 The accomplishments of your colleagues and associates are making a significant impact. Detailed news releases and/or source material are available at the News Bureau of the Stanford University Medical Center Office of Communications, 701 Welch Road, Suite 2207, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1701; phone (650) 725-5376 or 723-6911; and on the Web |
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| VEGF - Scientists inserted a gene for the
protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the leg muscles of adult mice,
where it helped create blood vessel structures similar to those produced during embryonic
development. The results suggest that embryonic-like stem cells found in the circulation
of adults can be recruited to build new structures, such as blood vessels, according to
principal investigator Helen Blau, professor and chair of molecular pharmacology, who
published the findings in the Nov. 20 issue of the journal Molecular Cell. TEEN DRINKING - The more TV and music videos teens watch, the greater the odds they will start drinking within 18 months, according to research published in the Nov. 2 issue of the journal Pediatrics. The study, authored by Tom Robinson, assistant professor of pediatrics and of medicine, and colleagues, found that TV and music videos almost always depicted alcohol use in a positive light. AIDS RESISTANCE - An unusual mutation enables the AIDS virus to resist multiple drugs, according to research published in the Nov. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Senior author Thomas Merigan Jr., professor of medicine and director of the Center for AIDS Research at Stanford, and his colleagues, said detection of the mutated virus, though fairly rare, should prompt a change of treatment for those who carry it. CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY - A retrospective study of 72 matched patients shows that anterior discectomy alone is as effective as when combined with interbody fusion using banked bone graft for treatment of cervical radiculopathy in patients without spinal cord damage, but overall the results did not seem to be as good as traditional anterior cervical fusion using the patient's own bone. Study results were reported at the annual meeting of the North American Spine Society in San Francisco in October by Eugene J. Carragee, associate professor of functional restoration and director of the Stanford Spine Center, based on research led by Sanjay K. Khurana, resident in orthopedic surgery. NSAID-related stomach bleeding is about 50 percent more frequent in rheumatoid arthritis patients than in patients with the more common osteoarthritis, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in San Diego Nov. 9 and 10. Gurkirpal Singh, senior research scholar and clinical assistant professor of medicine (immunology and rheumatology), concluded that the newly discovered difference in bleeding risks may reflect some interaction between the pain medication and the disease process. RAPAMYCIN, an experimental drug, has shown promise as DISCOGRAPHIC injections rarely produce long-term pain in patients with normal psychometric profiles and without chronic pain, but the injections result in unacceptably high rates of pain for patients suffering chronic pain and psychological disturbance. That's the conclusion of research - based on 26 volunteer subjects - reported to the North American Spine Society in October by Eugene J. Carragee, associate professor of functional restoration, and colleagues. |
COLUMNS Chief of Staff NEWS Pharmacy earns highest ratings Merger results in $38 million in first-year savings Service workers vote for union representation Program available for neurodevelopmental disorders Staying ahead of the Y2K curve offers added clinical benefits New combination therapies recommended by Stanford-led stroke panel PAST ISSUES |