Faculty Bibliography

In less than two hours, while [Dick Cheney] slept under mild sedation, his doctors concluded that his heart was susceptible to abnormal, rapid heartbeats and installed the device - what they and Cheney called 'an insurance policy.' The device serves two purposes. It can act as a traditional pacemaker, speeding up a heart that is beating too slowly. But this model, a Medtronic GEM III DR, also can act as a miniature defibrillator, which can interrupt abnormally rapid heartbeats before they become fatal. [Jonathan Reiner] said the chances were very low that the device would ever be activated. But since tests conducted two weeks ago showed that Cheney periodically suffered four brief episodes of a rapid heartbeat over a 34-hour period, the device would ensure that a longer burst of the abnormal rhythm, called ventricular tachycardia, would not turn into a crisis. Assuming that Cheney's disease proves manageable for the next three years, the big political decision for [Bush] would come in 2004, when he would have to decide whether Cheney should once again be his running mate. But by that time, Cheney may not be needed to establish maturity and credibility for Bush, as he did last year

Gleevec works by hitting a specific molecular target in the cell. In particular, it inhibits three different proteins involved in the cell's internal signalling system. Many cancer cells divide incessantly because these systems have been thrown into hyperdrive by some genetic accident. Gleevec cuts off this signaling by slipping into a pocket on the surface of the signaling protein. This pocket is meant to be occupied by another protein known as ATP

[Piero Anversa]'s findings add to those from studies on animals that show the dogma that the heart cannot regenerate 'is no longer true,' said [Claude J. Lenfant] whose federal agency in Bethesda, Md., paid for the research that was conducted in Valhalla and at the Universities of Udine and Trieste in Italy

[Piero Anversa]'s findings add to those from studies on animals that show the dogma that the heart cannot regenerate 'is no longer true,' said [Claude J. Lenfant] whose federal agency in Bethesda, Md., paid for the research that was conducted in Vallhala and at the University of Udine and University of Trieste in Italy. Lenfant said the findings eventually could have 'enormous public health value' if it led to new therapies that delayed the onset of heart failure and prolonged life. Lenfant also said that he believed Anversa's research holds greater promise for heart disease than gene therapy, which many experts consider a highly promising route to new therapies. Anversa said he never believed that the heart was an exception to the rule that cell regeneration is essential to life. Nor did he believe, as the dogma held, that scarring after heart attacks was evidence against the heart's ability to make new cells. Other organs, like the skin, constantly grow new cells to replace old and damaged ones and still leave scars, Anversa said

The new research, released Thursday, relies on a newer blood test to identify people who have been infected only recently. The researchers found that in the six cities, black gay men ages 23 to 29 had a 14.7% annual rate of new infection compared with 2.5% among white gay men and 3.5% among Hispanic gay men of the same age. For the age group overall, the new infection rate was 4.4%. Also, the study involved men who went to gay bars and similar venues, whose sexual practices and drug use may not mirror those of other gay men. On the other hand, the reluctance of many gay black men to acknowledge their homosexuality means their rate of HIV infection would not have been detected. The gay men in the study were small children in the 1980s when health officials issued the early information that helped reduce infection rates among gay men. Now, health officials say they must renew and sustain such messages in part because young gay men have not seen many friends die of AIDS and may not take prevention as seriously as older gays

The rate of new infections with HIV, the AIDS virus, among black gay men 23 to 29 years was six times that of a comparable group of young white gay men and three times that of all young gay men in the study. The study found that young black gay men had a 14.7% annual rate of new infection compared with 2.5% among young white gay men, 3.5% among Hispanic gay men and 4.4% for all gay men 23 to 29 years old. In February, the disease centers reported that among young gay black men the prevalence, or the total number of HIV infections and AIDS cases, was 30%. The new evidence shows that such infections occurred from 1998 to 2000. Although the number of infections could continue to rise, the findings do not necessarily mean that all would become infected in time because many of the uninfected are using recommended prevention measures

At a news conference, Dr. Helene D. Gayle, who directs the H.I.V. program at the Centers for Disease Control, and Dr. Linda Valleroy, who led the study, described the situation using similar terms, saying the ''explosive H.I.V. incidence rates'' were ''alarming'' and ''of critical public health importance.'' Also, the study involved men who went to gay bars and similar venues, whose sexual practices and drug use may not mirror those of other gay men. On the other hand, the reluctance of many gay black men to acknowledge their homosexuality means their rate of H.I.V. infection would not have been detected. In January, the Centers for Disease Control announced a new strategy that aims in part to encourage people at high risk to get an H.I.V. test and form a profile of those who are newly infected. The agency intends to use the information to tailor prevention and treatment efforts to the needs of infected gay men as part of the $400 million this year that the agency provides to state and local prevention programs. One aim will be to determine how such men can best be referred to health care and prevention services to reduce the risk of transmission. Because about half of those in the study said they engaged in unprotected anal sex, another goal will be to develop new and more effective prevention messages

The research released yesterday relies on a newer blood test to identify people who have been infected only recently. It found that in the six cities, black gay men 23 to 29 had a 14.7 percent annual rate of new infection compared with 2.5 percent among white gay men and 3.5 percent among Hispanic gay men of the same age. For the age group overall, the rate of new infection was 4.4 percent. To measure incidence, epidemiologists tested 2,942 volunteers, chosen at random in 194 urban neighborhoods, at dance clubs, bars and other public venues frequented by young gay men. The participants answered questions related to their sexual history and drug use and were counseled about HIV. Also, the study involved men who went to gay bars and similar venues, and their sexual practices and drug use may not mirror those of other gay men. On the other hand, the reluctance of many gay black men to acknowledge their homosexuality means their rate of HIV infection would not have been detected

Last week at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology here, scientists reported that Gleevec had also worked in about 60 percent of nearly 200 cases with Mr. [Todd Hendrickson]'s type of cancer, known as GIST for gastrointestinal stromal tumor. But it is too early to know how long the remissions will last and how long patients will need to take Gleevec. Gleevec, for example, inhibits three different proteins involved in the cell's internal signaling system. Many cancer cells divide incessantly because their internal signaling systems have been thrown into hyper-drive by some genetic accident. Gleevec cuts off this signaling by slipping into a pocket on the surface of the signaling protein. This pocket is meant to be occupied by another protein known as ATP. With the pocket jammed, the protein can no longer function. Cancer cells are daunting to treat because they often have a number of genetic mutations. They quickly develop resistance to the drugs that are thrown at them, suggesting that no one drug will ever be much use in itself. The unexpected success of Gleevec has raised oncologists' hopes that other drugs like Gleevec, alone or in combination, may bring down many different types of tumors. If the drugs do not cure the cancer, they may allow people to live with it as a chronic disease

Of 86 patients who took Gleevec for three or more months in a study last summer reported by Dr. Charles D. Blanke of the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, the GIST went into remission in 51 of them, or 59 percent. Although the average follow-up was four and a half months, ''no patient still taking the drug and achieving remission has relapsed,'' Dr. Blanke said. Still, Dr. Blanke and other scientists warned that Gleevec failed in a number of GIST patients and that doctors did not know if GIST cells would develop resistance to Gleevec. Although the food and drug agency approved Gleevec only for chronic myelogenous leukemia, doctors can prescribe it, like any marketed drug, for other conditions in a practice known as off-label use. But Dr. Blanke and Dr. Allan T. van Oosterom of the University of Leuven in Belgium, who led a smaller European trial, cautioned doctors and patients not to do so