Faculty Bibliography

The first human tests of an experimental SARS vaccine could begin as early as January, with laboratory researchers making surprisingly rapid progress toward preventing the respiratory illness, the World Health Organization and a top U.S. health official say. The U.N. agency expressed optimism after convening 50 experts from 15 countries to review reports on a number of candidate SARS vaccines. Scientists in Canada, China, the United States and possibly other countries began developing them after the SARS epidemic earlier this year

The Geneva-based U.N. agency expressed optimism after convening a panel of 50 experts from 15 countries to review reports on a number of candidate SARS vaccines. Scientists in Canada, China, the United States and possibly other countries began developing them after the SARS epidemic earlier this year

The panel also recommended determining the amount of SARS virus in blood, respiratory secretions and other body fluids as a way of measuring response to antiviral and other drugs. But such measurements could be difficult to obtain if SARS re-emerged in poor countries. Doctors still do not know how best to treat SARS patients who have breathing difficulties, Dr. [Simon Mardel] said. One method is invasive ventilation, when a patient is connected to a ventilator, a procedure that generally requires sedation and temporary paralysis. A second method involves blowing oxygen into the lungs through a mask. Both carry the risk of transmitting the virus to hospital employees

It 'is a matter of urgency to get better analysis and review,' said Dr. Simon Mardel, a WHO official who led the two-day meeting that ended Friday. He said thousands of potential therapies and compounds had been tested so far as researchers try to determine treatments for SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome

Doctors still do not know how best to treat SARS patients who have breathing difficulties, [Simon Mardel] said. One method is invasive ventilation, in which a patient is connected to a ventilator through a tube inserted in the windpipe, a procedure that generally requires sedation and temporary paralysis. A second method is noninvasive: A mask is fitted over the face and oxygen is blown into the lungs. Both carry the risk of transmitting the virus to hospital employees

The African nations are Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania, which have about one-third of all AIDS cases there. In the Caribbean, the aid will go to the Bahamas; Dominican Republic; Haiti; the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, which includes Antigua and Barbuda; Dominica; Grenada; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Lucia, St.Vincent and the Grenadines; Anguilla and Montserrat; and the British Virgin Islands. More than 90 percent of Caribbean AIDS patients live in these areas

A puzzling cluster of pneumonia cases among American troops in Iraq and other countries in the war region seems to be partly related to the fact that many had taken up smoking shortly before they became ill, Pentagon officials said yesterday. He said the military has investigated the cluster because of the particular severity of the pneumonia -- all patients needed assistance from mechanical ventilators to breathe. Most responded ''fairly dramatically'' within days after such therapy and antibiotics, said Col. Bob DeFraites, the Army's chief of preventive medicine. Tobacco smoke is a prime suspect because it is known to damage lungs and increase their susceptibility to pneumonia. Also, at least one published paper has reported a similar link between smoking and severe pneumonia

Dr. Marc Feldmann and Sir Ravinder N. Maini of the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in London won the clinical medical research award for a discovery that led to development of powerful drugs that can soothe joint pain and restore mobility among people with rheumatoid arthritis. The therapy, known as anti-TNF, for tumor necrosis factor, has also benefited people with other autoimmune disorders, like the bowel ailment Crohn's disease and a form of arthritis caused by psoriasis. Feldmann, an Australian immunologist, and Sir Ravinder, who was born in India, overcame major scientific skepticism when they began their anti-TNF work in 1984. It has led to the development of three licensed drugs for rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune disorders -- Remicade, Enbrel and Humira. [Robert G. Roeder] will receive $50,000, and Feldmann and Sir Ravinder $25,000 each. The public service award does not have a monetary prize. Since the Laskers were first awarded in 1946, 66 winners have later received Nobel Prizes

A puzzling cluster of pneumonia cases among U.S. troops in Iraq and other countries in the war region seems to be partly related to the fact that many had taken up smoking shortly before they became ill, Pentagon officials said on Tuesday. He said that the military had investigated the cluster because of the particular severity of the pneumonia -- all patients needed assistance from mechanical ventilators to breathe. Most responded 'fairly dramatically' within days after such therapy and antibiotics, said Col. Bob DeFraites, the Army's chief of preventive medicine. Tobacco smoke is a prime suspect because it is known to damage lungs and increase their susceptibility to pneumonia. Also, at least one published paper has reported a similar link between smoking and severe pneumonia

[Christopher Reeve] was paralyzed from the shoulders down when he was thrown headlong from a horse in 1995. He was honored for transforming his personal tragedy into public service. He is now chairman of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation and a leading advocate for increasing financial support of medical research aimed at curing not only his own injury, but a wide variety of other conditions