Faculty Bibliography

The expedited process is also designed to encourage manufacturers to create a single pill, consisting of two or three licensed anti- retroviral drugs that are more potent when taken together. Further, the speedier process will allow manufacturers to put combinations of these anti-retroviral drugs into single, easy-to-dispense packages, eliminating the confusing jumble of dosages that can hamper compliance with AIDS treatment, especially among the poor and illiterate

The [Bush] administration had been expected to be the target of heavy criticism at the weeklong meeting for its previous reluctance to approve inexpensive combinations of patented anti-retroviral AIDS drugs. In the past, the United States had insisted on more stringent criteria for inexpensive generic copies of these drugs and for approving fixed-dose combinations of them

Over the past 20 years, we have observed a paucity of morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular disease among drug users in a methadone maintenance clinic. The present study investigated whether long-term exposure to opiates or opioids is associated with decreased severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) by comparing 98 decedents with methadone or opiates (M/O) in their blood at autopsy with 97 frequency-matched decedents without M/O. Severe CAD was found significantly less often in M/O-positive decedents (5 of 98) than in M/O-negative decedents (16 of 97). Multiple logistic regression analysis contrasting those with moderate or severe CAD to those with no or mild CAD yielded an odds ratio of 0.43 (95% confidence interval 0.20 to 0.94) for M/O positivity after adjustment for potential confounding. Long-term opiate exposure thus may mitigate CAD severity and its often fatal consequences

The Public Library of Science, which publishes free scientific journals online, said it would add a medical journal to its lineup in the fall

A novel series of selective ligands for the human glucocorticoid receptor (hGR) are described. Preliminary structure-activity relationships were focused on substitution at C-1 and indicated a preference for 3-, 4-, and 5-substituted aromatic and benzylic groups. The resulting analogues, e.g., 18 and 34, exhibited excellent affinity for hGR (IC(50) 1.9 nM and 2.8 nM, respectively) and an interesting partial agonist profile in functional assays of transactivation (tyrosine aminotransferase, TAT, and glutamine synthetase, GS) and transrepression (IL-6). The most potent compounds described in this study were the tertiary alcohol derivatives 21 and 25. These candidates showed highly efficacious IL-6 inhibition versus dexamethasone. The thiophenyl analogue 25 was evaluated in vivo in the mouse LPS challenge model and showed an ED(50) = 4.0 mg/kg, compared to 0.5 mg/kg for prednisolone in the same assay.

To assess the level of care in the 12 communities, the authors received permission from the patients who participated to scour their medical records for the two preceding years. The authors recorded information concerning 439 steps involved in the care of 30 acute and chronic medical conditions like high blood pressure, immunizations, heart failure, diabetes, broken hips and alcoholism. Quality of care for some chronic diseases was variable. High blood pressure ranked among the best while diabetes care ranked lowest in most communities, the authors said. Preventive care for sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and substance abuse ranked lower than screening for high blood pressure and offering immunizations. The authors also called on research agencies to conduct studies involving larger numbers of communities. They said it would require a study of more than 100 metropolitan areas to draw more definitive conclusions about the effects of the structure of health care systems and finances. (Besides Newark, Miami and Orange County, the areas studied were Boston; Cleveland; Greenville, S.C.; Indianapolis; Lansing, Mich.; Little Rock, Ark.; Phoenix; Seattle; and Syracuse.)

We developed age- and gender-specific normative tables of calcium volume scores by using data from 12,936 asymptomatic patients who underwent electron beam tomographic scanning and compared the volume with the Agatston scores obtained in the same subjects. The 2 scores increased as the number of atherosclerotic risk factors increased. The volume scores were statistically smaller than the Agatston scores at the upper quartile level.