Caduceus Newsletter: Spring 2004.07, Week of March 1

è 1. EXPERTS SAY USDA OFFICIALS UNDERESTIMATE MAD-COW RISK from The Denver Post, from the Friday, 13 February 2004 issue of Science in the News, a daily science digest from Sigma Xi.
è 2. NEW METHOD DEVISED TO REPAIR NERVES from The Hartford Courant, summarized in the 18 February 2004 issue of Science in the News, a daily science digest from Sigma Xi.
è 3. CHOLESTEROL DRUGS CUT HEART-FAILURE DEATHS from The Los Angeles Times, summarized in the 18 February 2004 issue of Science in the News, a daily science digest from Sigma Xi.
è 4. TESTS SUGGEST LINK BETWEEN ANGER, SMOKING from Associated Press, summarized in the 18 February 2004 issue of Science in the News, a daily science digest from Sigma Xi.
è 5. USDA ACCUSED OF MISLEADING PUBLIC ON MAD COW from The Washington Post, summarized in the 18 February 2004 issue of Science in the News, a daily science digest from Sigma Xi.
è 6. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will offer the fourth annual Summer Institute in Anatomy this June on their medical campus in Baltimore.
è 7. Poor Oral Health Linked to Coronary Heart Disease. (Thanks to Barbara Huntington, PHP Director at SDSU for sending me this e-article.)
è 8. A fascinating collection of portraits pertaining to pioneers in histology.

è 9. You know, a casual sexual encounter during Spring Break, or ever, might not be in your best interest. Here are some reasons why. (Photos from STD101 for Non-Clinicians, a PowerPoint file distributed by the Center for Disease Control.)
è 10. It's Midterm Exam Week! Do you know what THAT means??

è 1. EXPERTS SAY USDA OFFICIALS UNDERESTIMATE MAD-COW RISK from The Denver Post, from the Friday, 13 February 2004 issue of Science in the News, a daily science digest from Sigma Xi.

 WASHINGTON - The Department of Agriculture underestimates the risk of mad cow disease outbreaks, relying on a flawed analysis and disregarding opposing views, according to experts' analysis in documents obtained by The Denver Post.

In arguing that the risk of a mad-cow epidemic is very low, USDA officials repeatedly offer as proof a November 2001 report by the Harvard Center for Risk Assessment. But experts who reviewed that Harvard work said it ignored important issues and focused too much on less important details.

The USDA withheld the comments from those critical scientists for 15 months, releasing them only after The Post and others filed Freedom of Information Act requests. The documents were put on the agency's website late Wednesday. http://snipurl.com/4hck

è 2. NEW METHOD DEVISED TO REPAIR NERVES from The Hartford Courant, summarized in the 18 February 2004 issue of Science in the News, a daily science digest from Sigma Xi.

Researchers combined two experimental approaches to regenerate damaged optic nerves in rats, a strategy they hope will rejuvenate efforts to develop new treatments for ailments as diverse as glaucoma, spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis.

According to reports published today in the journal Neuroscience, investigators at the Children's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School said that, by simultaneously knocking out proteins that block nerve growth and supplying a growth factor that encourages it, they spurred three times more regeneration of nerve fibers than previously achieved.

The technique is like taking your foot off the brake while applying pressure to a gas pedal, the authors of the study said.
http://snipurl.com/4krc

è 3. CHOLESTEROL DRUGS CUT HEART-FAILURE DEATHS from The Los Angeles Times, summarized in the 18 February 2004 issue of Science in the News, a daily science digest from Sigma Xi. 

Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins can reduce deaths from advanced heart failure by as much as 55%, according to a UCLA study published today.

The increased survival occurred even though most patients who received the statins were sicker than those who did not receive them, according to the report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

As many as 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure, which is characterized by the heart's reduced ability to pump blood around the body, with half a million more diagnosed each year. It can be caused by high blood pressure, valve disease, clogged arteries and other cardiovascular problems.
http://snipurl.com/4kr3

è 4. TESTS SUGGEST LINK BETWEEN ANGER, SMOKING from Associated Press, summarized in the 18 February 2004 issue of Science in the News, a daily science digest from Sigma Xi.

WASHINGTON -- If you're easy to anger, you might have a brain especially susceptible to nicotine. Scientists using powerful scanners have documented nicotine triggering dramatic bursts of activity in certain brain areas -- but only in people prone to anger and aggression, not more cheerful, relaxed types.

Researchers made the discovery when studying people wearing nicotine patches. Intriguingly, the nicotine jazzed up the brains of not just smokers who are aggressive, but of nonsmokers, too -- and at very low doses.

It's the first biological evidence that people with certain personality traits are more likely to get hooked on smoking if they ever experiment with cigarettes.
http://snipurl.com/4kom

è 5. USDA ACCUSED OF MISLEADING PUBLIC ON MAD COW from The Washington Post, summarized in the 18 February 2004 issue of Science in the News, a daily science digest from Sigma Xi.

After a month-long investigation, the Republican and Democratic leaders of a key congressional committee yesterday accused the Agriculture Department of misleading the public about a central fact in the nation's first known case of mad cow disease.

Since federal officials announced in December that an animal had tested positive for mad cow disease, they have consistently said the animal was a "downer," an ailing animal that could not walk. The USDA national surveillance system for mad cow disease is based primarily on sampling brain tissue of downer cows.

But an inquiry by the House Committee on Government Reform reported yesterday that three eyewitnesses to the slaughter of the sick animal have testified that it was not a "downer" and did not appear to be sick at all.
http://snipurl.com/4krf

è 6. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will offer the fourth annual Summer Institute in Anatomy this June on their medical campus in Baltimore.

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will offer the fourth annual Summer Institute in Anatomy this June on our medical campus here in Baltimore. The course is prosection-based and regional in approach, giving students more of a "medical school" experience than is typical in most undergraduate anatomy/physiology courses. The course is also limited in size allowing personal interactions with faculty. Accomodations are provided on the main undergraduate campus and free transportation between the two campuses is provided. More information, and an application form, can be found at: www.hopkinsmedicine.org/FAE/anatomyinstitute.

We have had very positive responses from previous participants, and invite you to apply. (It is open to any student who has completed their sophomore year in good standing.) The application deadline for this year has been extended until April 1.

*********************************

Christopher Ruff, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
1830 E. Monument St.
Baltimore, MD 21205
(410) 955-7126
(410) 614-9030 (FAX)
cbruff@jhmi.edu

è 7. Poor Oral Health Linked to Coronary Heart Disease. (Thanks to Barbara Huntington, PHP Director at SDSU for sending me this e-article.)

Poor Oral Health Linked to Coronary Heart Disease

Laurie Barclay, MD

Feb. 17, 2004 — Asymptotic dental scores (ADS) reflecting poor oral health are linked to coronary heart disease (CHD), according to the results of a study published in the March 9 issue of Circulation, and published online Feb. 16.

"Oral infections are thought to produce inflammation that might be associated with CHD, so we examined all oral pathologies that might generate inflammation," lead author Sok-Ja Janket, DMD, MPH, from Boston University School of Dental Medicine in Massachusetts, says in a news release. "The ADS is a noninvasive risk indicator that can be measured easily at the time of dental check-up."

Using a logistic regression model, the investigators determined the weight that each of five oral diseases should be assigned to create the ADS as a predictor of cardiac risk. The strongest predictor of CHD was pericoronitis, followed by root remnants and gingivitis; then dental caries and missing teeth.

Comparing oral health records from 256 Finnish patients with CHD to those of 250 matched controls without CHD revealed that individuals with high ADS, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and high levels of fibrinogen had an 82% probability of having CHD. A model that included ADS, C-reactive protein, and HDL cholesterol and fibrinogen levels was at least as good a predictor of cardiac risk as was the Framingham heart score

High ADS alone was associated with a 70% probability of having CHD, low HDL cholesterol level with 63%, HDL to total cholesterol ratio with 62%, high fibrinogen level with 60%, and high triglyceride level with a 60% probability of having CHD.

"If you see that a patient has five poor oral health pathologies, then chances are that 70% of the time he or she would have CHD," Dr. Janket says. "People who do not have teeth cannot chew their food well and therefore do not get as much heart-healthy nutrients or fiber. Future studies should look at nutrition, oral health, and [CHD]."

Study limitations include potential selection bias because the controls were selected from hospital patients.

Although these findings suggest an association between oral pathology and CHD, they do not indicate a cause-effect relationship. However, Dr. Janket recommends that dentists encourage their patients with poor oral health to have cardiac examinations even if they are asymptomatic.

"Individuals who are un- or underinsured, those of low socioeconomic status, or even those who simply have poor general health habits, have poor dental health," says American Heart Association president Augustus O. Grant. "They are also likely to have less access to preventive care that would protect them from coronary artery disease, so this association may simply reflect the fact that our society needs to do much better in promoting health in all individuals."

In an accompanying editorial, Gordon D.O. Lowe, from the Royal Infirmary in Glasgow, U.K., suggests that these findings may not be generalizable to the general population.

"We should continue to emphasize proven risk factors, such as age, sex, smoking habit, diabetes, blood pressure and total cholesterol/HDL ratio," he writes. "Further studies are needed to evaluate the additive predictive value of 'emerging' risk predictors, including dental health scores."

Circulation. Published online Feb. 16, 2004.

Reviewed by Gary D. Vogin, MD

è 8. A fascinating collection of portraits pertaining to pioneers in histology.

Robert Blystone, Biology Professor at Trinity College, asked for information regarding biographical sketches of pioneers in histology to the BIOLAB listserv. Here is Carey Carpenter's reply:

Addison, Babinski, Banting, Bernard, Cajal, Cannon, Cowper, Golgi, Harvey, Henle, His, Kupffer, Leydig, Lieberkuhn, Meissner, Schwann, Sylvius, Willis, Wernicke, Volkmann: Courtesy of the Clendening History of Medicine Library,
University of Kansas Medical Center
http://clendening.kumc.edu/dc/pc/index.html (a great site!)

Alzheimer http://members.tripod.com/marcioborges/Alzheimer/doenca.htm

Broca http://www.epub.org.br/cm/n02/historia/broca.htm

Bowman: http://mrcophth.com/anatomist/anatomy.html

Corti http://www7.nationalacademies.org/spanishbeyonddiscovery/bio_007551-01.html

Cushing http://webapps.jhu.edu/namedprofessorships/professorshipdetail.cfm?professorshipID=125

Eustachio http://www.homeoint.org/articles/daucourt/renaissance.htm

Pacini http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/firstdiscoveredcholera.html

Purkinje www.historiadelamedicina.org/purkinje.html

Ranvier http://vlp.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/people/data/per344.html

Schlemm http://mrcophth.com/anatomist/anatomy.html

Using Google image search, I've collected paintings/photos of few of the more famous individuals in histology (and anatomy/physiology/medicine) and placed them at http://daphne.palomar.edu/ccarpenter/A&P_people.htm.

Carey Carpenter
Palomar College
San Marcos CA
http://daphne.palomar.edu/ccarpenter/

è 9. You know, a casual sexual encounter during Spring Break, or ever, might not be in your best interest. Here are some reasons why.  (Photos from STD101 for Non-Clinicians, a PowerPoint file distributed by the Center for Disease Control.)

Genital herpes in a male

Genital herpes in a female

Perianal warts -- makes ya wonder how this person could ever sit down!

Primary syphilitic chancre in a male.

Genital Warts - male

Genital Warts - Female

è 10. It's Midterm Exam Week! Do you know what THAT means??

It's time to visit the updated websites for people who don't have enough work to do (like studying), or, who DO have enough work to do, but just don't want to do it:
Enjoy!! J
http://www.cbu.edu/~seisen/WebsitesForIdleMinds.htm