Faculty Bibliography

Many scientists now contend that with years of continued research, stem cells may help treat, if not cure, spinal cord paralysis, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, damaged hearts, kidneys and livers, and many other ailments

Many scientists now contend that with years of continued research, stem cells may help treat, if not cure, spinal cord paralysis, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, damaged hearts, kidneys and livers, and many other ailments.

Mr. Cheney, as he did at several holiday receptions in Washington, chatted about his new pump. At one cocktail party, he even opened his coat jacket to show off the pump. While Mr. Cheney is noticeably thinner -- his stiff, one-sided grin now shows up on a markedly leaner face -- he is returning, associates say, to his old life, including hunting and socializing. With former President George W. Bush having decided to stay largely silent during Mr. [Barack Obama]'s tenure, Mr. Cheney had embraced the role of public critic, accusing the new, young president of rolling back Bush-era policies and undermining the security of the United States. In 2009, Mr. Cheney and Mr. Obama gave dueling speeches on the same day. Mr. Cheney's friends and family say that he is making plans to get out in 2011 and do more speeches. On Jan. 20, he is to fly to Texas for the 20th anniversary of the Gulf War with former President George H.W. Bush, the emir of Kuwait, and a host of alumni of that administration, including the former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft and Colin L. Powell, who was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, when Mr. Cheney was defense secretary

[...] Mr. Cheney has begun resuming his old activities. Besides the Cino fund-raiser, he attended a round of holiday parties in Washington -- leaving whispers in his trail about his weight loss.

The fundraiser for [Maria Cino], held at the Alexandria, Va., home of [Dick Cheney]'s former aide Mary Matalin, was his first major foray into partisan Washington political theater since receiving a mechanical heart pump in July that has, most doctors say, saved Cheney's life by taking on the task of helping to push blood through his arteries. With George W. Bush having decided to stay largely silent during [Barack Obama]'s tenure, Cheney embraced the role of public critic, accusing the new, young president of rolling back Bush-era policies and undermining the nation's security. In 2009, Cheney and Obama gave dueling speeches on the same day. At 69, Cheney's heart will never beat at full strength again, doctors say. His new mechanical pump, a partial artificial heart known as a ventricular assist device, leaves patients without a pulse because it pushes blood continuously instead of mimicking the heart's own beat. Most pulseless patients feel nothing unusual, but the devices do pose significant risks of infection. They are implanted as a last resort either for permanent use or as a bridge to transplant until a donor heart can be found. Cheney, who has participated in some of the nation's toughest decisions for decades, now faces a crucial one of his own: whether to seek a full heart transplant

Introduction: Participation in a medically-supervised weight management (MSWM) program before bariatric surgery is mandated by several insurance payers. However, this requirement is not evidencebased and serves as a barrier to medically necessary treatment. We conducted a pilot randomized trial funded by SAGES to determine the effect of an insurance-mandated MSWM prior to surgery. Our hypotheses are: (1) There is no difference in BMI between patients who have participated in a medically-supervised weight management program and those who don't. (2) MSWM does not change self-reported adherence, physical activity, eating behavior, and health beliefs. Methods & Procedures: 55 patients were scheduled for laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) and consented to enroll in an ongoing prospective pilot study in a large public hospital. of these, 12 patients cancelled surgery and 10 patients have been enrolled for less than 6 months. Thus, 33 patients were included in the analysis, with 17 randomized to MSWM (defined as monthly visits over 6 months directed by a physician or nutritionist) and 16 randomized to usual care. Measures of weight, height, adherence, activity level, health beliefs, and eating behavior were obtained at enrollment (ie, baseline) and 6 months after enrollment (ie, MSWM program completion and 2 weeks prior to surgery). For categorical and continuous data, Fisher's Exact Test and t-test were used to compare groups at the 2 time points before surgery. Results: Mean age was 45.5 (SD = 12.5) years. Majority were female (97%) and non-Caucasian (85%) with an income of less than $20,000 (64%). No significant differences were found between MSWM and usual care for age, gender, ethnicity, education, and income, indicating that the 2 groups were evenly matched for demographic variables. Mean BMI for the MSWM group was 46.3 kg/m2 at baseline and 46.0 kg/m2 at 6 months. Mean BMI for usual care was 44.7 kg/m2 and 44.6 kg/m2 (see Table 1). After 6 months of eitherMSWMor wait and at pre-surgery, no significant differences in BMIor patient behaviors were found between the 2 groups. Preliminary analysis of available 3-month post-operative data (n = 13) showed similar mean BMI when comparing MSWM (41.3 kg/m2) and usual care (41.2 kg/m 2). Conclusion: Our preliminary results indicate that MSWM does not affect BMI changes or patient behaviors prior to or after LAGB surgery

South Asian immigrants are a large, rapidly growing community in the United States. The rate of cardiovascular disease in immigrants from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh is disproportionately high. We conducted focus groups with diverse South Asian community members in New York City to elucidate hypertension knowledge, and screening and treatment practices. Focus groups were conducted in partnership with community-based organizations. 47 participants across Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian immigrants participated in three focus groups. Participants hesitated accessing services because of immigration fears, financial concerns, scheduling constraints, and dissatisfaction with their interactions with doctors. Discussions detailed knowledge about, and barriers to following, advice on diet and exercise. The findings compel further development of culturally- and linguistically-tailored research and interventions to address the specific needs of this large at-risk community. Potential culturally appropriate approaches are discussed to bridge barriers faced by the community.

Chinese immigrants have high rates of a variety of cancers and face numerous social and economic barriers to cancer treatment appointment keeping. This study is a nested cohort of 82 Chinese patients participating in the Immigrant Cancer Portal Project. Twenty-two percent reported having missed appointments for oncology follow-up, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy. Patients most commonly reported needing assistance with financial support to enable appointment keeping. Efforts to further address social and economic correlates in cancer care should be developed for this population

While the long-term goal is to develop highly effective AIDS vaccines, first generation vaccines may be only partially effective. Other HIV prevention modalities such as preexposure prophylaxis with antiretrovirals (PrEP) may have limited efficacy as well. The combined administration of vaccine and PrEP (VAXPREP), however, may have a synergistic effect leading to an overall benefit that is greater than the sum of the individual effects. We propose two test-of-concept trial designs for an AIDS vaccine plus oral or topical ARV. In one design, evidence that PrEP reduces the risk of HIV acquisition is assumed to justify offering it to all participants. A two-arm study comparing PrEP alone to VAXPREP is proposed in which 30 to 60 incident infections are observed to assess the additional benefit of vaccination on risk of infection and setpoint viral load. The demonstrated superiority of VAXPREP does not imply vaccine alone is efficacious. Similarly, the lack of superiority does not imply vaccine alone is ineffective, as antagonism could exist between vaccine and PrEP. In the other design, PrEP is assumed not to be in general use. A 2 x 2 factorial design is proposed in which high-risk individuals are randomized to one of four arms: placebo vaccine given with placebo PrEP, placebo vaccine given with PrEP, vaccine given with placebo PrEP, or VAXPREP. Between 60 and 210 infections are required to detect a benefit of vaccination with or without PrEP on risk of HIV acquisition or setpoint viral load, with fewer infections needed when synergy is present

In the fourth part in a four-part series, Ofri talks about his book Medicine in Translation: Journeys with My Patients. He writes here about freedom from fear and how the Americans she knows strive for it every day of their lives