Faculty Bibliography

Proliferation and differentiation in many cells are linked to specific changes in transmembrane ion fluxes. Previously, we have identified a nonspecific cation channel in keratinocytes, which is permeable to and activated by Ca++. To test whether this cation channel might serve as a pathway for Ca++ entry, we examined the effect of blocking this channel on membrane currents, markers of differentiation, and intracellular Ca++. In patch clamp studies, 10(-8) to 10(-6) M amiloride decreased the single-channel open probability. The same concentrations of amiloride inhibited the calcium-induced formation of cornified envelopes and activity of transglutaminase in a dose-dependent fashion. Amiloride inhibited the long-term rise of intracellular Ca++ induced by raised extracellular Ca++, without blocking the initial increase of intracellular Ca++. Amiloride at concentrations of 10(-7) to 10(-3) M did not change the resting intracellular pH of keratinocytes, although concentrations of 10(-6) M or greater inhibited the recovery from NH4(+)-induced acidification. To test whether the effect of amiloride was toxic, we measured DNA synthesis in the presence or absence of amiloride. DNA synthesis was unchanged, suggesting that amiloride's actions were not due to toxic effects. Although the exact mechanisms of amiloride's action remains to be determined, these experiments suggest that this compound may inhibit keratinocyte differentiation by blocking the nonspecific cation channel

For months, a 48-year-old regular at a neighborhood bar in Minneapolis had a cough that worsened. He breathed more than twice as fast as usual, felt feverish, became progressively weaker, lost 65 pounds. As the man became sicker, he spent more time at the bar, slept under a bridge, in shelters and occasionally in a rooming house near the bar. But he did not go to a doctor and no one sent him to a public clinic six blocks from the bar. Finally, he went to a nearby hospital, where doctors diagnosed tuberculosis. And when epidemiologists ended an investigation, they found that the man had infected at least 45 bartenders and other regular customers of the bar. At least one died despite therapy. In turn, infected bar companions spread the infection to two others, including a 7-month-old child

As the man became sicker, he spent more time at the bar, slept under a bridge, in shelters and occasionally in a rooming house near the bar. He did not go to a doctor, and no one sent him to a public clinic six blocks from the bar. Finally, he went to a nearby hospital, where doctors diagnosed tuberculosis. When epidemiologists ended an investigation, they found that the man had infected at least 45 bartenders and other regular customers of the bar. At least one died despite therapy. In turn, infected bar companions spread the infection to two others, including a 7-month-old child

Epidemiologists found that a 48-year-old regular at a neighborhood bar in Minneapolis had infected at least 45 bartenders and other regular customers of the bar with TB. In turn, infected bar companions spread the infection to two others, including a seven-month-old child. The case is discussed in the New England Journal of Medicine on Jul 27, 1995

Although Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole has a number of physical handicaps and medical conditions, they are 'stable or controlled' and his health is 'excellent,' his doctors said on Jul 21, 1995. Based on checkups that Dole underwent in June and earlier in July, the medical records indicate that he is remarkably fit for a man of his age

A few hours after the chief neurosurgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City operated on the wrong side of a patient's brain on May 26, hospital officials knew he had made a horrendous error. The doctor had operated on the healthy part of the brain after looking at another patient's X-rays. Two weeks later, on June 10, after an initial inquiry, the cancer center suspended the doctor, Ehud Arbit, from his surgical and administrative duties. On June 21, and only in response to a reporter's inquiries, the hospital publicly acknowledged the error. Critics say that the main hospital accrediting agency, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., is an unaggressive watchdog that announces most of its visits in advance and rarely bites anyone hard enough to leave a mark

A large number of preventable errors occur in US hospitals, and the mechanisms for quality control are not firmly enforced. Critics say that the main hospital accrediting agency, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, is an unaggressive watchdog. Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet, says there is a 'pervasive lack of accountability in medicine.'

A few hours after the chief neurosurgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City operated on the wrong side of a patient's brain May 26, hospital officials knew he had made a horrendous error. Two weeks later, on June 10, after an initial inquiry, the cancer center suspended the doctor, Ehud Arbit, from his surgical and administrative duties. On June 21, and only in response to a reporter's inquiries, the hospital publicly acknowledged the error. Critics say that the main hospital accrediting agency, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., is an unaggressive watchdog that announces most of its visits in advance and rarely bites anyone hard enough to leave a mark