Faculty Bibliography

The association between a new human herpesvirus-like agent and various forms of Kaposi's sarcoma was examined by PCR. The DNA sequences of this agent were detected in 7 of 8 classic Kaposi's sarcoma specimens, 12 of 12 AIDS-associated specimens from the United States, and 7 of 10 specimens from African endemic Kaposi's sarcoma. Polymorphism of the herpesvirus-like DNA in the Kaposi's tissue from different populations was observed by both single-strand conformational polymorphism and direct sequencing. Furthermore, the presence and expression of the virus was detected in some Kaposi's tumours by Southern and northern blotting. This herpesvirus may be involved in the pathogenesis of different kinds of Kaposi's sarcoma seen among distinct and unrelated populations

Two patients receiving experimental treatment for advanced breast cancer at one of the country's most prestigious cancer hospitals were given massive overdoses of two chemotherapy drugs. One patient died, and the other suffered permanent heart damage. The incidents occurred at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, a Harvard teaching hospital, late last fall. Officials at the hospital said they were at a loss to explain how such a serious medical error, which apparently resulted from a doctor's mistaken order last November, escaped attention until a clerk picked it up in a routine review of data last month. The patient who died was Betsy Lehman, an award-winning health columnist for the Boston Globe. The news, detailed Thursday in an article published in the Globe, was all the more unsettling because Lehman, as a health reporter, was presumably knowledgeable about her treatment and would have chosen her hospital with care. Lehman, who was 39, died Dec. 3 at the hospital

Two patients receiving experimental treatment for advanced breast cancer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, a Harvard teaching hospital, were given massive overdoses of two chemotherapy drugs. Betsy A. Lehman, a health columnist for the Boston Globe, died; a second patient suffered permanent heart damage. Doctors apparently refused to heed her warnings that something was drastically wrong and ignored the results of tests indicating heart damage

[Sarin] was identified in two earlier poisonings elsewhere in Japan. Dr. [Matthew Meselson] said reporters from Japanese television showed him the results of tests performed with an instrument known as a mass spectrometer. Surprisingly, the trace was so clear cut that it had to have come from pure sarin, whereas material made by an amateur group would be expected to have many impurities. Dr. Meselson said he wondered if trace shown to him had come from the laboratory reference sample used for comparison, not the material used in the attacks. Although Dr. Meselson said he did not get any follow-up, it was clear that Japanese scientists know how to do the proper chemical analyses and laboratories 'ought to have been revved up' to handle investigation of the latest subway attack. The nerve gas that Japanese officials say killed eight people and injured thousands of others is one of the most potent toxins known. HISTORY Developed in the 30's by the German chemical industry. Used by the Nazis as a chemical warfare agent. CHARACTERISTICS In liquid form, sarin can be absorbed through the skin. Sarin changes to a gas through ordinary vaporization and becomes much more harmful when it is inhaled. SYMPTOMS Tightness of the chest, slowing heart rate and dropping blood pressure. Nausea and vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea. Headache, drowsiness, convulsions and coma. TREATMENT First aid measures include mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and decontamination of sarin on clothes with common liquid bleaches and soapy water. If the victim is not overwhelmed by large amounts of gas and if the standard antidote, atropine, isgiven in time the symptoms may be temporary

Sarin, the nerve gas that Japanese officials say was used in a terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway system yesterday, is one of the most potent poisons known. Amounts smaller than a milligram can disrupt communications between nerves, leading to suffocation from paralysis of the diaphragm and other muscles used in breathing, according to toxicologists and textbooks. If enough sarin is inhaled or absorbed, a victim quickly develops tightness of the chest and begins gasping for breath. The heart rate slows and the blood pressure can drop to dangerous levels. Sarin also can cause nausea and vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, headache, drowsiness, convulsions and coma

After years of controversy and delay, federal officials Friday approved the first vaccine in the United States to prevent chickenpox, one of the most contagious childhood diseases. Saying the vaccine was 70 percent to 90 percent effective in preventing the viral infection, the Food and Drug Administration gave Merck & Co. of Whitehouse Station, N.J., approval to market the chickenpox vaccine for children 1 or older. The vaccine, known as Varivax, will be available in about six weeks and costs doctors $39 a shot, the company said. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the leading association for pediatricians, said it would soon recommend the vaccine for all children and for adolescents and adults who have not had the disease. The academy is working with an expert committee on immunization practices that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to draft consistent guidelines for use of the vaccine

In a significant finding about the body's natural defenses, scientists have found that the tongue harbors natural antibiotic substances that protect cuts from being infected by the billions of microbes that infest the mouth. The new finding adds to a growing body of evidence that animals produce a variety of natural antibiotics that serve as a defense against infection. The cow tongue antibiotic is a short protein known as a peptide. Because the tongues of humans and cows are similar, the human tongue presumably possesses a similar antibiotic defense mechanism, although its peptides remain to be identified, said Dr. Michael Zasloff, the head of the team from the Magainin Research Institute in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., that reported the finding in Friday's Science

After years of controversy and delay, federal officials on Mar 17, 1995 approved the first vaccine in the US to prevent chicken pox, one of the most contagious childhood diseases. The FDA said the vaccine was 70% to 90% effective in preventing the viral infection

After years of controversy and delay, federal officials Friday approved the first vaccine in the United States to prevent chicken pox, one of the most contagious childhood diseases. Saying the vaccine was 70 percent to 90 percent effective in preventing the viral infection, the Food and Drug Administration gave Merck & Co. approval to market the chicken-pox vaccine for children 1 or older. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the leading association for pediatricians, said it would soon recommend the vaccine for all children and for adolescents and adults who have not had the disease. The academy is working with an expert committee on immunization practices that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a federal agency in Atlanta, to draft consistent guidelines for use of the vaccine

In a significant finding about the body's natural defenses, scientists have found that the tongue harbors natural antibiotic substances that protect cuts from being infected by the billions of microbes that infest the mouth