Faculty Bibliography

In the first controlled study of the effects of pet therapy in a random sample of acute and critically ill heart patients, anxiety as measured on a standard rating scale dropped 24 percent for those visited by a dog and a human volunteer, by 10 percent for those visited by a volunteer alone and not at all for those with no visitors. Similar results were found in measures of heart and lung function. All participants were screened for heart disease before the experiment, and their heart rates were monitored throughout the ride. Heart rates appeared to rise more from psychological stress and fear at the beginning of the ride, rather than from the increased G force, Dr. [Jurgen Kuschyk] said. After the ride, about half the participants had abnormal heartbeats even though their heart rates had returned to a normal range. One potential danger is a coaster's magnetic brakes, which can interfere with the function of pacemakers and defibrillators, Dr. Kuschyk said. He said he knew of one heart-related roller coaster death, a man in Germany who was initially resuscitated but died three days later

Dr. [Catherine J. Ryan] studied 12 common symptoms: chest discomfort; shoulder, arm, or hand discomfort; neck or jaw discomfort; back discomfort; abdominal discomfort; indigestion; nausea and vomiting; shortness of breath; sweating; dizziness and light-headedness; weakness; and fatigue. According to her analysis, using standard statistical techniques, people with the shortest delay time, a mean of 9.78 hours, had a greater probability of experiencing the largest number of symptoms. People with the longest delay time, a mean of 22.77 hours, had a moderate probability of experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath. Sweating emerged as an important factor, Dr. Ryan said

Among those affected by the delay is Dr. Gerberding's mother, Bette Gerberding, of Brookings, S.D., who asked her daughter if she should go to a neighboring state to get a flu shot, Dr. Gerberding said. Because there is no influenza outbreak in Brookings, and Mrs. Gerberding's doctor expects a shipment by the end of the month, Dr. Gerberding said she advised her mother, ''Just wait and make your appointment so that you can get it when it's available.'' President Bush's proposal to spend $7.1 billion for a possible influenza pandemic will help manufacturers expand capacity and prevent shortages for regular influenza in the long run, Dr. Gerberding said

The gonorrhea rates began soaring in the late 1960s and peaked in the '70s because of changes in sexual mores and behavior, wide use of oral contraceptives, and decreased use of condoms, said [Ronald O. Valdiserri] and Dr. John M. Douglas, who directs STD prevention at the disease centers in Atlanta. The rates dropped in the 1980s as health officials stepped up control measures. Still, Douglas said, the 330,132 gonorrhea cases reported in 2004 are believed to be less than half the 700,000 cases estimated to have occurred that year

''There's definitely a resource challenge,'' said Dr. Ronald O. Valdiserri, acting director of the AIDS and S.T.D. prevention unit at the disease centers. ''We certainly hear from state and local health departments that they do not always have the resources they require to address all the S.T.D. issues that they need to address.'' The gonorrhea rates began soaring in the late 1960's and peaked in the 1970's because of changes in sexual mores and behavior, wide use of oral contraceptives, and decreased use of condoms, said Dr. Valdiserri and Dr. John M. Douglas, who directs S.T.D. prevention at the disease centers in Atlanta. The rates dropped in the 1980's as health officials stepped up control measures. Still, Dr. Douglas said, the 330,132 gonorrhea cases reported in 2004 are believed to be less than half the 700,000 cases estimated to have occurred that year. Rates for early-stage syphilis, which reached an all-time low in 2000, have increased for four straight years to 2.7 cases per 100,000 people in 2004. The rise is largely due to increases in early syphilis infections among gay men, to 4.7 cases per 100,000 from 2.6 cases in 2000, the disease centers said

Scarce supplies of the antiviral drug Tamiflu might be extended as much as 100 percent by using it in combination with a second drug in the event of a pandemic of influenza, the journal Nature reported

At the meeting, Merck presented data from clinical trials supporting reports that its vaccine was nearly 100 percent effective in preventing the two types of HPV that cause most cases of cervical cancer. Merck representatives said the company hoped to receive approval next year for its vaccine, which is given as a series of three shots over six months. The survey on the HPV vaccine initially involved 2,500 members of the American Academy of Pediatrics who care directly for patients more than half of the workweek. Dr. [Nicole Liddon]'s team narrowed the group to 431 pediatricians to get a representative sample of such practitioners. For example, 54 percent said incorrectly that genital warts were caused by the same types of HPV that caused cervical cancer. Twenty-three percent incorrectly said that the incidence of HPV in women was highest among women in their 30's, and 48 percent said they did not know

It also urged that adults ages 19 to 65 have the booster against whooping cough, also called pertussis, 10 years after their last shot against the disease. They could receive the vaccine at the same time as their booster against tetanus and diphtheria, because a newly licensed vaccine -- Adacel, made by Sanofi Pasteur -- offers protection against all three diseases. Using estimates made by the disease centers, the panel said routine hepatitis A immunization would prevent up to 180,000 infections and 30,000 illnesses each year among children and adults, advancing the goal of eliminating the disease in this country. Adverse reactions to the vaccine are reported as rare. In recommending hepatitis A shots for toddlers, the panel cited the success of a vaccination program in 17 states that had had a high incidence of the disease: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming

Lawrence K

Trying to calm worldwide alarm about the spread of an avian influenza virus to Europe from Asia, an official of the World Health Organization cautioned yesterday that there were still no signs of an influenza pandemic in humans. The A(H5N1) avian strain is expected to spread to additional countries, and the agency remains concerned about the longer-term potential for the virus to mutate or combine with a human influenza virus to create a new one that could cause a human pandemic, the official, Dr. Mike Ryan, said. A pandemic is an epidemic that is prevalent across a wide area. As he spoke, Greece reported what may be its first case of A(H5N1) avian influenza. Initial tests showed that a virus collected from a turkey farm on the Aegean island of Inousses near the Turkish coast was an A(H5) virus. Additional testing is under way to determine if this virus also has the additional feature of the strain, the N1 protein