Faculty Bibliography

Most neurologists would contend that [Terri Schiavo] cannot feel anything, even pain or thirst. The problem with this assertion is that no one has come back from such a state of neurological impairment to verify or dispute this contention. She reportedly lacks upper brain function, meaning her thinking centers are still, but it cannot be proved that the lower brain would not allow her to feel discomfort. It is generally accepted that a physician's role in health care is to prolong life or relieve undue suffering. The only time a true medical debate emerges is when these two roles come into conflict. The Schiavo case is not such a time. It is difficult to argue for euthanasia because she does not appear to be suffering. Working to prolong her life simply means providing nutrition, which physicians usually do without endless debate. The most disturbing aspect of the Schiavo case is that the doctors are portrayed as those who will simply abide by the final decision and either put the tube back in or keep it out -- a job for a medical yo-yo rather than a professional. But doctors are not court-appointed mechanics. Our own code of ethics and standards must drive us. Removing feeding tubes is not part of my job description. It should not be part of a physician's job at a Florida hospice either

The death rate for bird flu is dwindling because it is easier to count people who die than those who become infected and have minor symptoms, or none at all. This phenomenon of subclinical disease essentially a mild case of bird flu seems to be occurring with more frequency than previously appreciated. On the grimmer side, other findings indicate that human bird flu infections may be more widespread than initially suspected and possibly may be transmitted by fecal contamination. The virus was found in a child with severe diarrhea and encephalitis, but no respiratory symptoms

The death rate for bird flu is dwindling because it is easier to count people who die than those who become infected and have minor symptoms, or none at all. This phenomenon of subclinical disease essentially a mild case of bird flu seems to be occurring with more frequency than previously appreciated. On the grimmer side, other findings indicate that human bird flu infections may be more widespread than initially suspected and possibly may be transmitted by fecal contamination. The virus was found in a child with severe diarrhea and encephalitis, but no respiratory symptoms, leading health officials to ask doctors to consider testing feces for the A(H5N1) virus more often. In Southeast Asia, some scientists can test for A(H5N1) virus only under trying conditions. He cited one laboratory where scientists can work on influenza samples for only two hours a day because they share the space and equipment with colleagues who study different infectious agents. Under such circumstances, contamination of tests can be a serious problem

On the grimmer side, other findings indicate that human bird flu infections may be more widespread than initially suspected and possibly transmitted by feces. The virus was found in a child with severe diarrhea and encephalitis, but no respiratory symptoms, leading health officials to ask doctors to consider testing feces for A(H5N1) virus more often. In Southeast Asia, some scientists can test for A(H5N1) virus only under trying conditions. Dr. [Klaus Stohr] cited one lab where scientists can work on influenza for only two hours a day because they share the space and equipment with colleagues who study other infectious agents. Under such circumstances, contamination of tests can be a serious problem. One possibility is to send specimens with known amounts of virus to rate laboratory proficiency in detecting the amount, a costly and demanding exercise. Scarcity of epidemiologists can also delay the medical detective work to trace how patients became infected and whether they spread the virus to contacts. In addition, scientists need the viruses isolated from new bird flu cases to monitor for mutations and genetic changes

Similarly to p53, p73alpha and p73beta induce growth arrest and/or apoptosis in response to DNA damage or when exogenously expressed. However, how they trigger apoptosis remains unresolved. After stable transduction of either p73alpha or p73beta, a greater apoptotic response was observed for p73beta in both primary and tumor cells. Consistently, blocking ectopic and endogenous p73beta expression by specific shRNA significantly decreased apoptotic levels after DNA damage. We found that p73beta targets the apoptotic program at multiple levels: (i) facilitating caspase activation through p53-dependent signals and (ii) inducing p57KIP2, while down-regulating c-IPA1 and IEX1 through a p53-independent mechanism. p73beta-mediated apoptosis was considerably reduced after inhibition of p57(KIP2) by small interfering RNA, IEX-1 overexpression, and in mouse embryo fibroblasts derived from p57-/- mice. Data from this study offer evidence for the apoptotic activity exclusive of p73beta. In the clinical context, these results might have potential therapeutic implications, because p73beta could induce alternative apoptotic responses in tumors harboring p53 mutations

Dr. Zvi Y. Fuks, left, who was arrested on Wednesday on securities fraud charges stemming from sales of ImClone stock, has asked to be relieved of his duties as chairman of the department of radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center ''while he attends to personal matters,'' officials said yesterday. Earlier, a center official said that Dr

The World Health Organization said Vietnamese officials had reported 10 more cases of human avian influenza, including three deaths

Two friends of Samuel Waksal, the former chief executive of ImClone Systems, have been arrested and charged with insider trading for selling their shares in ImClone after receiving a tip from Waksal. Dr. Zvi Fuks, chairman of the department of radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and Sabina Ben-Yehuda, who worked at Scientia, an investment company set up by Waksal, were charged with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud in a federal criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday in New York. Fuks and Ben-Yehuda pleaded not guilty. The complaint contends that they sold their shares in ImClone in December 2001 after Waksal told them that the government was about to deny approval of the drug Erbitux, news that would cause ImClone shares to plummet when it became public. After Waksal was arrested on similar charges in June 2002, he denied passing the information to Ben-Yehuda and telling her to inform Fuks. But according to the criminal complaint, Waksal gave a different version of events when testifying before a grand jury last month. If convicted, the two face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for securities fraud, and five years and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charge. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges against the two, alleging insider trading. The commission is seeking fines and the amount of the losses the defendants avoided by selling their shares

There were two attending chest surgeons, not one, ''given that it was President [Bill Clinto],'' Dr. [Joshua Sonett] said. He and his partner, Dr. Kenneth M. Steinglass, the hospital's chief thoracic surgeon, ''helped each other out on this case,'' Dr. Sonett added. ''A large thick rind'' of inflammatory tissue encased the lower lobe of the lung, making the less-invasive procedure impossible, Dr. Sonett said. They next had to release the trapped part of the lung so it could re-expand to its normal size. Dr. Sonett said his team operated in a different area of Mr. Clinton's chest than Dr. Craig R. Smith did in the bypass surgery. ''The two recoveries are really quite independent,'' Dr. Sonett said