Faculty Bibliography

While HCV won't go away, it can be managed with an intiviral medication called interferon, or with a combination therapy of interferon and

WITH the recent news of high-profile men such as Yankee manager, Joe Torre, actor Charlton Heston, Kansas City Chiefs owner, Lamar Hunt, former Sen.Bob Dole and golfer Arnold Palmer developing prostate cancer, many concerned men (and their partners) want to know what they can do to protect themselves. Soy protein products are widely available and can be purchased at most supermarkets. Traditional sources of soybeans and isoflavones include tofu, bean curd, tempeh, soy milk, miso and soy sauce. A new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported that there is now enough evidence to show convincingly that tomatoes in many forms, including raw, ketchup, pasta sauce, tomato paste, soup and salsa have prostate cancer fighting abilities

"What's happening to my memory" is one of the most troubling questions for people over 50. Reasons for memory lapses are discussed, and tips for improving memory are offered, along with information on Alzheimer's disease

To date, the Food and Drug Administration has not approved the mighty Blue Diamond for women's use. Clinical trials of both Viagra and of Vasomax, a new oral medication, are only now in the early investigational phases needed for approval. "I'm absolutely against women indiscriminately using the medication," says Laura A. Berman, a sex therapist at the Boston University Medical Center. Along with her sister Jennifer, a urologist and director of the new Women's Sexual Health Clinic, Berman is now evaluating women of all ages from around the country who complain of sexual dysfunction. Viagra and other drugs in the rapidly growing sexual medicine armamaterium - such as testosterone and estrogen and, eventually, Viagra-like topical gels and creams - relax the arteries and allow more blood to flow to the genitals, where it's needed. With more blood comes increased sensitivity, even for post-menopausal women and those who have had hysterectomies

These are not just pill formulations that a man gulps down with a glass of water; indeed, some of the novel drugs being tested include gels and creams (tasteless, most likely. Flavored? We don't know.) that are rubbed into the penis. There are also "needle-less" and "painless" injectable medications. Bill Gates, Microsoft's CEO, currently has a sizable interest in Icos, a Bothell, Wash., company that's developing a medication similar to Viagra. Approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), however, could be years away. While many of these men can be helped by Viagra, it's estimated that of the men 50 years of age and older with heart ailments, approximately 10 to 20 men per million will die (without taking Viagra or any other prosexual) during sexual intercourse. Still, the FDA considers Viagra to be a very safe medication and should be readily prescribed to men who need it and can safely use it. If you're considering Viagra, be sure to first have a thorough cardiovascular assessment

Lamm and Couzens discuss the cure for fatigue: activity. Exercise fights fatigue, reduces the risk of heart disease, obesity, osteoporosis, and some cancers

A case of infection with Gongylonema is described in a 41-year-old woman living in New York City. The patient sought medical attention with the complaint of a sensation of 1-year duration of something moving in her mouth. On two occasions she removed worms from her mouth, once from her lip, once from the gum. One of the specimens submitted for examination was an adult female Gongylonema. It is not possible to say whether the infection was acquired in New York City, or elsewhere, since the patient traveled frequently to Mississippi to visit relatives. As cases of delusional parasitosis continue to increase, clinicians and laboratorians alike need to be alert to the possibility that foreign objects removed from the mouth, or elsewhere, may indeed represent unusual parasitic infections, and that these objects should be examined before being discarded.

15-Deoxy-Delta12,14-PGJ2 (dPGJ2) is a bioactive metabolite of the J2 series that has been identified as a ligand for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) and has received attention for its potential antiinflammatory effects. Because neutrophils express cell-surface receptors for PGs, the effect of dPGJ2 was tested on an inflammatory response that should not require PPARgamma, the oxidative burst made by adherent human neutrophils. dPGJ2 inhibited adhesion-dependent H2O2 production with an IC50 of 1. 5 microM when neutrophils were stimulated with TNF, N-formylnorleucylleucylphenylalanine, or LPS. Inhibition by dPGJ2 occurred during the lag phase, before generation of peroxide, suggesting blockade of an early signaling step. Indeed, dPGJ2 blocked adhesion of neutrophils to fibrinogen in response to TNF or LPS with an IC50 of 3-5 micro+dPGJ2 was more potent at inhibiting the adhesion-dependent oxidative burst than several other PGs tested. Further, dPGJ2 did not appear to act through either the DP receptor or receptors for PGE2. PG receptors modulate cAMP levels, and the inhibition of adhesion and oxidative burst by dPGJ2 was enhanced in the presence of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, a cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor. A potent PPARgamma agonist (AD-5075) did not inhibit peroxide production or adhesion, nor did it change the IC50 for dPGJ2 inhibition. These studies suggest that dPGJ2 may interact with an unknown receptor on neutrophils, distinct from PPARgamma, to modulate the production of reactive oxygen intermediates.

The fluorescent cholesterol analog 22-(N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1, 3-diazol-4-yl)amino)-23,24-bisnor-5-cholen-3beta-ol (fluoresterol) was characterized as a tool for exploring the biochemistry and cell biology of intestinal cholesterol absorption. Hamsters absorbed fluoresterol in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, with an efficiency of about 15-30% that of cholesterol. Fluoresterol absorption was blocked by compounds known to inhibit cholesterol absorption, implying that fluoresterol interacts with those elements of the normal pathway for cholesterol absorption on which the inhibitors act. Confocal microscopy of small intestinal tissue demonstrated that fluoresterol was taken up by absorptive epithelial cells and packaged into lipoprotein particles, suggesting a normal route of intracellular trafficking. Uptake of fluoresterol was confirmed by biochemical analysis of intestinal tissue, and a comparison of [(3)H] cholesterol and fluoresterol content in the mucosa suggested that fluoresterol moved through the enterocytes more rapidly than did cholesterol. This interpretation was supported by measurements of fluoresterol esterification in the mucosa. Four hours after hamsters were given fluoresterol and [(3)H]cholesterol orally, 44% of the fluoresterol in the intestinal mucosa was esterified, compared to 8% of the [(3)H]cholesterol. Caco-2 cells took up 2- to 5-fold more [(3)H]cholesterol than fluoresterol from bile acid micelles, and esterified 21-24% of the fluoresterol but only 1-4% of the [(3)H]cholesterol. Thus fluoresterol apparently interacts with the proteins required for cholesterol uptake, trafficking, and processing in the small intestine.