Faculty Bibliography

[Jonathan Reiner] said he had been explicit in telling [Dick Cheney], 60, that \'this procedure and this device would not in any way impair his ability\' to perform his duties. That was significant, because Friday, announcing at the White House that he would receive the implant, Cheney said that his continued service as vice president was in the hands of his doctors. Assuming that Cheney\'s disease proves manageable for the next three years, the big political decision for [Bush] would come in 2004, when he would have to decide whether Cheney should once again be his running mate. But by that time, Cheney may not be needed to establish maturity and credibility for Bush, as he did last year. 3 PICS; 1. Dick Cheney left the hospital after having pacemaker and defibrilator implanted. 2. Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, left the George Washington Hospital yesterday after Cheney had a pacemaker implanted near his heart. (A-12) 3. A doctor yesterday held a \'Medtronic Gem III DR\' double-action pacemaker like the one Vice President Cheney had implanted. (A-12); Credit: 2,3. Joe Marquette / Associated Press photos

The recent admission by historian Joseph J. Ellis that he misled students at Mount Holyoke College when he claimed to have spent the 1960's as a combat veteran in Vietnam, a civil rights worker in Mississippi, and an antiwar protester at Yale has raised some questions. But such behavior is hardly unique; American history is littered with public figures who embellished their war records and took immense liberties with their past

11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (11beta-HSD) perform prereceptor metabolism of glucocorticoids through interconversion of the active glucocorticoid, cortisol, with inactive cortisone. Although the immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory activities of glucocorticoids are well documented, the expression of 11beta-HSD enzymes in immune cells is not well understood. Here we demonstrate that 11beta-HSD1, which converts cortisone to cortisol, is expressed only upon differentiation of human monocytes to macrophages. 11beta-HSD1 expression is concomitant with the emergence of peroxisome proliferator activating receptor gamma, which was used as a surrogate marker of monocyte differentiation. The type 2 enzyme, 11beta-HSD2, which converts cortisol to cortisone, was not detectable in either monocytes or cultured macrophages. Incubation of monocytes with IL-4 or IL-13 induced 11beta-HSD1 activity by up to 10-fold. IFN-gamma, a known functional antagonist of IL-4 and IL-13, suppressed the induction of 11beta-HSD1 by these cytokines. THP-1 cells, a human macrophage-like cell line, expressed 11beta-HSD1 and low levels of 11beta-HSD2. The expression of 11beta-HSD1 in these cells is up-regulated 4-fold by LPS. In summary, we have shown strong expression of 11beta-HSD1 in cultured human macrophages and THP-1 cells. The presence of the enzyme in these cells suggests that it may play a role in regulating the immune function of these cells.

Conventional B-mode ultrasound currently is the standard means of imaging the prostate for guiding prostate biopsies and planning brachytherapy to treat prostate cancer. Yet B-mode images do not adequately display cancerous lesions of the prostate. Ultrasonic tissue-type imaging based on spectrum analysis of radiofrequency (rf) echo signals has shown promise for overcoming the limitations of B-mode imaging for visualizing prostate tumors. This method of tissue-type imaging utilizes nonlinear classifiers, such as neural networks, to classify tissue based on values of spectral parameter and clinical variables. Two- and three-dimensional images based on these methods demonstrate potential for guiding prostate biopsies and targeting radiotherapy of prostate cancer. Two-dimensional images are being generated in real time in ultrasound scanners used for real-time biopsy guidance and have been incorporated into commercial dosimetry software used for brachytherapy planning. Three-dimensional renderings show promise for depicting locations and volumes of cancer foci for disease evaluation to assist staging and treatment planning, and potentially for registration or fusion with CT images for targeting external-beam radiotherapy

Skin provides clues about what is going on inside one's body. Skin is the body's largest organ, and a quick glance by a doctor tells a lot about a person before he or she has a chance to explain the reason for the office visit

That test, called Holter electrocardiogram monitoring, which is typically performed as patients go about their regular daily activities, seeks to detect abnormal heartbeats. In Mr. [Dick Cheney]'s case, it detected four brief episodes of abnormally fast beats that lasted for up to two seconds, Dr. [Jonathan S. Reiner] said. Mr. Cheney is believed to have kept a diary through the 34 hours, as is standard. Mr. Cheney said he had no symptoms during the four episodes and was not aware of them until informed by his doctors. Dr. [Douglas Zipes] said he did not know why Dr. Reiner had recommended the recent Holter test, and Dr. Reiner did not respond to a telephone message left for him. But in interviews since last summer, when Mr. Cheney agreed to be George W. Bush's running mate, Dr. Zipes had repeatedly questioned why Mr. Cheney had not undergone a Holter test, because it would be important to know whether he was at risk for sudden death from an abnormal heart rhythm. Mr. Cheney has had coronary artery disease for nearly 25 years, and yesterday Dr. Zipes said he ''would not be surprised'' if Mr. Cheney had had the newly detected abnormal rhythm for a long time

A draft prepared by the United Nations AIDS Program apparently cited groups at greatest risk of AIDS, like gay men, prostitutes and users of intravenously injected drugs. Islamic countries objected to specifying homosexuals and other groups on grounds that such an acknowledgment would violate the teachings of the Koran, United Nations and United States officials said. Although a draft of the declaration has circulated for months, the Islamic countries only recently raised objections to a paragraph that dealt with vulnerable groups, reacting with surprise to what they saw, officials said. Islamic countries objected to the draft because they had no role in drafting it, which was done by technical experts at Unaids, the United Nations agency coordinating the fight against AIDS. The declaration calls on all countries to develop, implement and pay for national strategies to combat the spread of H.I.V., the AIDS virus. By 2003, countries will be expected to integrate H.I.V. prevention, care, treatment and support for patients and families into their planning and to deal with the hundreds of thousands of children orphaned by AIDS