Faculty Bibliography

In his first interview about his health, President Clinton said that it was 'very good,' that he had never had a serious illness and that he had controlled his three most pesky problems: hoarseness, allergies and weight. Sometimes, however, he misses comments in crowded areas because of a mild hearing loss. Clinton, 50, pledged in the interview to tell the public if he developed any serious illness while in the White House

Federal health officials on Sep 20, 1996 proposed new guidelines for transplants of animal organs and tissue into humans, responding to concerns about their potential for causing outbreaks of new and previously known diseases

The cardiology center where Russian President Boris Yeltsin is likely to have heart surgery in Sep 1996 has high success rates that are comparable to those in many American hospitals, leading American heart surgeons said on Sep 5

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

Bob Dole, who turns 73 on Jul 22, 1996, said on Jul 21 that if he was elected president, he would submit to an independent medical review of his health in the event that questions arose about his mental or physical ability to serve

Our experience with medical students in a large inner city hospital left us concerned that students' fears affect their ability to learn about and care for HIV-positive people. Therefore, we decided to create an environment in which the students could feel safe exploring their own attitudes and feelings about HIV. To accomplish the goal, we developed a curriculum in the ambulatory care of HIV-positive people. We recruited and trained patients from an HIV support group at our hospital to work with students in one-on-one sessions to teach interviewing, physical exam, and patient counseling skills. As part of a 4-week ambulatory clerkship for third year students we developed a minicourse which included four sessions with didactic and experiential components. The first week consisted of an orientation and group discussion in which patients told the students about what its like to live with HIV. During each of the following three sessions, students met with a preceptor to learn about HIV in an ambulatory care setting. The didactic session was followed by one-on-one student/patient encounters in which students practised skills discussed that week and patients gave them feedback. At the close of the day, the entire group reconvened to discuss what had happened. As a result of this integrated approach, students are experiencing the relational aspects of providing medical care, often for the first and only time. In the process they are learning to take good social histories and are learning how patients with HIV relate to and sometimes reorganize their family and social support systems. Students have the opportunity to get to know, in depth, a relatively healthy person who is living with a chronic, stigmatizing illness. Both patients and students are talking to each other on a level of intimacy that is rare in the training environment. Patients express a new appreciation of their own role and power in the relationship and a new insight into the struggles of the provider. Faculty experience a renewed commitment to the importance of creating an environment where the students can discover for themselves the joy of the connection between doctor and patient. Students have an opportunity to relate to patients not as pathology, but as people with lives before and beyond the medical system. This model is practical and may be useful in teaching about other chronic diseases in the ambulatory setting

We have detected new clues to the composition and function of 'Transfer Factor' using the direct Leucocyte Migration Inhibition (LMI) test as an in vitro assay of Dialysates of Leucocyte Extracts (DLE). This approach has revealed two opposing antigen-specific activities to be present in the same > 3500 < 12,000 DA dialysis fraction - one activity is possessed of Inducer/Helper function (Inducer Factor). The opposing activity is possessed of Suppressor function (Suppressor Factor). When non-immune leucocyte populations are cultured with Inducer Factor they acquire the capacity to respond to specific antigen and inhibition of migration occurs. This conversion to reactivity is antigen-specific and dose-dependent. When immune leucocyte populations are cultured with Suppressor Factor their response to specific antigen is blocked and Inhibition of Migration is prevented

The case of a 35-year-old woman who reported to Siegel with abnormal and sometimes missing periods is recounted. The diagnosis was premature menopause