Faculty Bibliography

Christopher Reeve, the actor who became quadriplegic when he was thrown headfirst from a horse last Saturday, has regained some feeling in his upper chest, but there is no change in the paralysis from his neck down, his doctor said Friday. The return of some sensation is an encouraging sign that Reeve did not completely sever his spinal cord and might regain an undetermined amount of function. Nevertheless, the injury remains devastating, said Dr. John A. Jane, Reeve's neurosurgeon

Dipping a wafer into the communion cup does not abolish the risk of infection to communicants, but it is safer than sipping wine from a common cup, according to a new study. Anne LaGrange Loving, a professor of microbiology at Felician College in Lodi, N.J., undertook the study because of widespread concern about the potential hazards associated with sipping communal wine. Although no illness has been documented, the current concern is that the practice of sipping wine from a communion cup could be hazardous for those with cancer and AIDS, because they have impaired immune systems, Loving said. For that reason, the alternative of dipping wafers into the wine, either by the communicant or the minister, has become popular among many denominations, Loving said

The actor Christopher Reeve remains paralyzed, breathing only with the aid of a mechanical respirator at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, his doctor said on Jun 1, 1995. Reeve, who starred as Superman in several movies and recently played a wheelchair-bound detective in a cable TV movie, is alert and can communicate 'by mouthing words,' but cannot make sounds because a breathing tube has been inserted into his windpipe

The World Health Organization on Tuesday reported an increase, to 153, in the number of deaths from infection with the Ebola virus in Zaire. But it said the new numbers represent cases that occurred in the earliest phase of the epidemic, from January to March, and are just being confirmed. The latest counts are 205 suspected or confirmed cases, including the 153 deaths, up from the 160 cases, including 121 deaths, that WHO reported on Friday

People with allergies should take comfort in the fact they they don't have to suffer. Important aspects of allergy care--such as prevention and early treatment--are discussed

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of biofeedback therapy in poststroke rehabilitation. DESIGN: A meta-analysis of the reported randomized control trials of biofeedback therapy in poststroke rehabilitation was performed. Data were analyzed using the effect size method and pooled using the Der Simonian-Laird Random Effects Model. Study quality was assessed according to the method of Chalmers. SETTING: All included studies were conducted in academically based rehabilitation settings. PATIENTS: Patients were in the rehabilitative phase of their illness. The timing of the intervention from the acute event did vary greatly between and within studies. INTERVENTION: Biofeedback therapy was applied to a paretic limb of patients in the study group. Both treatment and control groups received standard physical therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Change in range of motion of a joint of a paretic limb as a result of treatment was examined. This measure was chosen after the eligible studies were evaluated for combinable end points. RESULTS: A total of eight studies were included in the analysis. The mean effect size for change in lower extremity range of motion as a result of biofeedback therapy was 1.50 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.59, 3.59). For the upper extremity the effect size was 2.30 (95% CI: -1.06, 5.66). Both results were not significant at the p < .05 level. Statistical tests showed significant heterogeneity among studies, validating the use of the Random Effects Model. CONCLUSION: Results of pooling available randomized control trials do not support the efficacy of biofeedback in restoring the range of motion of hemiparetic joints. Nevertheless, because the calculated mean effect sizes were large, with associated wide confidence intervals, the possibility of a type II error masking an important clinical benefit needs to be considered in evaluating this result

Federal health officials issued a report on May 30, 1995 citing a wide variety of serious deficiencies in patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, a Harvard teaching hospital that is among the most prestigious cancer centers in the country