Faculty Bibliography

The first direct comparison of two main drugs approved for treating an enlarged prostate gland has shown that one is no better than a placebo while the other relieves urinary symptoms. The two drugs are terazosin, which Abbott Laboratories sells as Hytrin, and finasteride, which Merck & Co markets as Proscar. Hytrin was effective but Proscar offered no more relief than placebos, according to a study being reported in the New England Journal of Medicine on Aug 22, 1996

The first direct comparison of two main drugs approved for treating enlarged prostate glands, a common condition in older men, has shown that one is no better than a placebo, but the other relieves the urinary symptoms caused as the swollen gland constricts the urethra. The two drugs are terazosin, which Abbott Laboratories sells as Hytrin, and finasteride, which Merck & Co. markets as Proscar. Hytrin was effective but Proscar offered no more relief than dummy pills in the study, which involved more than 1,200 men and lasted a year. The study is being reported today in the New England Journal of Medicine

A number of AIDS researchers have taken initial steps to try to develop drugs, or even a vaccine, based on the discovery reported on Aug 8, 1996 that a mutant gene can protect some people from infection with HIV. Scientists from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City and from the Free University of Brussels reported that the protection resulted from a mutant of the gene CKR-5

The findings by researchers, working independently of each other at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City and at the Free University of Brussels, provide a genetic explanation for a phenomenon that has long perplexed epidemiologists: Some people do not get infected despite having sex with partners who die from AIDS. The mutant gene controls production of a protein that is needed to allow the entry into cells of HIV-1, the most common form of the AIDS virus. The gene is called CKR-5 and the protein it makes is located on the surface of certain immune cells. People who inherit two copies of the mutant CKR-5 gene, one from each parent, cannot make the protein. So if a sex partner transmits HIV to them, the virus cannot dock with a molecule on the surface of the CD-4 immune cells. Thus, HIV-1 remains harmless in those people

A genetic mutation protects some people from infection with the AIDS virus even when they are repeatedly exposed to it through sex, two groups of scientists reported on Aug 8, 1996. The reports by researchers working independently at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City and the Free University of Brussels are bing published in the Aug 9 issue of Cell and the Aug 22 issue of Nature

Discovered was a genetically resistant gene in some people who are free of the AIDS virus despite repeated sex with infected partners. The gene controls production of a protein that is needed to allow the entry into cells of HIV-1, the most common form of the AIDS virus. The gene is called CKR-5 and the protein it makes is located on the surface of certain immune cells. People who inherit two copies of the mutant CKR-5 gene, one from each parent, cannot make the protein. So if a sex partner transmits HIV to them, the virus cannot dock with a molecule on the surface of the CD-4 immune cells. Thus, HIV-1 remains harmless in those people

The findings by researchers working independently at the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York City and the Free University of Brussels provide a genetic explanation for a phenomenon that has long perplexed epidemiologists: Some people do not get infected despite having sex with partners who die from AIDS. The mutant gene controls production of a protein that is needed to allow the entry into cells of HIV-1, the most common form of the AIDS virus. The gene is called CKR-5, and the protein it makes is on the surface of certain immune cells. People who inherit two copies of the mutant CKR-5 gene, one from each parent, cannot make the protein. So if a sex partner transmits HIV to them, the virus cannot dock with a molecule on the surface of the CD-4 immune cells. Thus, HIV-1 remains harmless in those people

Since Trans World Airlines Flight 800 exploded on Jul 17, 1996, a team of leading medical examiners has worked long hours not only to identify the bodies of victims pulled from the ocean but also to help determine the cause of the crash. In doing so, the medical examiners have conducted a wide array of tests seeking traces of explosive among the 195 bodies that were recovered. After three weeks, and with many tests still to be completed, the team has found no evidence of an explosive device

Federal health officials Tuesday approved the first urine test to detect HIV, the AIDS virus, but said it was not as accurate as the standard blood test. Those who test positive for HIV with the urine test are advised to get a second urine test, and if that is also positive, they then need a blood test for confirmation. The FDA has advised doctors who use the test to counsel those who use the urine test and explain that a negative test is not a guarantee of being free of infection