficiency virus closely related to HIV, the human virus that causes AIDS. But because the simian virus, known as SIVcpz, was identified in chimpanzees in captivity, researchers could not be sure that the same simian virus existed among these apes in the wild. [Beatrice Hahn] reported, her team's findings show 'for the first time a clear picture of the origin of HIV-1 and the seeds of the AIDS pandemic.' HIV-1 is the virus that causes the vast majority of AIDS cases in the world. Studies estimate that the human AIDS virus jumped species between 50 and 75 years ago. But no one knows who the first infected person was or how that person acquired HIV
— id: 81242, year: 2006, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

CLINTON, GATES LEAD AIDS PANEL
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 15;:A.2-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Mr. [Bill Clinton] and Mr. [Bill Gates], who each have charitable foundations that support the fight against AIDS, have become the newest popular face of the campaign as they have traveled the globe, often together, to learn more. Both Mr. Clinton and Mr. Gates praised the Bush administration's program, PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a five-year, $15 billion program that serves 16 countries, 13 of them in Africa. One part of the program aims to help provide pregnant women with the pills to have healthy babies. For example, Mr. Gates said, a simple drug therapy can help most infected mothers avoid passing the AIDS virus to newborns. But, in part because of stigma, poor countries are unable to provide that treatment for the overwhelming majority of pregnant women
— id: 81212, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.2, stat: Journal Article,

CLINTON, GATES PUT SPOTLIGHT ON AIDS `DOUBLE BILL' DRAWS THOUSANDS TO CONFERENCE.
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 15;:8.A-?, Sun Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale FL)
[Clinton] and [Bill Gates], who each have charitable foundations that support the fight against AIDS, lauded the Bush administration's program, PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a five-year, $15 billion program that serves 16 countries, 13 of them in Africa. One part of the program aims to help provide pregnant women with the pills to have healthy babies
— id: 81213, year: 2006, vol: , page: 8.A, stat: Journal Article,

Clinton, Gates target AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 15;:A.04-?, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City UT)
Both [Bill Clinton] and [Bill Gates] praised the Bush administration's program, PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a five- year, $15 billion program that serves 16 countries, 13 of them in Africa. One part of the program aims to help provide pregnant women with pills to have healthy babies
— id: 81209, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.04, stat: Journal Article,

Condoms are said to block virus
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jun 23;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
In the study, which independent experts said was the most conclusive to examine the role of condoms in preventing infection with the virus, women whose male partners used condoms every time they had sexual intercourse had less than half the rate of infection than women whose partners used condoms less than 5 percent of the time. The study was conducted among students at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2000, four government agencies convened a panel of condom experts to determine the medical accuracy of condom labels. The panel concluded that there was inadequate information about condom use in reducing the risk of all sexually transmitted infections except for the AIDS virus and, among men, gonorrhea, an editorial accompanying the journal article said
— id: 81228, year: 2006, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Condoms Found to Block A Virus Harmful to Women
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jun 22;:A.20-?, New York times
In the study, which independent experts said was the most conclusive to examine the role of condoms in preventing infection with the virus, women whose male partners used condoms every time they had sexual intercourse had less than half the rate of infection as did women whose partners used condoms less than 5 percent of the time. In 2000, four government agencies convened a panel of condom experts to determine the medical accuracy of condom labels in describing their effectiveness in preventing papillomavirus and other sexually transmitted diseases. The researchers used certain statistical measures to determine the findings in the study. For example, no malignant or precancerous cervical lesions were detected in 32 patient years at risk among women reporting 100 percent condom use by their partners. That compared with 14 such lesions in 97 patient years at risk among women whose partners did not use condoms or who used them less consistently
— id: 81230, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.20, stat: Journal Article,

Discovery of patient's cancer ultimately led to crisis in Iran
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 2;:C.11-?, Times-Colonist (Victoria, BC)
Dr. [Jean A. Bernard], a pioneering French hematologist who diagnosed the cancer that the shah of Iran kept secret for many years, and that ultimately sent him to an American hospital in a chain of events that led to the Tehran hostage crisis of 1979-81, died at his home in Paris on April 17. He was 98
— id: 81256, year: 2006, vol: , page: C.11, stat: Journal Article,

Doctor led WHO as it coped with SARS and AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 24;:AL.7-?, National Post (Toronto, Ont)
Dr. Barry Bloom, dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, who worked with [Lee Jong-Wook] on tuberculosis, said Lee 'may not have been smooth or highly articulate, but he was enormously effective in getting his goals accomplished.' Lee directed programs to rid many countries of polio and had hoped to eradicate it. That goal, too, has proved elusive, largely because the disease spread from Nigeria to 23 other countries after officials in the northern province of Kano temporarily banned polio immunizations. Born in Seoul, Korea, Lee was 5 years old when he, his mother and two brothers had to march 250 miles in 60 days through a bitterly cold winter to be reunited with his father during the Korean War. 'The first thing he did was take us to a bakery for cookies,' Lee said in an interview in 2003. 'I cried.'
— id: 81247, year: 2006, vol: , page: AL.7, stat: Journal Article,

Doctor of the Deep: The Challenges of Shipboard Medicine
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Apr 11;:F.6-?, New York times
Last year, a woman broke her hip in a storm between Hawaii and the mainland. ''A really wide lady came down the steps trying to find a seat in the darkened show lounge when the ship lurched and she fell, landing between a railing and a wall,'' Dr. [Gary Razon] said. Summoned to the scene, Dr. Razon found that ''she was literally wedged in, screaming in pain.'' The show stopped. In a test of the crew's agility and ingenuity, Dr. Razon supervised the eight stewards it took to dislodge the woman and carry her to the infirmary. Dr. Razon said he ''was so scared because the ship was bouncing and feared she might be bleeding from the hip fracture.'' Dr. Razon could not reach the nephews. From other calls, he learned that the passenger's mother also was also demented. Her nurse provided the name of the woman's psychiatrist, who was skiing. Dr. Razon could not reach the covering physician and sent the woman to a hospital after the ship docked in Nassau
— id: 81262, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.6, stat: Journal Article,

Doctors Plan to Lift the Coma, Then Test Sharon's Abilities
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 9;:A.8-?, New York times
Dr. [Lee H. Schwamm] has followed Mr. [Ariel Sharon]'s case from news accounts. Although some of Mr. Sharon's treatment has been extraordinary, Dr. Schwamm said, in many ways it resembles that normally provided for ordinary stroke victims. As the coma eases, Mr. Sharon, who is connected to a mechanical ventilator that automatically breathes for him, will be expected to resume breathing on his own. But the doctors must make sure that the natural and mechanical breathing are synchronized and that Mr. Sharon does not become so agitated that he tries to spit out the breathing tube and act in other ways to increase the pressure in the brain to dangerous levels. Israeli doctors have taken aggressive measures that push the edge of medical knowledge in caring for Mr. Sharon. But, Dr. Schwamm said: ''A win here would be that he could speak, understand speech and move his right side purposely, even if he ended up in a wheelchair. Preserving such functions will have justified the efforts that Mr. Sharon's doctors have made trying to save his life, even his brain.''
— id: 81311, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

Doctors question timing of pellet entering heart
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 16;:7-?, International Herald Tribune
Peter Banko, the Texas hospital's emergency department medical director, said doctors there did an ultrasound, a CT scan and a cardiac catheterization, which provide two-dimensional images. Banko said the hospital had a 64-slice CT scan that could provide three- dimensional images, but he did not say that the doctors performed the more sophisticated one on [Harry Whittington], or if so, when. Doctors try to synchronize such CT X-rays with the heartbeat to avoid blurring from motion, said Jeffrey Goldman, a specialist in heart CT scans at Manhattan Diagnostic Radiology. But, Goldman said, doctors cannot synchronize a CT scan in patients with atrial fibrillation. Metal in a pellet can cause a different kind of blurring in CT scans. But the Texas doctors did not say that they performed a 64- slice CT scan after they learned Whittington had a pellet near his heart and before he developed the abnormal heart rhythm
— id: 81288, year: 2006, vol: , page: 7, stat: Journal Article,

DR. DEBAKEY, 98, HAS HEART SURGERY
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Dec 25;:A.5-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
In late afternoon last Dec. 31, Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, then 97, was alone at home in his study when a sharp pain ripped through his upper chest and between his shoulder blades, then moved into his neck. Dr. DeBakey, one of the most influential heart surgeons in history, assumed his heart would stop in a few seconds. An anxious Mrs. DeBakey called two of her husband's colleagues: Dr. Mohammed Attar, his physician, and Dr. Matthias Loebe, who was covering for Dr. George P. Noon, Dr. DeBakey's surgical partner for 40 years. They came to the house quickly. After listening to Dr. DeBakey give a more frank account of his pain, they shared his suspicion of an aortic dissection. Tests showed that Dr. DeBakey had a type 2 dissecting aortic aneurysm, according to a standard classification system he himself had devised years earlier. Rarely did anyone survive that without surgery. Still, Dr. DeBakey says he refused admission to Methodist Hospital, in part because he did not want to be confined, and he 'was hopeful that this was not as bad as I first thought.' He feared the operation that he had developed to treat this condition might, at his age, leave him mentally or physically crippled. 'I'd rather die,' he said
— id: 81177, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.5, stat: Journal Article,

Dr. Jean Bernard, 98, Shah's Hematologist
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 1;:B.6-?, New York times
Dr. Jean A. Bernard, a pioneering French hematologist who diagnosed the cancer that the shah of Iran kept secret for many years, and that ultimately sent him to an American hospital in a chain of events that led to the Tehran hostage crisis of 1979-81, died at his home in Paris on April 17. He was 98. The shah was deposed in the Iranian revolution of 1978 and fled to exile in Mexico. When his cancer worsened in 1979, President Carter allowed him to enter the United States for treatment at New York Hospital in Manhattan. A few days later, a group of Iranians seized the American Embassy in Tehran, holding 52 staff members hostage for more than 14 months, until January 1981
— id: 81257, year: 2006, vol: , page: B.6, stat: Journal Article,

Dr. Lee Jong Wook, 61, World Public Health Leader
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 23;:B.8-?, New York times
Dr. Barry Bloom, dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, who worked with Dr. [Lee Jong Wook] on tuberculosis, said that Dr. Lee ''may not have been smooth or highly articulate, but he was enormously effective in getting his goals accomplished.'' Dr. Lee had strenuously campaigned to become director general, defeating Dr. Peter Piot, the executive director of the United Nations AIDS program, on a seventh ballot by the organization's executive board. A number of health experts had complained that Dr. Lee acted more like a politician than a scientist. But he said in an interview in 2003 that ''you can't make it to this position without being a politician.'' Born in Seoul, Korea, Dr. Lee was 5 years old when he, his mother and two brothers had to march 250 miles in 60 days through a bitterly cold winter to be reunited with his father during the Korean War. ''The first thing he did was take us to a bakery for cookies,'' Dr. Lee said in an interview in 2003. ''I cried.''
— id: 81249, year: 2006, vol: , page: B.8, stat: Journal Article,

Drug Shows Limited Promise Against Perilous Skin Disease
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jun 22;:A.20-?, New York times
Reporting in The New England Journal of Medicine, the study's authors said they had recruited 158 scleroderma patients who had early signs of lung damage. The patients, drawn from 13 hospitals in this country, agreed to be assigned randomly to one of two groups, without knowing which one. One group of 79 was to take Cytoxan pills daily for a year. An equal number were to take a placebo, or dummy pill, also for a year. Both groups were monitored for a second year. Many doctors already prescribe Cytoxan for scleroderma patients, in part because earlier, less scientifically rigorous studies hinted at its benefit. But until now no drug for scleroderma patients with lung damage has proved effective in a scientifically controlled study, the type of research that scientists consider the gold standard for assessing benefits and safety of therapies, Dr. [Philip J. Clements] said in an interview
— id: 81231, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.20, stat: Journal Article,

Drug-Resistant TB in South Africa Draws Attention From U.N.
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Sep 6;:A.10-?, New York times
The meeting, in Johannesburg on Thursday and Friday, comes in response to recent reports from a number of the world's regions about a small but growing number of cases of the deadly strains, known as extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB. Although the resistant strains have been identified in all regions of the world, especially Asia and the former Soviet Union, the immediate goal is to help South Africa control an outbreak that killed 52 of 53 patients in a rural province in recent months. The deaths occurred swiftly, on average within 25 days, and included patients who were taking antiretroviral drugs for H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. If the strain keeps spreading, it could exceed by ''hundreds of times'' the outbreak of drug-resistant tuberculosis in New York City in the 1990's, Dr. [Mario C. Raviglione] said. That outbreak was brought under control by adopting strong measures, including observation of infected patients to make sure they took their drugs properly
— id: 81197, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

Electronic Network to Pool Information About H.I.V.
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Oct 10;:F.7-?, New York times
''It's the first formal way to track H.I.V./AIDS treatments and outcomes on a broad, comprehensive scale and in real time,'' said Dr. Michael Saag, the principal investigator of the project, which is based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. A chief aim of the network is to determine the effectiveness of therapies for the thousands of patients in everyday practice compared with a hundred or so selected for clinical trials. The network will track patients who receive various treatments for such ailments to determine if and how they adversely interact with those for H.I.V./AIDS. Steps will be taken to keep the identities of the 15,000 patients in the project confidential. Dr. Saag said he hoped that the H.I.V./AIDS project would be a successful pilot to develop similar networks for other diseases
— id: 81187, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.7, stat: Journal Article,

Experts Warn Scientific Gains On H.I.V. Will Not Be Enough
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 16;:A.6-?, New York times
An array of promising new methods to prevent the spread of H.I.V. may become reality in the near future, but most countries are unprepared to provide them to the hundreds of millions of people at risk of becoming infected, an international panel of experts reported here on Tuesday. The studies are complex, the methods will not offer a magic bullet to prevent the disease, and whatever preventive techniques are found to be effective will probably be combined with existing prevention strategies, the panel of 50 experts cautioned. The experts also urged the world to address the practical and ethical challenges that they said threatened to slow or derail critical research projects on many prevention measures. Last year, a study conducted in South Africa found that circumcised men were 60 percent less likely than noncircumcised men to be infected with H.I.V. by women who are sex partners. In 2007, the findings should begin to come in from three studies under way in Kenya and Uganda. The studies are aimed at confirming the South African study and determining whether male circumcision also reduces the risk of H.I.V. transmission from men to women
— id: 81208, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

Face transplant patient takes a stroll in Lyon
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 19;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
One goal is to help her anticipate and react to what friends and other people might say about her new appearance and to adjust to eventual exposure to hordes of photographers and journalists, said Bernard Devauchelle, the surgeon who performed the transplant operation in Amiens with Jean-Michel Dubernard, also a leader of the transplant team, assisting. Two days after the operation, the woman was transferred to the Edouard Herriot Hospital in Lyon where Dubernard and a team of immunologists could monitor her course. Dubernard led the team that performed the first hand-arm transplant in Lyon. The woman's recovery has gone so well that on Wednesday she will be transferred to Amiens, closer to her home, for continuing care with psychiatrists and social workers, Dubernard and Devauchelle said. Medical teams from the two cities will confer daily on her progress, and she is expected to return periodically to Lyon for further immunologic tests
— id: 81296, year: 2006, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

FACE TRANSPLANT PATIENT VENTURES OUT INTO PUBLIC
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 18;:A.5-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Two days after the operation Ms. [Dinoire] was transferred to the Edouard Herriot Hospital in Lyon where Dr. [Jean-Michel Dubernard] and a team of immunologists could monitor her course. Dr. Dubernard led the team that performed the first hand-arm transplant in Lyon
— id: 81299, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.5, stat: Journal Article,

Face Transplant Recipient Takes Outings and Blends In, Doctors Say
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 18;:A.14-?, New York times
One goal is to help Ms. Dinoire anticipate and react to what friends and other people might say about her new appearance and to adjust to eventual exposure to hordes of photographers and journalists, said Dr. Bernard Devauchelle, the surgeon who performed the transplant operation in Amiens with Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard, also a leader of the transplant team, assisting. Before Sunday's visit, Ms. Dinoire had walked around the hospital, often wearing a mask until she took it off two weeks ago. On a brief visit to Amiens last week, Ms. Dinoire stopped to shop, and she was very pleased no one recognized her or saw anything unusual, Dr. [Devauchelle] said. To monitor Ms. Dinoire's progress in gaining new sensation in the transplanted face, the doctors said they were obtaining M.R.I. scans to pick up subtle changes in brain activity as they prick her skin with a pin or touch it with a wad of cotton. An M.R.I. test on Sunday showed that Ms. Dinoire was beginning to gain some sensitivity in her new upper lip. The doctors also plan to use M.R.I. to monitor if and when she will begin to contract muscles to smile, open and close her mouth and make other facial expressions
— id: 81298, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.14, stat: Journal Article,

FIndings mixed in report on AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 31;:A.16-?, News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
— id: 81238, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.16, stat: Journal Article,

Five win Lasker medical awards
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Sep 17;:A.19-?, News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
— id: 81192, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.19, stat: Journal Article,

For Science's Gatekeepers, a Credibility Gap
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 2;:F.1-?, New York times
The publication process is complex. Many factors can allow error, even fraud, to slip through. They include economic pressures for journals to avoid investigating suspected errors; the desire to avoid displeasing the authors and the experts who review manuscripts; and the fear that angry scientists will withhold the manuscripts that are the lifeline of the journals, putting them out of business.By promoting the sanctity of peer review and using it to justify a number of their actions in recent years, journals have added to their enormous power. A widespread belief among nonscientists is that journal editors and their reviewers check authors' research firsthand and even repeat the research. In fact, journal editors do not routinely examine authors' scientific notebooks. Instead, they rely on peer reviewers' criticisms, which are based on the information submitted by the authors. The public and many scientists tend to overlook the journals' economic benefits that stem from linking their embargo policies to peer review. Some journals are owned by private for-profit companies, while others are owned by professional societies that rely on income from the journals. The costs of running journals are low because authors and reviewers are generally not paid
— id: 81255, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.1, stat: Journal Article,

For ship's doctor, daily challenges on the high seas
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Apr 13;:11-?, International Herald Tribune
As a cruise ship physician, Dr. Gary Razon's most harrowing moments are when passengers and crew become injured or seriously ill hundreds of kilometers from shore. Sudden life-threatening emergencies like internal bleeding, heart attacks, strokes and broken bones can leave little, if any, time to divert a ship to the nearest port. The challenge for a ship's doctor is to stabilize a patient until the ship reaches land. Razon could not reach the nephews. From other calls, he learned that the passenger's mother also was also demented. Her nurse provided the name of the woman's psychiatrist, who was skiing. Razon could not reach the covering physician and sent the woman to a hospital after the ship docked in Nassau. He became a ship's doctor after a colleague, who was one, whetted his appetite about the chance to see the world while practicing medicine. Razon said he had traveled to many areas but with less time ashore than he had expected. Still, Razon said, 'Being a ship's doctor is an offer I cannot refuse.'
— id: 81261, year: 2006, vol: , page: 11, stat: Journal Article,

Found cancer in shah of Iran:
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Apr 30;:A.22-?, Gazette (Montreal, PQ)
In 1947, he and Marcel Bessis developed exchange blood transfusion as a therapy for childhood leukemia. The transfusions induced what is believed to have been the first temporary remission of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children, Professor Jacques- Louis Binet, a hematologist and secretary of the French Academy of Medicine, said last week. In 1948, Bernard and Dr. Jean-Pierre Soulier described a hereditary syndrome that does not allow platelets to stick to blood vessels and form clots. It leads to bleeding in children and is now known as the Bernard-Soulier syndrome. He did not know who the patient would be when a trainee of his, practicing in Iran, asked him to come to Tehran urgently in 1974. Bernard took another trainee, Georges Flandrin. The patient was Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was bothered by an enlarged spleen
— id: 81258, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.22, stat: Journal Article,

Gates foundation backing campaign for HIV vaccine $287 million for research teams worldwide
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jul 21;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
The Gates Foundation has made development of an effective vaccine against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, a major goal, and the new grants bring to $528 million the foundation's investment in the cause. By contrast, the National Institutes of Health has spent $3.4 billion since the 1980s to develop a vaccine. Most licensed vaccines work by stimulating the body to make neutralizing antibodies. But experimental HIV vaccines have failed to produce such antibodies. The virus's propensity to mutate and produce different genetic subtypes would require that an effective vaccine produce antibodies that could neutralize a wide range of strains. Another team, led by Dr. David Ho of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in Manhattan, will receive $24.7 million to design experimental HIV vaccines that bind to dendritic cells. These immune cells help strengthen production of antibodies and cellular immunity
— id: 81221, year: 2006, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Gates funds boost AIDS vaccine search: MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR GRANTS TO 16 TEAMS ASSIST COOPERATION
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jul 20;:1-?, Knight Ridder Tribune Business News
The Gates Foundation has made development of an effective vaccine against HIV, which causes AIDS, a major goal, and the new grants bring to $528 million the foundation's investment for this purpose. By contrast, the National Institutes of Health has spent $3.4 billion since the 1980s to develop a vaccine. Until now, most HIV vaccine research has been conducted by small independent teams. But the new grants are being structured to encourage the 165 scientists receiving them to join forces. The goal is to overcome major immunologic and other scientific hurdles that hinder development of such a vaccine
— id: 81224, year: 2006, vol: , page: 1, stat: Journal Article,

GATES GIVES $250 MILLION FOR HIV VACCINE
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jul 20;:A.1-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
The Gates Foundation has made development of an effective vaccine against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, a major goal, and the new grants bring to $528 million the foundation's investment for this purpose. By contrast, the National Institutes of Health has spent $3.4 billion since the 1980s to develop a vaccine. Most licensed vaccines work by stimulating the body to make neutralizing antibodies. But experimental HIV vaccines have failed to produce such antibodies. The virus' propensity to mutate and produce different genetic subtypes will require an effective vaccine to produce antibodies that can neutralize a wide range of strains. Six grants will focus on ways to develop cellular immunity. Five grants will go to identifying new techniques to develop novel vaccines that produce neutralizing antibodies. The remaining five grants are for creating central laboratories and information analysis facilities, so that all the grant recipients can openly share data and develop standardized ways to compare their findings. Lack of such standardized tools hampers HIV vaccine research, the foundation said
— id: 81226, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

Gates gives $250 million to develop HIV vaccine
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jul 20;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
The Gates foundation has made development of an effective vaccine against HIV, the AIDS virus, a major goal. The new grants bring to $528 million the foundation's investment for this purpose. By contrast, the National Institutes of Health has spent $3.4 billion since the 1980s to develop a vaccine. Until now, most HIV vaccine research has been conducted by small independent teams. But the new grants are being structured to encourage the 165 scientists receiving them to join forces. The goal is to overcome major immunologic and other scientific hurdles that hinder development of such a vaccine. The body invokes two types of immune reactions to defend against dangerous infectious agents
— id: 81223, year: 2006, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Gateses to Finance H.I.V. Vaccine Search
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jul 20;:A.15-?, New York times
The Gates Foundation has made development of an effective vaccine against H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, a major goal, and the new grants bring to $528 million the foundation's investment for this purpose. By contrast, the National Institutes of Health has spent $3.4 billion since the 1980's to develop a vaccine. Most licensed vaccines work by stimulating the body to make neutralizing antibodies. But experimental H.I.V. vaccines have failed to produce such antibodies. The virus's propensity to mutate and produce different genetic subtypes will require an effective vaccine to produce antibodies that can neutralize a wide range of strains. Another team led by Dr. David Ho of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in Manhattan will receive $24.7 million to design experimental H.I.V. vaccines that bind to dendritic cells. These immune cells help strengthen production of antibodies and cellular immunity
— id: 81225, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.15, stat: Journal Article,

Grandmothers From Africa Rally for AIDS Orphans
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 13;:1.10-?, New York times
They are the ''AIDS grannies'' of Africa: women like Matilda Mwenda, 51, of Zambia, who has lost two of her seven children to AIDS, leaving five orphaned grandchildren in her care, along with two nieces who were orphaned when her sister died of AIDS. The three women are among about 100 African grandmothers who flew here for a four-day gathering that ends Sunday with a march to the opening of the 16th International AIDS Conference. The gathering, which brought the African women together with about 200 Canadian grandmothers (very few of them dealing with AIDS in their immediate families), is believed to be the first large one dedicated to helping grandmothers cope with the AIDS pandemic. Cherry Matimuna, 53, is a nurse who has adopted four children orphaned by a niece and a nephew who died of AIDS in Zambia. She said she would be resting if there were no AIDS epidemic. Instead, she has come out of retirement to help care for 61 additional AIDS orphans in Kadwe, the same town where Ms. Mwenda and Ms. [Priscilla Mwanza] live
— id: 81216, year: 2006, vol: , page: 1.10, stat: Journal Article,

Health Experts Meet in Atlanta to Tackle the Deadly Animal-to-Human Link in Illness
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Mar 25;:A.11-?, New York times
The diseases are known as zoonoses because they affect animals primarily, and humans only incidentally. The AIDS, SARS and A(H5N1) avian influenza viruses and at least eight other infectious agents carried by animals have led to new and emerging human diseases in recent years. In 1999, scientists discovered the Nipah virus among pig workers in Malaysia and Singapore who developed inflammation of the brain and respiratory illness. Farming practices on pig farms where fruit trees were abundant created opportunities for transmission of the Nipah virus, said Dr. Peter W. Daniels of the Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong. Cats, leopards and tigers have died from A(H5N1) avian influenza in southeast Asia and Europe. Though the number of cases is small, they have raised concern that the virus could become a bigger problem among felines. The 10,000 tigers now being kept as pets in the United States outnumber the 6,000 in the wild worldwide, Dr. [Bruno Chomel] said
— id: 81270, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.11, stat: Journal Article,

Health Officials Urge Nations To Report Bird Flu Data Sooner
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Mar 21;:A.5-?, New York times
Recently, some critics have objected to the organization's practice of keeping some of the virus's genetic information in a secret database. One critic, Ilaria Capua, an Italian veterinary scientist who works on avian influenza, has challenged the system by refusing to send her own data to the password-protected archive. Instead, she released the information publicly and urged her colleagues to do the same. More timely release of information about avian influenza and other infectious agents ''will become increasingly routine,'' largely as a legacy of the SARS outbreaks in 2003, said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, another expert on influenza at the agency. In the fall of 2002, China lied about the existence of the earliest cases of SARS. Within a few months, SARS spread to Canada and a number of other countries
— id: 81274, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.5, stat: Journal Article,

Heart implant device is approved by the FDA
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Sep 6;:A.10-?, Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA)
The titanium and plastic Abiomed device can be used only in patients who are near death from the failure of both of the natural heart's pumping chambers. It can be implanted only in people 18 and older who are ineligible for a transplant and whose life expectancy would be a month without it
— id: 81196, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

HIV prevention faces an array of hurdles, panel finds
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 16;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
Large studies of an array of promising new ways to prevent HIV are nearing completion, but the world is unprepared to make them widely available to the hundreds of millions of people at risk of becoming infected, an international panel of experts reported here Tuesday. Findings from some studies, like those assessing the effectiveness of microbicides and male circumcision, are expected within the next five years, some possibly in about a year, the panel said at the 16th International Conference on AIDS. At the same time, a significant number of practical and ethical challenges threaten to slow or derail critical research on many prevention measures, the panel of international experts said
— id: 81207, year: 2006, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

HIV's spread slowing, U.N. says ; But nearly 40 million people have the virus, so it won't just vanish, a U.N. official said.
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 31;:A.8-?, Orlando Sentinel
In Haiti, the percentage of pregnant women infected with HIV has declined to 3.7 percent in 2003-04 from 9.4 percent in 1993, [Peter Piot] said in releasing the agency's report at a news conference. The report, issued every other year, comes on the eve of a U.N. General Assembly session. Despite the positive trends, Piot reported grim findings from China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Russia and Vietnam, with signs of outbreaks in Bangladesh and Pakistan, Piot said
— id: 81240, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

Hong Kong Doctor Nominated to Lead W.H.O.
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Nov 9;:A.12-?, New York times
Dr. Chan would take office in early January, filling a vacancy left by the death of Dr. Lee Jong-wook, a South Korean, from a stroke on May 22. Her term would run to June 2012. The agency's 34-member executive board nominated Dr. Chan, 59, most recently the W.H.O.'s top official on communicable disease, in secret balloting. As Hong Kong's health director, Dr. Chan led its response to two major disease outbreaks that threatened the world's health and economy. In 1997, she ordered 1.4 million chickens and ducks slaughtered to control the first cases of the A(H5N1) strain of avian influenza. In 2003, she led the investigation of SARS after the new virus, which had emerged in mainland China, had spread to Hong Kong. In 2005, she became the W.H.O.'s top official for communicable diseases
— id: 81185, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.12, stat: Journal Article,

In Africa, AIDS burden falls to grandmothers
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 14;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
The three women are among about 100 African grandmothers who flew here for a four-day gathering before the opening of the 16th International AIDS Conference on Sunday. The gathering, which brought the African women together with about 200 Canadian grandmothers (very few of them dealing with AIDS in their immediate families), is believed to be the first large one dedicated to helping grandmothers cope with the AIDS pandemic. Cherry Matimuna, 53, is a nurse who has adopted four children orphaned by a niece and a nephew who died of AIDS in Zambia. She said she would be resting if there were no AIDS epidemic. Instead, she has come out of retirement to help care for 61 additional AIDS orphans in Kadwe, the same town where Mwenda and [Priscilla Mwanza] live. Mary Anna Beer, 62, a retired teacher from Newmarket, Ontario, said she became interested in AIDS in the late 1980s, when friends died of it, and began to understand the plight of African grandmothers in six trips to eight countries since 1993. She said she had helped a committee raise nearly 1 million Canadian dollars, or about $900,000, for the Lewis Foundation and publish a manual, available online at York4StephenLewis.ca, advising how to raise awareness about AIDS in Africa. Lewis's daughter, Ilana Landsberg- Lewis, who runs the foundation, said the gathering had three goals. One was to spread awareness about the plight of the African grandmothers. A second was to get the grandmothers to show the world what they need, what their agenda is and what response they want. A third was to raise money for them
— id: 81214, year: 2006, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Is there a doctor in the hold?; Medical mariners; Shipboard docs know that suturing someone's head on the high seas is a delicate operation, especially if you're seasick
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Apr 15;:D.11-?, Spectator (Hamilton, Ont)
The show stopped. In a test of the crew's agility and ingenuity, [Gary Razon] supervised the eight stewards it took to dislodge the woman and carry her to the infirmary. Razon said he 'was so scared because the ship was bouncing and feared she might be bleeding from the hip fracture.' Razon could not reach the nephews. From other calls, he learned that the passenger's mother also was also demented. Her nurse provided the name of the woman's psychiatrist, who was skiing. Razon could not reach the covering physician and sent the woman to a hospital after the ship docked in Nassau. A colleague who was a ship's doctor whetted Razon's appetite for a chance to see the world while practising medicine. Razon said he has travelled to many areas but has had less time ashore than he had expected. Still, he said, 'Being a ship's doctor is an offer I cannot refuse.'
— id: 81260, year: 2006, vol: , page: D.11, stat: Journal Article,

MEDICINE THEN AND NOW: Legionnaires' Disease THE DOCTOR'S WORLD; In Philadelphia 30 Years Ago, An Eruption of Illness and Fear
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 1;:F.1-?, New York times
Dr. [Joseph McDade]'s discovery quickly led scientists to document a number of earlier outbreaks in Pontiac, Mich.; Washington; and elsewhere. Legionnaires' disease now accounts for an estimated 18,000 hospital admissions in this country each year, and C.D.C. scientists have said that doctors miss the diagnosis in many more patients. Most outbreaks and cases have been traced to contaminated water in places like shower heads, air-conditioning systems and medical respiratory devices. The largest outbreak, in Spain in 2001, affected nearly 700 people. The Legionnaire bacterium can produce two forms of illness that begin with flulike symptoms. One, Legionnaires' disease, goes on to produce pneumonia and systemic illness. The other, Pontiac fever, produces only a mild illness. Why the same bacterium causes two distinct illness patterns is not known. Still another problem was that Philadelphia health officials learned belatedly about an earlier outbreak of 19 cases of an illness similar to Legionnaires' disease, including three deaths. It affected members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1974 after they had visited the Bellevue-Stratford. The cluster was not reported until after news of the Legionnaires' outbreak in 1976
— id: 81220, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.1, stat: Journal Article,

More questions about the accident Account of doctors raises doubts on timing of heart injury
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 16;:7-?, International Herald Tribune
Peter Banko, the Texas hospital's emergency department medical director, said doctors there did an ultrasound, a CT scan and a cardiac catheterization, which provide two-dimensional images. Banko said the hospital had a 64-slice CT scan that could provide three- dimensional images, but he did not say that the doctors performed the more sophisticated one on [Harry Whittington], or if so, when. Doctors try to synchronize such CT X-rays with the heartbeat to avoid blurring from motion, said Jeffrey Goldman, a specialist in heart CT scans at Manhattan Diagnostic Radiology. But, Goldman said, doctors cannot synchronize a CT scan in patients with atrial fibrillation. Metal in a pellet can cause a different kind of blurring in CT scans. But the Texas doctors did not say that they performed a 64- slice CT scan after they learned Whittington had a pellet near his heart and before he developed the abnormal heart rhythm
— id: 81289, year: 2006, vol: , page: 7, stat: Journal Article,

Network to pool HIV therapy info
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Oct 11;:C.1-?, Beaumont Enterprise
'It's the first formal way to track HIV/AIDS treatments and outcomes on a broad, comprehensive scale and in real time,' said Dr. Michael Saag, the principal investigator of the project, which is based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Extrapolating findings from clinical trials to individual patients can be difficult. One reason is that there are restrictions on the kinds of other ailments that participants in the trials can have. A second is that such trials usually are conducted on a short- term basis -- weeks or months. Doctors say that while short-term information is crucial for starting therapy, they need more data about the long-term benefits and dangers of such treatments. The seven current centers had pre-existing databases that tracked the clinical outcomes of their individual patients but lacked a collaborative, interactive information-sharing network. The centers were selected in part because they had shown the reliability of their data. be06 0078 061011 N S 0000000000 00002863
— id: 81186, year: 2006, vol: , page: C.1, stat: Journal Article,

New H.I.V. Cases Reported to Drop In Southern India
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Mar 31;:A.5-?, New York times
Many health officials have predicted major increases in H.I.V. in India, which has the world's second highest number of infected people, after South Africa. But new infections among young adults declined by more than a third from 2000 through 2004, according to a statistical study by Dr. Rajesh Kumar and a team of researchers reported in the journal Lancet. A second is that routine monitoring of H.I.V. and other sexually transmitted diseases are powerful and cost-effective ways to control AIDS in India. But experts urged constant vigilance for signs of a reversal of the favorable trend. The prevalence of H.I.V. among women aged 15 to 24 in the southern states fell to 1.1 percent from 1.7 percent during the period of study. But H.I.V. prevalence did not fall significantly among women aged 25 to 34
— id: 81268, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.5, stat: Journal Article,

No new patterns seen (folo) New findings challenge bird flu assumptions
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 12;:1-?, International Herald Tribune
[Rodier] said that transmission seemed to be occurring in families with children in an epidemiologic picture that closely resembled the one seen in East Asia. The recent cases identified in Turkey are the first outside of East Asia. The sudden appearance of a number of cases of avian influenza in different parts of Turkey is worrisome, Rodier said, but is probably linked to the complexities of bird migration
— id: 81303, year: 2006, vol: , page: 1, stat: Journal Article,

Norman E. Shumway, 83, Dies; Made the Heart Transplant a Standard Operation
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 11;:C.14-?, New York times
On Dec. 6, 1967, three days after Dr. [Christiaan N. Barnard] gave Louis Washkansky a new heart, Dr. Adrian Kantrowitz, who had relied on Dr. Shumway's technique while experimenting on dogs, performed a heart transplant on an infant at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn. The infant died six and a half hours later, and Dr. Kantrowitz declared the operation a failure. On Jan. 2, 1968, Dr. Barnard carried out his second heart transplant on Dr. Philip Blaiberg, who lived 19 months. Mr. Washkansky survived 18 days. In the late 1960's, Dr. John Hauser, the coroner of Santa Clara County, Calif., which included Stanford, sought criminal charges against Dr. Shumway for transplanting organs without an autopsy on the donor, an act that would have made transplantation impossible. The two men shouted at each other over the issue in Dr. Shumway's office, recalled Dr. Eugene Dong, then a transplant surgeon at Stanford and now a lawyer. Dr. Shumway's group began to test the drug independently after a member of the Cambridge team gave a lecture about its findings at Stanford and achieved good long-term results in dogs. ''The animal experiments kept us going while everyone else, who did not have that experimental background, dropped out,'' Dr. Shumway said
— id: 81292, year: 2006, vol: , page: C.14, stat: Journal Article,

Official Says Bird Flu Virus In Turkey Is No Mutation
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 11;:A.10-?, New York times
Though scientists have completed only the earliest stages of epidemiologic and virologic investigations, they have found ''no evidence to suggest any difference in the disease pattern than what we have previously seen for A(H5N1),'' said Dr. Guenael Rodier, the W.H.O. official. The recent cases identified in Turkey are the first outside of East Asia, and the patients seem to have caught the virus from direct contact with infected poultry, Dr. [Rodier] said. The ministry said the workers posed no risk to others and had the A(H5N2) virus, a milder strain than A(H5N1) which has killed more than 70 people
— id: 81306, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

On a Scaffold in the Lab, Doctors Build a Bladder
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Apr 4;:F.6-?, New York times
It takes about two months to grow the new bladder on a scaffold outside the body. After implantation, the engineered bladder enlarges over time in the recipient. The researchers say they expect that the new bladder will last a patient's lifetime, but the longevity will be known only as the children grow older. A major advantage of his technique is that rejection cannot occur because the cells used to create a new bladder are from the patient, not from another individual. So an ultimate aim -- still years off -- is to develop the technique to grow a wide variety of other tissues, possibly even organs, to help relieve the shortage of donor organs available for transplanting, said the research team's leader, Dr. Anthony Atala. He directs the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. After the new bladder formed, in about seven to eight weeks, Dr. Atala removed a large portion of the patient's bladder. Then he sewed the newly created tissue to what is known as the neck of the bladder and to the rest of the remaining portion of the patient's natural bladder
— id: 81267, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.6, stat: Journal Article,

Pet-Human Link Studied in Resistant Bacteria
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Mar 22;:A.20-?, New York times
The bacteria can cause the same variety of problems in animals and humans, including skin infections, abscesses, joint infections and death. The infections can be difficult to treat, raising concern about the potential for animals to serve as sources of infection among their human contacts. The questions that epidemiologists at the centers are adding to continuing studies are aimed at determining the source of such infections. Are some people acquiring the antibiotic-resistant staphylococcal infections from pets? Or are pets being infected from exposure to people? If so, how often are each occurring? Staphylococci are commonly found on human skin and in the nasal passages, but much less so on animal skin, Dr. [Shelley C. Rankin] said. Methicillin-resistant staphylococcal infections have been found among horses, and outbreaks have occurred in equine hospitals. But no cases of infection among horses have been linked to people, Dr. [Nina Morano] said in an interview
— id: 81273, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.20, stat: Journal Article,

Promise, pitfalls seen in new anti-AIDS measures
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 16;:17-?, Chicago Tribune
Last year, a study conducted in South Africa found that circumcised men were 60 percent less likely than non-circumcised men to be infected with HIV by female sex partners. In 2007, the findings should begin to come in from three under way in Kenya and Uganda. The studies are aimed at confirming the South African study and determining whether male circumcision also reduces the risk of HIV transmission from men to women
— id: 81206, year: 2006, vol: , page: 17, stat: Journal Article,

Psychiatrist among five to receive medical award / Beck developed cognitive therapy, which changed mental health treatment
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Sep 17;:22-?, Houston Chronicle
The four other Lasker winners are Dr. Elizabeth H. Blackburn, 57, of the University of California at San Francisco; Dr. Carol W. Greider, 45, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Dr. Jack W. Szostak, 53, of Harvard Medical School; and Dr. Joseph Gall, 78, of the Department of Embryology at the Carnegie Institution in Baltimore
— id: 81191, year: 2006, vol: , page: 22, stat: Journal Article,

Psychiatrist Is Among Five Chosen for Medical Award
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Sep 17;:1.24-?, New York times
In making those advances, Dr. [Aaron T. Beck] set a new standard for determining the effectiveness of any type of psychotherapy, the Lasker jury said, by testing his radical new methods in clinical studies with a degree of rigor not previously applied to any form of talk therapy, including Freudian psychoanalysis. Dr. Beck published much of his work in his own journal, Cognitive Therapy and Research, in part because other psychiatrists resisted, if not rejected, his findings. The four other Lasker winners are Dr. Elizabeth H. Blackburn, 57, of the University of California, San Francisco; Dr. Joseph Gall, 78, of the Department of Embryology at the Carnegie Institution, Baltimore; Dr. Carol W. Greider, 45, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; and Dr. Jack W. Szostak, 53, of Harvard Medical School. The awards to those four were made in two categories. Three of the recipients were cited for discoveries involving the structure and function of chromosomes, which are the strands of genes in cells that pass on hereditary information. Dr. Blackburn, Dr. Greider and Dr. Szostak are sharing the Lasker basic medical research award for predicting the existence of telomerase, and then discovering it. Telomerase is an enzyme that replenishes the tips of chromosomes
— id: 81193, year: 2006, vol: , page: 1.24, stat: Journal Article,

Regular use of condoms blocks virus, study says
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jun 22;:A.08-?, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City UT)
In the study, which independent experts said was the most conclusive to examine the role of condoms in preventing infection with the virus, women whose male partners used condoms every time they had sexual intercourse had less than half the rate of infection as did women whose partners used condoms less than 5 percent of the time. The study 'provided a very clear answer' to the question of the protective benefits of condoms and papillomavirus infection, said Dr. James R. Allen, president of the American Social Health Association, an organization in Research Triangle Park, N.C., dedicated to the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. Allen said he was not involved in the study
— id: 81229, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.08, stat: Journal Article,

Report Shows 2005 to Be 'Least Bad Year' of AIDS Epidemic
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 31;:A.6-?, New York times
New surveys suggest that the global AIDS epidemic has begun to slow, with a decline in new H.I.V. infections in about 10 countries, the leader of the United Nations AIDS program said Tuesday. The report shows that the epicenter of the epidemic remains in sub-Saharan Africa. There the epidemic has reached a peak, but incidence remains unacceptably high, Dr. [Peter Piot] said. Across most of Africa, H.I.V. prevalence among pregnant women attending clinics has remained roughly level for several years. An estimated 38.6 million people worldwide are living with H.I.V., up from 37.3 million in 2005, according to a United Nations report released yesterday. Experts cite drops in H.I.V. prevalence in some of the hardest-hit African nations as evidence that the disease's spread is slowing
— id: 81239, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

Robert Petersdorf, 80, Major Force in U.S. Medicine, Dies
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Oct 6;:C.11-?, New York times
Dr. Petersdorf became famous in medicine for a classic study of prolonged fevers of unknown origin, which he carried out with Dr. Paul Beeson at Yale. Doctors still cite the study, published in 1961, although CT, MRI and other scans have made some of its findings less relevant to practice today. Dr. Petersdorf trained a number of leaders of American medicine as he moved back and forth between the East and West Coasts. He had a knack for ''identifying good people who he knew would work hard,'' and in return he ''earned a tremendous loyalty from them,'' said Dr. Marvin Turck, another leading infectious disease expert at the University of Washington. Dr. Petersdorf, who was known affectionately to his colleagues as the Dorf, usually swam at lunchtime. As a teacher, he emphasized the practical and demanded that his students be prepared, and if they were not, he occasionally terrified them during rounds, said Dr. Paul G. Ramsey, the dean and vice president of the University of Washington. Dr. Roger J. Bulger, who retired last year as president of the Association of Academic Health Centers, based in Washington D.C., and who trained with Dr. Petersdorf, said that ''the knowledge he could spew extemporaneously on rounds was pretty amazing.''
— id: 81189, year: 2006, vol: , page: C.11, stat: Journal Article,

ROBERT PETERSDORF| FEB. 14, 1926 - SEPT. 29, 2006; INFECTIOUS DISEASES EXPERT WHO WAS PROMINENT IN AMERICAN MEDICINE
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Oct 8;:B.5-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
Dr. [Robert G. Petersdorf], who was known affectionately to his colleagues as the Dorf, usually swam at lunchtime. As a teacher, he emphasized the practical and demanded that his students be prepared, and if they were not, he occasionally terrified them during rounds, said Dr. Paul G. Ramsey, the dean and vice president of the University of Washington. Dr. Roger J. Bulger, who retired last year as president of the Association of Academic Health Centers, based in Washington D.C., and who trained with Dr. Petersdorf, said that 'the knowledge he could spew extemporaneously on rounds was pretty amazing.' Dr. Petersdorf became famous in medicine for a classic study of prolonged fevers of unknown origin, which he carried out with Dr. Paul Beeson at Yale. Doctors still cite the study, published in 1961, although CT, MRI and other scans have made some of its findings less relevant to practice today
— id: 81188, year: 2006, vol: , page: B.5, stat: Journal Article,

Scientists close in on ways to prevent HIV Lack of resources could negate gains
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 17;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
The studies are complex, the methods will not offer a magic bullet to prevent the disease and whatever preventive techniques are found to be effective will probably be combined with existing prevention strategies, the panel of 50 experts cautioned. The experts also urged the world to address the practical and ethical challenges that they said threaten to slow or derail critical research projects on many prevention measures. More donor financing will be needed to introduce and deliver the new methods, the panel, known as the Global HIV Prevention Working Group, concluded. The panel members made a number of recommendations, including finding ways to help poor countries train enough health workers to carry out male circumcision safely. Last year, a study conducted in South Africa found that circumcised men were 60 percent less likely than noncircumcised men to be infected with HIV by female sex partners. By 2007, the results should begin to come in from three studies under way in Kenya and Uganda. The studies are aimed at confirming the South African study and determining whether male circumcision also reduces the risk of HIV transmission from men to women
— id: 81204, year: 2006, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

Scientists find missing link between HIV, chimpanzee virus
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 26;:A.07-?, Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City UT)
[Beatrice H. Hahn] reported, the findings show 'for the first time a clear picture of the origin of HIV-1 and the seeds of the AIDS pandemic.' Studies estimate that the human AIDS virus jumped species between 50 and 75 years ago. But no one knows who the first infected person was or how that person acquired HIV. Hahn said her team theorizes that HIV was first transmitted locally somewhere in west central Africa. Because the subspecies of chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes troglodytes, in which the simian virus had been found in captivity, lives in the wild in Cameroon, Gabon and Republic of Congo, the first infection could have been in any of those areas
— id: 81243, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.07, stat: Journal Article,

Scientists point finger at pets (folo) Dead swan is Britain's first case of H5N1 flu
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Apr 7;:3-?, International Herald Tribune
Cats, tigers and leopards are known to have been infected with the virus in Asia and Europe. An author of the article, Albert Osterhaus, a virologist and veterinarian at Erasmus Medical Center, has performed experiments showing that cats can give the virus to other cats. But whether they do so in real life, and if so how often, is unknown. Dick Thompson, spokesman for the World Health Organization, said Wednesday that it agreed that more work was needed to determine the role of cats and other carnivores in the epidemiology of avian influenza. Epidemiologists have found no change in the way the virus is spreading or causing illness, Thompson said. But he added, 'Obviously, there still are major gaps in our knowledge and risk assessment.'
— id: 81265, year: 2006, vol: , page: 3, stat: Journal Article,

Scientists Trace Link Between Chimp Virus and H.I.V.
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 26;:A.3-?, New York times
The genetic and immunologic tests were developed in stages over the past seven years to help trace the evolution of H.I.V. and solve the mysterious origins of AIDS, said Dr. Beatrice H. Hahn, a virologist at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Dr. Hahn led the international team that conducted the study, which combined genetics and epidemiology. Dr. Hahn reported, her team's findings show ''for the first time a clear picture of the origin of H.I.V.-1 and the seeds of the AIDS pandemic.'' H.I.V.-1 is the virus that causes the vast majority of AIDS cases in the world. The first cases of AIDS were detected in the United States in 1981. Dr. Hahn said her team theorized that H.I.V. was first transmitted locally somewhere in west-central Africa. Because the subspecies of chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes troglodytes, in which the simian virus had been found in captivity, lives in the wild in Cameroon, Gabon and the Congo Republic, the first infection could have been in any of those areas
— id: 81245, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.3, stat: Journal Article,

Sharon, Gravely Ill, Invited the Public Inside
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 28;:F.5-?, New York times
When Ariel Sharon suffered his first stroke in December, he did what many national leaders who suddenly become ill rarely do. Mr. Sharon, the prime minister of Israel, told his doctors at the Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem to inform the public about his medical problems, Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the Hadassah Medical Organization's director-general, said in interviews in the United States last week. Critics contend that Mr. Sharon's doctors erred in some of their decisions, including the heparin. But, Dr. Mor-Yosef said, the hospital has conducted internal reviews of Mr. Sharon's treatment at different stages. Hadassah doctors discussed the case by telephone and e-mail with specialists in Israel and elsewhere, he said. An expert in coma, Dr. Jerome B. Posner of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center flew from Manhattan to examine Mr. Sharon. The morning after Mr. Sharon's second stroke, Dr. Mor-Yosef's wife, Dina, and government officials called him because of rumors that the prime minister was dead. Dr. Mor-Yosef swiftly told reporters that Mr. Sharon was alive and in an intensive care unit, and he promised to report quickly any changes in his medical condition
— id: 81277, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.5, stat: Journal Article,

Simple tests aid doctors on diagnosis for Sharon
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 10;:8-?, International Herald Tribune
In the process, which could last several days, the brain will 'show us what it has got' after the stroke and three operations, [Lee Schwamm] said. The operations were performed to reduce the pressure on [Ariel Sharon]'s brain and to remove blood clots and dead brain tissue. A possible failure to respond to commands on the first day would not necessarily be a bad sign, Schwamm said, 'in part because it may take a few days for Sharon's body to fully wash out the anesthetics.' Some stroke patients who have little response on the first day after a coma is lifted can often follow commands readily on the third day. Another concern is the heart. In Sharon's case, the stress of the stroke and three operations led to the release of high amounts of adrenaline and other hormones that could bring on a heart attack. Sharon also may have needed blood transfusions because of the amount of bleeding into his brain
— id: 81307, year: 2006, vol: , page: 8, stat: Journal Article,

So Many Advances in Medicine, So Many Yet to Come
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Dec 26;:F.1-?, New York times
As the son of a radiologist whose office was in our home, I grew up seeing conventional X-rays displayed on my father's light boxes. When I went to London in 1973 to report on the first brain CT scanner, I was astonished to see how it could detect tumors, strokes and other disorders that never could be seen on X-rays. I recalled all the patients with neurological symptoms who had to undergo a special X-ray procedure known as a pneumoencephalogram. In it, a needle was inserted through the back to remove spinal fluid and to inject air to outline structures in the brain. The technique was painful and unable to detect the tiny lesions that are now seen on scans. One of the first articles I wrote for this newspaper, in 1970, was about Lassa fever, a hemorrhagic viral infection discovered in Africa. The virus was isolated from a missionary nurse who flew to New York City from Nigeria for care. She survived. But a researcher at Yale died while trying to identify the virus. Among other new diseases are Marburg, Ebola and Legionnaire's. Still others, like West Nile fever, have moved from one area of the world to another. For decades, the West Nile virus caused outbreaks in Africa and Europe. In 1999, West Nile appeared in the Americas, in New York City. Since then, it has spread widely and quickly through the United States and Canada to cause encephalitis and other problems. The virus that causes AIDS, shown in a computerized model, has infected about 60 million people worldwide since 1981 and claimed the lives of 25 million of them. (Photo by Peter Arnold, from ''Nova'')(pg. F1); One of the first pacemakers from 1958; they were patented in 1962. (Photo by Andrea Mohin/The New York Times); Demonstration of a Computerized Axial Tomography scan. (Photo by Meha Kulyk/Science Photo Gallery); Scan of a normal brain, with structures of the brain, spine and tissues. (Photo by Chad Hunter/for The New York Times); A stent shown over an angioplasty balloon in 2004. (Photo by Boston Scientific Corp., via Bloomberg News)(pg. F6)
— id: 81175, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.1, stat: Journal Article,

Socratic Dialogue Gives Way to PowerPoint
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Dec 12;:F.1-?, New York times
Precisely when and where grand rounds began is not known. There are many types of rounds where doctors learn from patients. For example, there are the daily working rounds as doctors walk through a hospital to visit and examine patients. In teaching rounds, more senior doctors supervise the work of residents, or house officers, at a patient's bedside or in a clinic. Yet attendance at grand rounds has reportedly declined in recent years. Many subspecialists prefer to attend rounds in their narrower field, and doctors who go to national and international meetings can hear much of the same information that may be later presented in lectures at grand rounds. So Dr. [Francis D. Moore] asked Dr. [Roy Y. Calne], now Sir Roy, to present his findings at a grand rounds session. In his college days, Dr. Moore had been president of The Harvard Lampoon humor magazine. (For full disclosure, years later I was an officer of The Lampoon.) So after Dr. Calne summarized the case, and with Dr. Moore's approval, he invited the patient to join grand rounds
— id: 81180, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.1, stat: Journal Article,

SOUTH AFRICA FAULTED ON AIDS HAS MOST CASES BUT TREATMENT LAGS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 19;:A.4-?, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
In a keynote address, Stephen Lewis, the United Nations' ambassador to Africa for AIDS, said South Africa 'is the only country in Africa whose government continues to propound theories more worthy of a lunatic fringe than of a concerned and compassionate state.' South Africa has the largest number of HIV-infected people in the world. South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki has continually expressed skepticism that HIV causes AIDS, and the country has questioned anti-retroviral treatment and delayed providing it to pregnant women and AIDS patients. Nurses and others involved in the care of AIDS patients often work in unsafe or dangerous conditions, said Dr. Pedro Cahn, the new president of the International AIDS Society, the main organizer of the AIDS conferences. This conference was the largest ever, drawing 26,057 participants. The next AIDS conference will be held in Mexico City in August 2008
— id: 81200, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.4, stat: Journal Article,

South Korean was 'strong voice' as leader of WHO
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 24;:6-?, International Herald Tribune
Dr. Barry Bloom, dean of the Harvard School of Public Health, who worked with [Lee Jong Wook] on tuberculosis, said Lee 'may not have been smooth or highly articulate, but he was enormously effective in getting his goals accomplished.' Lee had strenuously campaigned to become director general, defeating Dr. Peter Piot, the executive director of the Unaids program, on a seventh ballot by the organization's executive board. A number of health experts had complained that Lee acted more like a politician than a scientist. But he said in an interview in 2003 that 'you can't make it to this position without being a politician.' Lee took over in the wake of the SARS epidemic and moved into the forefront of efforts to thwart the spread of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, pressing governments to develop emergency plans should national pandemics ensue
— id: 81246, year: 2006, vol: , page: 6, stat: Journal Article,

Study indicates AIDS originated in chimps
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 26;:A.1.FRO-?, Edmonton Journal
[Beatrice Hahn] reported, her team's findings show 'for the first time a clear picture of the origin of HIV-1 and the seeds of the AIDS pandemic.' HIV-1 is the virus that causes the vast majority of AIDS cases in the world. The first cases of AIDS were detected in the United States in 1981. Hahn said her team theorizes that HIV was first transmitted locally somewhere in west central Africa. The subspecies of chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes troglo-dytes, in which the simian virus had been found in captivity, lives in the wild in Cameroon, Gabon and Republic of Congo; therefore, the first infection could have been in any of those areas. It is not known whether chimpanzees infected with SIVcpz become ill, Hahn said. Two naturally infected chimpanzees in captivity did not become ill. Some infected chimpanzees that were rescued as orphans because their parents were killed for bush meat died in captivity, but others that were not infected also died, she said, and the deaths were attributed to human infection, poor care and inappropriate diet
— id: 81244, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.1.FRO, stat: Journal Article,

Taking stock of the progress and pitfalls in fighting AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 10;:10-?, International Herald Tribune
In the last six years, the conference has been in Durban, South Africa and in Bangkok. This was done in part to give scientists in modern laboratories and hospitals their first view of the challenges in delivering anti-retroviral therapy in developing countries, where most of the world's HIV-infected people live. The conferences also helped doctors in developing countries get up to speed on AIDS and encouraged scientists to conduct research on AIDS problems peculiar to their geographic area. In a speech at the Durban conference in 2000, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa refused to acknowledge HIV as the cause of AIDS. Minutes later, he walked out of a televised forum as Nkosi Johnson, 11, spoke of being born with HIV. Johnson said he wished that the government would 'start giving AZT to pregnant HIV mothers to help stop the virus being passed on to their babies.' The boy died the following year. Then, in 1996, reports at the conference in Vancouver, Canada, showed that a combination of new anti-retroviral drugs, called protease inhibitors, and older ones could successfully treat AIDS, extending the lives of many. If Coca-Cola could deliver its product in Africa, an AIDS expert said in Vancouver, then the world could deliver AIDS drugs to poor countries
— id: 81217, year: 2006, vol: , page: 10, stat: Journal Article,

Talking About AIDS, With All the World Watching
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 8;:F.1-?, New York times
In the last six years, the conference has been held in South Africa and Thailand. This was done in part to give scientists in modern laboratories and hospitals their first view of the challenges in delivering antiretroviral therapy in developing countries, where a vast majority of the world's H.I.V. infected people live. These two conferences also helped doctors in developing countries get up to speed on AIDS and encouraged scientists to conduct research on AIDS problems peculiar to their geographic area. In a speech at the Durban conference in 2000, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa refused to acknowledge H.I.V. as the cause of AIDS. Minutes later, he walked out of a televised forum as Nkosi Johnson, 11, spoke of being born with H.I.V. He wished, he said, that the government would ''start giving AZT to pregnant H.I.V. mothers to help stop the virus being passed on to their babies.'' If Coca-Cola could deliver its product in Africa, an AIDS expert said in Vancouver, then the world could deliver AIDS drugs to poor countries. The drug cocktails, which cost about $20,000 a year, reduced the amount of H.I.V. detectable in the blood and increased the number of T cells, a crucial component of the immune system. The startling turnarounds in patients confirmed, in their own way, the causal role of H.I.V. in AIDS and refuted claims to the contrary
— id: 81218, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.1, stat: Journal Article,

Test Expands Donor Pool For Kidneys
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 31;:F.5-?, New York times
After three years, 93 percent of the older kidneys that scored favorably functioned well, a rate comparable to kidneys from younger donors. Among older transplanted kidneys that were not biopsied, the rate was 72 percent. In the United States, of the estimated 60,000 patients who await kidney transplants each year, 16,000 receive a kidney. In 2003, 12 percent of kidneys from donor bodies were discarded, chiefly because of the donor's age and the quality and size of the kidneys. Dr. [Edward Cole], who has been a research partner with Dr. [Giuseppe Remuzzi] of Italy, said that one possible problem is that while the lists for older kidneys have been short, ''the more we publicize their potential benefits, the more people will sign up for them, the longer the lists will be'' and ''if you do more double kidneys,'' there will be fewer recipients
— id: 81295, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.5, stat: Journal Article,

The Man on the Table Was 97, but He Devised the Surgery
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Dec 25;:A.1-?, New York times
Dr. [James L. Pool]'s chart noted that Dr. [Michael E. DeBakey] had said he did not want surgery for his heart ailment.; THE WIFE -- As the hospital ethics committee debated, Katrin DeBakey barged in to demand an immediate operation.; THE FRIEND -- When other anesthesiologists at the hospital balked, Dr. [Salwa A. Shenaq] agreed to step in and do the procedure.; THE PATIENT -- Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, seated, became the oldest patient to benefit from heart surgery he devised. From left are Carlos Hinojosa Salcedo, an aide; [Kenneth Miller], a physical therapist; and Dr. [George P. Noon], Dr. DeBakey's surgical partner. (Photo by Michael Stravato for The New York Times)(pg. A1); BACK AT WORK -- In 1965, Time magazine featured Dr. Michael E. DeBakey and his work in a cover story. Dr. George P. Noon, right, said some doctors were waiting for Dr. DeBakey to die during his heart operation or soon after. ''But he just got better.'' (Photo by Michael Stravato for The New York Times)(pg. A18)
— id: 81176, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.1, stat: Journal Article,

This Season's Flu Virus Is Resistant to 2 Standard Drugs
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 15;:1.23-?, New York times
The new findings concern only the strain of influenza causing regular seasonal influenza, and not avian influenza or pandemic influenza, said the centers' director, Dr. Julie L. Gerberding. She said 91 percent of the human influenza A (H3N2) virus samples isolated in her agency's laboratories this flu season were resistant to both amantadine and rimantadine. A (H3N2) is this season's dominant strain. The agency's influenza surveillance program studies samples from state health departments. Influenza viruses constantly mutate. One theory is that the A (H3N2) influenza strain suddenly developed a mutation against amantadine and rimantadine. Another theory is that the resistance developed from inappropriate use of the two drugs, which are widely available over the counter in many countries. In the United States, all marketed antiviral drugs effective against influenza require a prescription
— id: 81301, year: 2006, vol: , page: 1.23, stat: Journal Article,

U.N. concerned about increase in AIDS cases
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Nov 23;:A.20-?, Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA)
At the same time, the prevalence of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, among young people has declined in eight countries in Africa, showing that prevention efforts can work, U.N. officials said. The global death total would be even higher without the efforts in recent years to provide antiretroviral therapy to hundreds of thousands of AIDS patients in poor countries, said Dr. Kevin De Cock, the World Health Organization's chief AIDS official. Still, he said, such drug therapy has not reached enough poor people to match the degree of decline in death rates in wealthy countries
— id: 81181, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.20, stat: Journal Article,

U.N. Official Assails South Africa on Its Response to AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Aug 19;:A.3-?, New York times
South Africa has the largest number of H.I.V.-infected people in the world. Its president, Thabo Mbeki, has continually expressed skepticism that H.I.V. causes AIDS, and the country has questioned antiretroviral treatment and delayed providing it to pregnant women and AIDS patients. Other speakers urged training more nurses and health workers in poor countries to deliver the antiretroviral drugs and preventive measures needed to stop the AIDS epidemic. The many international programs that are scaling up efforts to deliver antiretroviral drugs to poor people cannot succeed without large numbers of health workers to monitor the care of AIDS patients. As the conference speakers delivered their remarks, hundreds of Africans, Asians and people from around the world began dismantling the global village created here to promote discussion of H.I.V. One exhibit, called ''Dress Up Against AIDS,'' included 10 dresses by Adriana Bertini, a Brazilian artist, made from thousands of condoms. Nearby were women from the Masaka district of Uganda who displayed their crafts, including mats, straw bowls and drums. In another booth, Kenyan workers showed off sandals and beaded necklaces. In others, attendants handed out pamphlets on programs for H.I.V. and AIDS
— id: 81199, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.3, stat: Journal Article,

U.N. Urges Tripling of Funds by '08 to Halt AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jun 1;:A.6-?, New York times
Mr. [Kofi Annan] and Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of the AIDS program, spoke as the General Assembly began a three-day meeting aimed at renewing the political commitment urged in 2001 and setting new goals for expenditures and for measuring progress in the battle against AIDS. The General Assembly also heard from Khensani Mavasa of South Africa, who became the first person known to be infected with H.I.V. to address a plenary session about AIDS. Such sessions are normally reserved for United Nations officials and delegates from member countries. Khensani Mavasa of South Africa, addressing the United Nations yesterday, called for making condoms available to all to fight AIDS. (Photo by Stuart Ramson/Associated Press)
— id: 81236, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

U.S. pioneer heart transplant surgeon never gave up even though other doctors abandoned procedure
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 11;:D.16-?, Times-Colonist (Victoria, BC)
The turnaround owes largely to what Shumway called his 'radical perseverance.' He rescued heart transplants with a new immunosuppressant drug, cyclosporin, that helped keep the body from rejecting its new organ, and with a heart biopsy technique to detect and treat rejection before it became lethal. Shumway reshaped the way chest surgeons learn their craft, and he trained many who now perform heart transplants. The transplant revolution he helped set in motion extended far beyond medicine, upsetting the traditional definition of death as the moment the heart stops beating. Instead, an organ donor can now be considered dead as soon as electrical activity of the brain has ceased, allowing transplantation of a living heart or other organ. For a decade starting in 1958, and supported by federal grants from the National Institutes of Health, Shumway experimented on dogs to create what is now the standard technique to remove a patient's heart and replace it with a stranger's. By the time Shumway performed his first human heart transplant on Jan. 6, 1968, it was the world's fourth. But those early transplants seldom achieved long-term success. It was easy enough to transplant a heart, as Shumway once said, 'but it's what happens later with regard to the containment of rejection that makes the real difference.'
— id: 81293, year: 2006, vol: , page: D.16, stat: Journal Article,

UN urges tripling funds by 2008 to stop AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jun 2;:2-?, International Herald Tribune
[Kofi Annan] and Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of the AIDS program, spoke as the General Assembly began a three-day meeting aimed at renewing the political commitment urged in 2001 and setting new goals for expenditures and for measuring progress in the battle against AIDS. The General Assembly also heard from Khensani Mavasa of South Africa, who became the first person known to be infected with HIV to address a plenary session about AIDS. Mavasa urged that the new declaration not be 'a document of empty promises,' but 'a platform for targets based on action.' Mavasa said that she had been raped and abused, and recommended setting a goal of ending violence against women. Describing her life as one 'under the power of men and the institutions they run,' she called for making condoms available to everyone and creating a culture that encourages their regular use
— id: 81234, year: 2006, vol: , page: 2, stat: Journal Article,

UN warns of resurgence of AIDS Prevention efforts reaching far too few
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Nov 23;:7-?, International Herald Tribune
At the same time, the prevalence of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, among young people has declined in eight countries in Africa, showing that prevention efforts can work, UN officials said Tuesday. 'Even limited resources can give high returns when investments are focused on reaching people most at risk and adapted to changing national epidemics, said Dr. Paul De Lay, of the international body's AIDS program Unaids. Nevertheless, 'these estimates are amongst the most robust for any disease of global public health importance,' said Dr. Kevin De Cock, the World Health Organization's chief AIDS official. The global death total would be higher without the efforts undertaken in recent years to provide anti-retroviral therapy to hundreds of thousands of AIDS patients in poor countries, De Cock said. Still, he said, such drug therapy has not reached enough poor people to match the degree of decline in death rates seen in wealthy countries
— id: 81183, year: 2006, vol: , page: 7, stat: Journal Article,

Virus Link to Rare Form of Prostate Cancer Revives Suspicions of Medical Detectives
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 25;:A.8-?, New York times
The researchers, who reported their finding at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in San Francisco, do not know whether the virus causes prostate cancer, infection or any other ailment in humans. The virus, called XMRV, could prove to be harmless. The XMRV virus is closely related to a group of retroviruses found in mice and known as xenotropic murine leukemia virus. (Xenotropic means the virus crossed species.) Though such viruses can cause disease in animals other than mice, there has been no documented human infection until the new report. The XMRV virus acts differently from viruses known to cause cancers, Dr. [Don Ganem] said. In known links, the virus is in the cancer cell, not in the stroma, and every cell in the tumor is infected
— id: 81280, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

VIRUS LINKED TO PROSTATE CANCER
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 25;:3.A-?, Sun Sentinel (Ft. Lauderdale FL)
The XMRV virus is closely related to a group of retroviruses found in mice and known as xenotropic murine leukemia virus. (Xenotropic means the virus crossed species.) Though such viruses can cause disease in animals other than mice, there has been no documented human infection until the new report
— id: 81281, year: 2006, vol: , page: 3.A, stat: Journal Article,

Virus linked to prostate cancer: May be harmless. Same technology revealed cause of SARS
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 25;:A.22-?, Gazette (Montreal, PQ)
The researchers, who reported their finding at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in San Francisco, do not know whether the virus causes prostate cancer, infection or any other ailment in humans. The virus, called XMRV, could prove to be harmless. Still, finding a virus in a rare form of prostate cancer intrigues scientists because of growing suspicions that prostate cancer might result from chronic inflammation caused by bacteria or a virus. The XMRV virus is closely related to a group of retroviruses found in mice and known as xenotropic murine leukemia virus. (Xenotropic means the virus crossed species.) Though such viruses can cause disease in animals other than mice, there has been no documented human infection until the new report
— id: 81282, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.22, stat: Journal Article,

Virus stirs prostate cancer scientists
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 25;:A.3-?, News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
— id: 81279, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.3, stat: Journal Article,

W.H.O. Chief Undergoes Emergency Brain Surgery
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 22;:A.3-?, New York times
Such clots often follow injuries to the head like those from a fall. But the W.H.O. said Dr. [Lee Jong Wook] had been in good health and was not known to have had any such injury. The clot also could have resulted from a bleeding artery in his brain. Dr. Lee ''will be in hospital for some time,'' the organization said, adding that it would provide updates on his illness. It is expected to announce today who will act for Dr
— id: 81250, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.3, stat: Journal Article,

W.H.O. Seeks to Speed Choice of a New Leader
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 24;:A.10-?, New York times
They included the need for a quicker and more effective response to the declining health of Palestinians and more money to complete the effort to eradicate polio. The agency is responsible for tracking influenza and other communicable diseases. Dr. [Lee Jong Wook] was to continue his urging of governments to better prepare for the next pandemic of influenza and to control the A(H5N1) avian strain of the virus. As it has spread from Asia to Europe and Africa, the virus has led to the death of more than 200 million birds. Health experts are concerned that the bird virus could mutate to cause a human pandemic. Dr. Lee also acknowledged the agency's failures in meeting its goal of making antiretroviral therapy available to three million H.I.V.-infected people by the end of 2005 and effectively tackling malaria. ''Clearly things are not going well with malaria control,'' Dr. Lee's text said
— id: 81248, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

WHO seeks flu data more quickly
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Mar 22;:13-?, International Herald Tribune
Recently, some critics have objected to the organization's practice of keeping some of the virus's genetic information in a secret database. Ilaria Capua, an Italian veterinary scientist who works on avian flu, has challenged the system by refusing to send her own data to the password-protected archive. Instead, she released the information publicly and urged her colleagues to do the same. More timely release of information about avian flu and other infectious agents 'will become increasingly routine,' largely as a legacy of the SARS outbreaks in 2003, said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, another flu expert at the agency
— id: 81272, year: 2006, vol: , page: 13, stat: Journal Article,

With Every Epidemic, Health Officials Face Tough Choices
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Mar 28;:F.5-?, New York times
The dilemma often concerns the influenza virus because it continually mutates, leading to human pandemics that predictably occur unpredictably. Although scientists lack the knowledge to predict when and what strain will cause the next influenza pandemic, they say they are convinced that another one is inevitable and so preparation must start as soon as a threat is detected. That kind of immediate action occurred in 1976 after four cases of swine influenza were detected at Fort Dix, a military base in New Jersey. Fearing that the cases represented an early warning of an impending pandemic of influenza, Public Health Service officials rushed President Gerald R. Ford, who was running for re-election, into recommending a swine influenza shot for every American. Warnings about A(H5N1) avian influenza began in 1997, when scientists in Hong Kong discovered that that strain of virus had jumped directly to cause disease in humans without first mixing in pigs, which had been the pattern until then. With the spread of the virus among birds, officials have warned that it could mutate, combine with a human influenza virus and create a new one to cause a human pandemic
— id: 81269, year: 2006, vol: , page: F.5, stat: Journal Article,

World Briefing Africa: Polio Eliminated In Egypt And Niger
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Feb 2;:A.8-?, New York times
The World Health Organization declared two more nations free of indigenous polio, leaving only four -- an all-time low -- where a reservoir of the paralytic disease remains
— id: 81294, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.8, stat: Journal Article,

World Briefing Science And Health: W.H.O. Offers Standards For Human Trials
Altman, Lawrence K
2006 May 19;:A.6-?, New York times
The World Health Organization said it had developed 20 standards for improving reporting on the testing of drugs and devices on people and urged researchers and companies to use them in all human..
— id: 81251, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

Governor's Operation Is Said to Reflect an Unusual Complication
Altman, Lawrence K; Cooper, Michael
2006 Feb 22;:B.5-?, New York times
Mr. [George E. Pataki] was transferred to the Manhattan hospital yesterday morning from Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt Manor in Westchester County, where he underwent the emergency appendectomy. Doctors there said that after the appendectomy, Mr. Pataki experienced an ileus, which means that for some reason the bowel stopped functioning normally, producing a blockage. ''It is not routine to go back and relieve an obstruction this early in the postoperative course'' after appendicitis, even a perforated appendix, Dr. [Matthew M. Hutter] said in a telephone interview. But, Dr. Hutter said, the need for such an operation would depend on what Mr. Pataki's surgeons found when they performed the appendectomy and what CT scans and other imaging tests might have shown since then. Mr. [David Catalfamo]'s statement did not say what caused Mr. Pataki's bowel obstruction. So his statement did not necessarily rule out the possibility that Mr. Pataki, who is 60, had an additional medical problem causing the obstruction
— id: 81286, year: 2006, vol: , page: B.5, stat: Journal Article,

Implantable Heart Device Receives F.D.A. Approval
Altman, Lawrence K; Feber BJ; Grady D
2006 Sep 6;:A.15-?, New York times
The titanium and plastic Abiomed device can be used just in patients who are near death from the failure of both of the natural heart's pumping chambers. The device can be implanted only in people 18 and older who are ineligible for a transplant and whose life expectancy would be a month without it. In June 2005, a panel of heart experts appointed to advise the F.D.A. voted, 7 to 6, against approving the Abiomed device, in part because of concern that the risks from complications like bleeding, strokes and infection outweighed the benefits. Some panel members expressed concern about whether patients would live long enough with an improved quality of life to justify the risks. Abiomed is aiming to keep patients alive 18 to 24 months with the device, primarily by selecting slightly healthier candidates for the implant. The company has a target of 2008 to introduce an improved design that is 30 percent smaller and intended to work for five years, Mr. [Michael R. Minogue] said
— id: 81198, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.15, stat: Journal Article,

Doctors Warn of Powerful and Resistant Tuberculosis Strain
Altman, Lawrence K; McNeil DG Jr.
2006 Aug 18;:A.4-?, New York times
The patients, who were also infected with the virus that causes AIDS, were resistant to all first- and second-line drugs for tuberculosis, Dr. Neel R. Gandhi told the 16th International Conference on AIDS. Dr. [Gerald Friedland] estimated that half the patients had picked up their infections at hospitals or clinics. Most of those who died were in the advanced stages of AIDS, he said. Many were relatively young -- the median age was 35 -- and had never been treated for tuberculosis, so they presumably had not developed resistance slowly in themselves, but had caught the extremely resistant strains from someone else. Tuberculosis and infection with the AIDS virus have long been known to be closely intertwined. This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reported a total of 347 cases worldwide in which the agency found tuberculosis bacteria resistant to all first- and second-line drugs, including isoniazid, rifampin, ethambutol, streptomycin, kanamycin and ciprofloxacin
— id: 81202, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.4, stat: Journal Article,

Governor, In High Spirits, Joins Briefing On His Illness
Altman, Lawrence K; Perez-Pena, Richard
2006 Mar 2;:B.1-?, New York times
Mr. [George E. Pataki], 60, said he had taken a number of telephone calls in his hospital room from well-wishers. His spokesman, David Catalfamo, said that Mr. Pataki had spoken with former President Bill Clinton and Gov. Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky. Mr. Catalfamo said that one of the reasons Mr. Pataki appeared at the news conference was to reassure his mother, Margaret, who was concerned about news reports about his medical condition. On Tuesday, Mr. Pataki's doctors revealed that his ruptured appendix left him more seriously ill than his staff and doctors had previously acknowledged. For the first week that Mr. Pataki was at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital, his doctors and staff gave little information about his medical condition, not fully explaining the need for his second operation or revealing the peritonitis and abscesses. Yesterday, Mr. Catalfamo defended the staff's handling of the information about Mr. Pataki's illness, saying, ''We are doing our best to provide the public with as much information as we understand.''
— id: 81275, year: 2006, vol: , page: B.1, stat: Journal Article,

Desperate Measures for Stroke Push the Edge of Medical Knowledge
Altman, Lawrence K; Rosenthal, Elisabeth
2006 Jan 6;:A.12-?, New York times
While some experts supported the extraordinary treatments that were used to try to save Mr. [Ariel Sharon]'s life, and others opposed them, all agreed that Mr. Sharon's Israeli doctors were working at the very edges of medicine's lifesaving capacities, with little experience and few studies to guide them. Mr. Sharon's second stroke occurred on the eve of a scheduled procedure to close a hole in the wall separating the upper chambers of his heart. Doctors suspected that the clot that caused his first stroke arose from his legs or elsewhere to pass through the hole and ultimately lodge in an artery in the brain. When doctors examined him on Wednesday night, Mr. Sharon complained of chest pain that could have resulted if part of a clot traveled to his lungs and another piece went through the hole to his brain. Or, if he had suffered a heart attack, a clot within the heart might have broken off to lodge in a brain artery. In either case, the anticoagulant therapy could have converted the clot into a hemorrhagic stroke
— id: 81315, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.12, stat: Journal Article,

U.N. Strengthens Call for a Global Battle Against AIDS
Altman, Lawrence K; Rosenthal, Elisabeth
2006 Jun 3;:A.5-?, New York times
The language of the document surprised even anti-AIDS groups, which said that while it did not satisfy all their objectives, they had feared it would be watered down. In turn, United Nations officials credited the advocacy groups for strengthening the draft in behind-the-scenes struggles during an extraordinary three-day plenary session. The new document is a political blueprint, not a plan of action. It calls for a strong commitments to bolster the rights of women and girls so they can protect themselves from infection with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. The document also acknowledges the role of men in spreading the disease and their responsibility to respect women. [Laura Bush], center, with her daughter Barbara, right, and the American envoy, John R. Bolton, left, at yesterday's General Assembly session. Mrs. Bush gave a generally positive assessment of the AIDS campaign. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
— id: 81233, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.5, stat: Journal Article,

UN declares AIDS to be 'greatest challenge'
Altman, Lawrence K; Rosenthal, Elisabeth
2006 Jun 5;:4-?, International Herald Tribune
The General Assembly has adopted a strongly worded declaration aimed at pressing the countries of the world to strengthen their battle against AIDS, a global pandemic that Secretary General Kofi Annan called 'the greatest challenge of our generation.' The new document is a political blueprint, not a plan of action. It calls for strong commitments to bolster the rights of women and girls so they can protect themselves from infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The document also acknowledges the role of men in spreading the disease and their responsibility to respect women. The Center for Health and Gender Equity, which says it represents nearly 70 international advocacy groups, denounced the document for failing to show greater political leadership; refusing to commit to more definitive targets on financing, prevention, care and treatment; and evading frank acknowledgment that some of today's fastest-growing epidemics are occurring among intravenous drug users, prostitutes and gay men
— id: 81232, year: 2006, vol: , page: 4, stat: Journal Article,

Draft Report Said to Give Official Plan For Pandemic
Altman, Lawrence K; Rutenberg, Jim
2006 May 3;:A.20-?, New York times
The goals include helping make sure that ''people aren't coming and going from a workplace at the same time'' and generally to ''encourage people to stay at home'' if they have any sense they are infected, the official said. ''The main purpose of this implementation plan is to say, 'Department X, you need to be doing the following,' '' he said. The nation's borders would almost certainly not be closed, the draft summary says, because the virus would enter the country anyway, enforcement would be difficult, and such an action would ''present foreign affairs complications and have significant negative social and economic consequences.''
— id: 81254, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.20, stat: Journal Article,

Bush 'Satisfied' With Cheney's Response
Bumiller, Elisabeth; Blumenthal, Ralph; Altman, Lawrence K; Urbina, Ian
2006 Feb 17;:A.16-?, New York times
Mr. [Bush]'s comments were his first on the matter since Mr. [Dick Cheney] wounded the victim, a 78-year-old lawyer, Harry M. Whittington, on a quail-hunting expedition in Texas last weekend and his first public reaction to an interview that Mr. Cheney gave about the incident on Wednesday to Fox News. The president's words appeared to be an effort to tamp down widespread talk about tensions between him and Mr. Cheney. Mr. Bush's aides had made little secret all week that they wished Mr. Cheney had handled the matter differently -- in particular by disclosing it more quickly and via a more established channel than the Web site of a local newspaper in Texas. And on Wednesday, the White House signaled that Mr. Bush was sympathetic to that view. The incident was not made public for more than 18 hours. As Mr. Bush spoke, Mr. Cheney headed to Wyoming, his home state, to make a speech to the Legislature on Friday. Mr. Cheney was expected to mention the hunting accident in his remarks, which were scheduled before the accident
— id: 81287, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.16, stat: Journal Article,

3 Associates Given Antibiotics, But No Threat to City Is Seen
Chan, Sewell; Altman, Lawrence K; et al
2006 Feb 23;:B.1-?, New York times
The man who contracted inhalation anthrax, Vado Diomande, a drummer and dancer, collapsed after a performance in Pennsylvania and was hospitalized there last Thursday. On Tuesday, after blood tests confirmed the presence of anthrax, Pennsylvania authorities alerted New York City officials. Yesterday morning, federal authorities concluded definitively that Mr. Diomande had inhalation anthrax. Officials in Pennsylvania also took steps last night to reassure students and employees at the school, Mansfield University in Mansfield, Pa., where Mr. Diomande performed before he collapsed. Mr. Diomande, who is conscious and cooperating with investigators, remained in fair condition last night in the intensive-care unit at Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Pa. After Vado Diomande was hospitalized in Pennsylvania with anthrax, an investigation led officials yesterday to a Brooklyn warehouse and the man's van nearby. (Photo by Robert Stolarik for The New York Times); (Photo by Kotchegna Dance Company via Getty Images)(pg. B1); Police yesterday entered the apartment of Vado Diomande at 31 Downing Street in the West Village, after he was found to have anthrax. (Photo by Robert Caplin for The New York Times); From left: Health Commissioner [Thomas R. Frieden]; [Mark J. Mershon] of the F.B.I.; Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly; Joseph F. Bruno, emergency management chief; and Mayor [Michael R. Bloomberg]. (Photo by Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times)(pg. B5)
— id: 81284, year: 2006, vol: , page: B.1, stat: Journal Article,

Governors Take 2 Tacks On Releasing Medical Data
Cooper, Michael; Altman, Lawrence K; Chan, Sewell
2006 Feb 24;:B.2-?, New York times
Both men were hospitalized after complaining of pain. Governor [George E. Pataki] had his appendix removed on Feb. 16, developed intestinal complications, and was transferred to another hospital for more surgery. Governor Fletcher had a gallstone removed, then his gall bladder, and later developed an infection in his abdomen and bloodstream. David M. Catalfamo, the communications director for Governor Pataki, said the administration has been trying to strike the right balance between informing the public of important developments about the governor's health while preserving some of his privacy. He said that the written statements his office has issued over the last few days have updated the public on the salient points about the governor's health. But some other doctors not connected with the case have said that the statements were sparse in detail. Since then, the administration has relied on the written statements to discuss his condition. But the absence of specific detail led many news outlets to call doctors who are not involved in Governor Pataki's care and invite them to speculate about the causes of his intestinal complications. After The Daily News quoted a doctor who raised the possibility that the governor's digestive system had been blocked by surgical error, Mr. Catalfamo issued a statement which said that the blockage ''was not a result of surgical error.''
— id: 81283, year: 2006, vol: , page: B.2, stat: Journal Article,

Pataki Is Up and Around, but No Date Is Set for Release From Hospital
Cooper, Michael; Altman, Lawrence K; Sweeney, Matthew
2006 Feb 23;:B.4-?, New York times
The governor's doctors have not addressed reporters since Mr. [George E. Pataki] left the first hospital, Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt Manor. In his statement, Mr. [David M. Catalfamo] said that the surgery to ease the governor's digestive system had gone as expected, and that the governor was awake and able to work on his laptop and walk around. John F. Kilcooley, who was visiting his brother-in-law at the hospital, said he had bumped into Governor Pataki and his wife, Libby, as they walked through the halls of the McKeen Pavilion at the NewYork-Presbyterian hospital yesterday. He said that Mr. Pataki, clad in pajamas and a robe, looked well, and that he was wheeling an intravenous unit with him as he walked. Mr. Pataki is also at risk for developing other complications, like infections and abscesses. Mr. Pataki's doctors would be expected to do additional tests, including imaging procedures like CT scans, at the first sign of a fever or increased white blood count or pain, Dr. [Ralph S. Greco] said
— id: 81285, year: 2006, vol: , page: B.4, stat: Journal Article,

New Bleeding Prompts a 3rd Brain Operation for Sharon, Who Remains in a Coma
Erlandger, Steven; Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 7;:A.7-?, New York times
Mr. [Ariel Sharon], 77, has been in a medically induced coma since two operations on Wednesday. Because of the Sabbath there were to be no further health bulletins on Mr. Sharon until Saturday evening, barring major developments. His chief surgeon, Dr. Felix Umansky, told Agence France-Presse that Mr. Sharon ''can still pull through.'' Still, the renewed bleeding was not a good sign, and no one believes Mr. Sharon will return to office. Mr. [Shimon Peres] left Labor after Mr. [Amir Peretz] defeated him for the party leadership, and he joined his old friend Mr. Sharon in his new Kadima Party. But Mr. Peres may feel less comfortable with a party led by the acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who is 60
— id: 81314, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.7, stat: Journal Article,

His Condition Slightly Improved, a Comatose Sharon Faces the Risk of Serious Infections
Erlanger, Steven; Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 8;:1.12-?, New York times
Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the director of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, said Saturday that Mr. [Ariel Sharon]'s blood pressure, heart rate and other ''vital signs were within normal limits.'' Mr. Sharon is breathing with the aid of a mechanical respirator. Later on Saturday, Dr. Jose Cohen, a member of the team monitoring Mr. Sharon, rated his prospects of survival as ''very high,'' Israel's Channel 2 television reported, according to Reuters. ''I am pretty optimistic about it. We are praying there won't be complications, like catching an infection,'' Dr. Cohen was quoted as saying. But he stressed that Mr. Sharon would not be unscathed, saying, ''To say that after a severe impact like this one there would not be cognitive problems is just not acknowledging reality.'' ''The Palestinian Authority should avoid making any connection between the health of Sharon and the election date,'' he said in a statement published in Palestinian newspapers. ''The election is a national Palestinian issue and it must not be linked to any foreign concerns such as what is happening in Israel with Sharon.''
— id: 81313, year: 2006, vol: , page: 1.12, stat: Journal Article,

New brain scan for Sharon Israeli doctors planning to end induced coma on Monday
Erlanger, Steven; Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 9;:1-?, International Herald Tribune
'The Palestinian Authority should avoid making any connection between the health of [Ariel Sharon] and the election date,' he said in a statement published in Palestinian newspapers. 'The election is a national Palestinian issue and it must not be linked to any foreign concerns such as what is happening in Israel with Sharon.' Dr. Jose Cohen, one of the surgeons working on Sharon, told Channel 2 TV on Saturday that there was a 'very high' chance that Sharon would live. But he added: 'To say after such a severe trauma as this that there will be no cognitive problems is simply not to recognize the reality.' Cohen, who was born in Argentina, later told a group of Spanish reporters: 'He will not continue to be prime minister, but maybe he will be able to speak and to understand,' according to remarks printed in the Jerusalem Post. The risks to Sharon, which stem from his immobility since the stroke, include development of life-threatening infections like pneumonia plus urinary tract infections and bed sores. On Saturday, Cohen was quoted as saying, 'We are praying there won't be complications, like catching an infection.' It is standard care to move the arms and legs of stroke patients to prevent muscle atrophy and contractions. Hospital workers also move patients and use special mattresses to prevent bed sores
— id: 81310, year: 2006, vol: , page: 1, stat: Journal Article,

New risks loom the longer Sharon is immobile
Erlanger, Steven; Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 8;:A.10-?, Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA)
Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the director of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, said Saturday that [Ariel Sharon]'s blood pressure, heart rate and other 'vital signs were within normal limits.' Sharon is breathing with the aid of a mechanical respirator. Separately, the imprisoned Palestinian politician Marwan Barghouti warned against any move to use Sharon's illness as a reason to postpone Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for Jan. 25. 'The Palestinian Authority should avoid making any connection between the health of Sharon and the election date,' he said in a statement published in Palestinian newspapers. 'The election is a national Palestinian issue, and it must not be linked to any foreign concerns such as what is happening in Israel with Sharon.'
— id: 81312, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.10, stat: Journal Article,

States Welcome Flu Plan but Say They Need Federal Money
Harris, Gardiner; Altman, Lawrence K; McNeil, Donald
2006 May 4;:A.20-?, New York times
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, said that failed to resolve the issue of leadership. ''Under the president's plan,'' Mrs. Clinton said, ''we still don't know who is accountable within our federal government.'' ''In the Northwest, we have 42,000 travelers going and coming from Asia every week,'' Ms. [Mary Selecky] said. ''We don't want to have to deal in an isolated way with a plane carrying potentially infected people.'' ''They gave us a list of work that they expect us to do,'' Ms. Selecky said, ''but they've only given us a little bit of one-time money. We need a sustained effort.''
— id: 81253, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.20, stat: Journal Article,

Israel May Relax Stand on Palestinian Voting in Jerusalem; Sharon Improves
Myre, Greg; Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 11;:A.6-?, New York times
Israel's government has not announced any major decisions since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke on Jan. 4, and political quarrels have largely been put on hold. Mr. Sharon remained in a medically induced coma on Tuesday, though he showed small improvements, his doctors said. Even so, the cabinet, led by Ehud Olmert, the acting prime minister, plans to vote Sunday on a proposal that would allow Palestinians to cast ballots in East Jerusalem in the Jan. 25 elections. Israeli officials had said they would oppose voting in the city, which each side claims as its capital, because the ballots include candidates from Hamas, a faction that calls for Israel's destruction. Shaul Mofaz, the defense minister, appeared to settle the dispute on Tuesday. Palestinians in East Jerusalem have been allowed to vote in some contests in the past, he said, and ''Israel's policy regarding elections in East Jerusalem will stay like it was.''
— id: 81305, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.6, stat: Journal Article,

Israeli News Media Debate Treatment Sharon Received
Myre, Greg; Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 14;:A.7-?, New York times
Over the last few days, the Israeli news media, along with a number of Israeli doctors, have raised questions about the treatment Mr. [Ariel Sharon] received after he had a mild stroke on Dec. 18, before he had a major one on Jan. 4. The condition, which is relatively common in elderly people, is marked by weakened blood vessels in the brain, and blood-thinning medicine can increase the risk of cerebral hemorrhage, according to doctors. Mr. Sharon suffered a hemorrhagic stroke on Jan. 4. If Mr. Sharon had not received such medicine, he could have suffered another clot in the brain instead of bleeding in the brain, Dr. Jose Cohen, one of his neurosurgeons, told Israeli television this week
— id: 81302, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.7, stat: Journal Article,

Sharon Shows Some Small Medical Gains
Myre, Greg; Altman, Lawrence K
2006 Jan 10;:A.12-?, New York times
The doctors say they believe that Mr. Sharon can survive the extensive stroke and cerebral hemorrhage that he suffered Wednesday. But the assumption among Israelis is that Mr. Sharon, 77, will not be able to return to political life. Still, supporters hung a white sheet at the hospital entrance that read, ''[Ariel Sharon], there is more to do, please wake up.'' Ehud Olmert, a close ally of Mr. Sharon who has been elevated from deputy prime minister to acting prime minister, has pledged to follow Mr. Sharon's policies. He has not made any major decisions since Mr. Sharon was hospitalized. Later in the day, doctors administered pain-stimulus tests, and Mr. Sharon slightly moved his right arm and right leg, Dr. [Mor-Yosef] said. The movements ''grew more and more substantial as we reduced the medication,'' the doctor added. Mr. Sharon's blood pressure also rose in response to the tests, which the doctor said was a positive sign
— id: 81309, year: 2006, vol: , page: A.12, stat: Journal Article,

Governor Was Sicker Than the Public Knew
Perez-Pena, Richard; Altman, Lawrence K; Cooper, Michael
2006 Mar 1;:B.1-?, New York times
They used the word ''peritonitis'' -- the name of a potentially fatal inflammation of the abdominal lining -- only after being pressed repeatedly by reporters. They also described abscesses but declined to use that word, and declined to say how high a fever Mr. [George E. Pataki] had. And although they said that his bowel function was impaired but improving, they would not elaborate despite repeated questioning. Dr. Dennis L. Fowler said yesterday that the adhesions were new and probably caused by the ruptured appendix and the first operation. Dr. [