Faculty Bibliography

David Oshinsky reviews the book "The Populist Persuasion: An American History" by Michael Kazin

A protein in human saliva blocks the AIDS virus from infecting human cells in the test tube, federal scientists reported at a meeting last week. The protein might help explain why the spread of the virus through saliva apparently is rare, said the scientists, who were from the National Institute of Dental Research in Bethesda, Md. The protein does not directly attack HIV, the AIDS virus. Instead, it seems to act indirectly, by attaching to the surface of white blood cells known as monocytes, thus preventing infection with HIV, said Dr. Tessie McNeely and Dr. Sharon Wahl, the scientific team leaders. They reported the findings at a meeting sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology

The incidence of cerebral palsy in babies with very low birthweight was substantially lower among those whose mothers received injections of magnesium sulfate in the hours before giving birth, two new studies show. The findings came from observational studies of children born in four counties in Northern California and at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Findings from the Northern California study are being reported in the Feb 9, 1995 issue of Pediatrics

Studies evaluating the beta-blocker carvedilol, an experimental drug for heart failure in the US, were stopped ahead of schedule on Feb 8, 1995 on the recommendation of a monitoring committee because the preliminary results showed the drug was unexpectedly effective in reducing mortality. SmithKline Beecham, the drug's manufacturer, said that additional data must still be gathered and analyzed

Studies evaluating an experimental drug for heart failure in this country were stopped ahead of schedule Wednesday on the recommendation of a monitoring committee because the preliminary results showed the drug was unexpectedly effective in reducing mortality, the drug's manufacturer, SmithKline Beecham, said

The protein does not directly attack HIV, the AIDS virus. Instead, it seems to act indirectly, by attaching to the surface of white blood cells known as monocytes, thus preventing infection with HIV, said Tessie B. McNeely and Sharon M. Wahl, the scientific team leaders. They reported the findings at a meeting sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology. The protein is known as SLPI (pronounced slippy) for secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor. It had been known by different names for many years until 1986, Wahl said, when its biochemical characteristics were identified through the efforts of Kjell Ohlsson, a Swedish researcher who identified a small amount from the 1,000 liters of saliva his son, a dentist, had collected in Sweden. But there have been only rare documented cases of HIV transmission through saliva, and virtually all have involved oral sex, said Harold W. Jaffe, a top AIDS official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. A few rare cases of HIV infection may have been transmitted through saliva mixed with blood, he said

The incidence of cerebral palsy in babies with very low birth weight was substantially lower among those whose mothers received injections of a certain drug in the hours before giving birth, two new studies show. The drug is an inexpensive natural chemical, magnesium sulfate, that obstetricians often inject as an intravenous infusion when a woman goes into labor prematurely. The intention is to try to stop the labor and to prevent convulsions from pre-eclampsia, a serious complication of pregnancy. Their mothers had received magnesium sulfate for medical reasons, not to prevent cerebral palsy. Thus, researchers cautioned that proof that magnesium sulfate prevented cerebral palsy would require more studies, like randomly giving magnesium sulfate to some pregnant women and not others

Scientists from the National Institute of Dental Research reported the week of Jan 29, 1995 that a small protein in human saliva blocks the AIDS virus, HIV, from infecting human cells in the test tube. The protein might help explain why the spread of the virus through saliva is apparently so rare, said the scientists. The protein, known as SLPI for secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor, attaches to the surface of white blood cells known as monocytes, thus preventing infection

The meeting, on human retroviruses and related conditions, produced some notes of hope as well. Researchers from Columbia University said they have found very strong evidence that a virus they recently discovered causes Kaposi's sarcoma, a cancer that frequently occurs among AIDS patients, and participants at the meeting said researchers elsewhere have confirmed the findings. The virus appears to be the largest of the several in the herpes group that cause disease in humans...

Researchers reported on Feb 2, 1995 that a link between vitamin A deficiency and transmission of the AIDS virus from mother to infant has been found in a study in Africa. The report is believed to be the first to show that maternal nutritional deficiencies can affect the transmission of HIV