hicn medical news part cut here university of arizona tucson arizona suggested reading tan sl royston p campbell s jacobs hs betts j mason b edwards rg cumulative conception and livebirth rates after in vitro fertilization lancet for further information call physicians resource line in tucson hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april articles low levels of airborne particles linked to serious asthma attacks american lung association a new study published by the american lung association has shown that surprisingly low concentrations of airborne particles can send people with asthma rushing to emergency rooms for treatment the seattle based study showed that roughly one in eight emergency visits for asthma in that city was linked to exposure to particulate air pollution the actual exposure levels recorded in the study were far below those deemed unsafe under federal air quality laws people with asthma have inflamed airways and airborne particles tend to exacerbate that inflammation said joel schwartz ph d of the environmental protection agency who was the lead author of the study when people are on the threshold of having a serious asthma attack particles can push them over the edge the seattle study correlated months of asthma emergency room visits with daily levels of pm or particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of microns or less these finer particles are considered hazardous because they are small enough penetrate into the lung cities are considered out of compliance with clean air laws if the hour average concentration of pm exceeds micrograms per cubic millimeter of air in seattle however a link between fine particles and asthma was found at levels as low as micrograms the authors concluded that for every microgram increase in the four day average of pm the odds of someone with asthma needing emergency treatment increased by percent the findings were published in the april american review of respiratory disease an official journal of the american thoracic society the lung association s medical section the study is the latest in a series of recent reports to suggest that particulate matter is a greatly under appreciated health threat a study by dr schwartz and douglas dockery ph d of harvard found that particles may be causing roughly premature deaths each year in the united states other studies have linked particulate matter to increased respiratory symptoms and bronchitis in children government officials and the media are still very focused on ozone says dr schwartz but more and more research is showing that particles are bad actors as well one problem in setting standards for particulate air pollution is that pmio is difficult to study unlike other regulated pollutants such as ozone and carbon monoxide particulate matter is a complex and varying mixture of substances including carbon hydrocarbons dust and hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april acid aerosols researchers can t put people in exposure chambers to study the effects of particulate air pollution says dr schwartz we have no way of duplicating the typical urban mix of particles consequently most of what is known about particulates has been learned through population based research like the seattle study given that the epa s current priority is to review the ozone and sulfur dioxide standards the agency is unlikely to reexamine the pm standard any time soon until changes are made there appears to be little people with asthma can do to protect themselves from airborne particles in some areas you can get reports on air quality but the reports only cover the pollutant that is closest to violating its standard and that s rarely particulate matter says dr schwartz however pm doesn t have to be near its violation range to be unhealthy hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april nih consensus development conference on melanoma the national institutes of health consensus development conference on diagnosis and treatment of early melanoma brought together experts in dermatology pathology epidemiology public education surveillance techniques and potential new technologies as well as other health care professionals and the public to address the clinical and histological characteristics of early melanoma the appropriate diagnosis management and followup of patients with early melanoma the role of dysplastic nevi and their significance and the role of education and screening in preventing melanoma morbidity and mortality following days of presentations by experts and discussion by the audience a consensus panel weighed the scientific evidence and prepared their consensus statement among their findings the panel recommended that melanoma in situ is a distinct entity effectively treated surgically with centimeter margins thin invasive melanoma less than millimeter thick has the potential for long term survival in more than percent of patients after surgical excision with a centimeter margin elective lymph node dissections and extensive staging evaluations are not recommended in early melanoma patients with early melanoma are at low risk for relapse but may be at high risk for development of subsequent melanomas and should be followed closely some family members of patients with melanoma are at increased risk for melanoma and should be enrolled in surveillance programs and education and screening programs have the potential to decrease morbidity and mortality from melanoma a copy of the full text of the consensus panel s statement is available by calling the nih office of medical applications of research at or by writing to office of medical applications of research national institutes of health federal building room bethesda md hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april nci designated cancer centers the cancer centers program is comprised of nci designated cancer centers actively engaged in multidisciplinary research efforts to reduce cancer incidence morbidity and mortality within the program there are four types of cancer centers basic science cancer centers which engage primarily in basic cancer research clinical cancer centers which focus on clinical research comprehensive cancer centers which emphasize a multidisciplinary approach to cancer research patient care and community outreach and consortium cancer centers which specialize in cancer prevention and control research although some cancer centers existed in the late s and the s it was the national cancer act of that authorized the establishment of new cancer centers as well as continuing support for existing ones the passage of the act also dramatically transformed the centers structure and broadened the scope of their mission to include all aspects of basic clinical and cancer control research over the next two decades the centers program grew progressively in there were comprehensive cancer centers in the nation today there are of these institutions all of which meet specific nci criteria for comprehensive status to attain recognition from the nci as a comprehensive cancer center an institution must pass rigorous peer review under guidelines newly established in the eight criteria for comprehensiveness include the requirement that a center have a strong core of basic laboratory research in several scientific fields such as biology and molecular genetics a strong program of clinical research and an ability to transfer research findings into clinical practice moreover five of the criteria for comprehensive status go significantly beyond that required for attaining a cancer center support grant also referred to as a p or core grant the mechanism of choice for supporting the infrastructure of a cancer center s operations these criteria encompass strong participation in nci designated high priority clinical trials significant levels of cancer prevention and control research and important outreach and educational activities all of which are funded by a variety of sources the other types of cancer centers also have special characteristics and capabilities for organizing new programs of research that can exploit important new findings or address timely research questions hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april of the nci designated cancer centers are of the basic science type these centers engage almost entirely in basic research although some centers engage in collaborative research with outside clinical research investigators and in cooperative projects with industry to generate medical applications from new discoveries in the laboratory clinical cancer centers in contrast focus on both basic research and clinical research within the same institutional framework and frequently incorporate nearby affiliated clinical research institutions into their overall research programs there are such centers today finally consortium cancer centers of which there is one are uniquely structured and concentrate on clinical research and cancer prevention and control research these centers interface with state and local public health departments for the purpose of achieving the transfer of effective prevention and control techniques from their research findings to those institutions responsible for implementing population wide public health programs consortium centers also are heavily engaged in collaborations with institutions that conduct clinical trial research and coordinate community hospitals within a network of cooperating institutions in clinical trials together the nci designated cancer centers continue to work toward creating new and innovative approaches to cancer research and through interdisciplinary efforts to effectively move this research from the laboratory into clinical trials and into clinical practice comprehensive cancer centers internet addresses are given where available university of alabama at birmingham comprehensive cancer center basic health sciences building room university boulevard birmingham alabama university of arizona cancer center north campbell avenue tucson arizona internet syd azcc arizona edu jonsson comprehensive cancer center university of california at los angeles medical plaza los angeles california hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april internet rick jccc medsch ucla edu kenneth t norris jr comprehensive cancer center university of southern california eastlake avenue los angeles california yale university comprehensive cancer center cedar street new haven connecticut lombardi cancer research center georgetown university medical center reservoir road n w washington d c sylvester comprehensive cancer center university of miami medical school northwest th avenue miami florida internet hlam mednet med miami edu johns hopkins oncology center north wolfe street baltimore maryland dana farber cancer institute binney street boston massachusetts internet kristie stevenson macmailgw dfci harvard edu meyer l prentis comprehensive cancer center of metropolitan detroit east warren avenue detroit michigan internet cummings oncvx dnet rocdec roc wayne edu university of michigan cancer center hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april simpson drive ann arbor michigan bitnet kallie bila michels um cc umich edu mayo comprehensive cancer center first street southwest rochester minnesota norris cotton cancer center dartmouth hitchcock medical center one medical center drive lebanon new hampshire bitnet edward bresnick dartmouth edu roswell park cancer institute elm and carlton streets buffalo new york columbia university comprehensive cancer center college of physicians and surgeons west th street new york new york internet janie cuccfa ccc columbia edu memorial sloan kettering cancer center york avenue new york new york kaplan cancer center new york university medical center first avenue new york new york unc lineberger comprehensive cancer center university of north carolina school of medicine chapel hill north carolina hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april duke comprehensive cancer center p o box durham north carolina cancer center of wake forest university at the bowman gray school of medicine south hawthorne road winston salem north carolina internet ccwfumail phs bgsm wfu edu ohio state university comprehensive cancer center west th avenue columbus ohio internet dyoung magnus acs ohio state edu fox chase cancer center burholme avenue philadelphia pennsylvania internet s davis fccc edu university of pennsylvania cancer center spruce street philadelphia pennsylvania pittsburgh cancer institute meyran avenue pittsburgh pennsylvania the university of texas m d anderson cancer center holcombe boulevard houston texas vermont cancer center university of vermont south prospect street burlington vermont hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april fred hutchinson cancer research center columbia street seattle washington internet sedmonds cclink fhcrc org university of wisconsin comprehensive cancer center highland avenue madison wisconsin bitnet carbone uwccc biostat wisc edu clinical cancer centers university of california at san diego cancer center dickinson street san diego california internet dedavis ucsd edu city of hope national medical center beckman research institute east duarte road duarte california ext university of colorado cancer center east th avenue box b denver colorado university of chicago cancer research center south maryland avenue box chicago illinois internet judith delphi bsd uchicago edu albert einstein college of medicine morris park avenue bronx new york hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april university of rochester cancer center elmwood avenue box rochester new york internet rickb wotan medicine rochester edu ireland cancer center case western reserve university university hospitals of cleveland abington road cleveland ohio roger williams cancer center brown university chalkstone avenue providence rhode island st jude children s research hospital north lauderdale street memphis tennessee internet meyer mbcf stjude org institute for cancer research and care medical drive san antonio texas utah regional cancer center university of utah health sciences center north medical drive room c salt lake city utah bitnet hogan cc utah edu massey cancer center medical college of virginia virginia commonwealth university east broad street richmond virginia consortia hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april drew meharry morehouse consortium cancer center d b todd boulevard nashville tennessee hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april general announcments the uci medical education software repository this is to announce the establishment of an ftp site at the university of california for the collection of shareware public domain software and other information relating to medical education specifically we are interested in establishing this site as a clearinghouse for personally developed software that has been developed for local medical education programs we welcome all contributions that may be shared with other users to connect to the uci medical education software repository ftp to ftp uci edu the repository currently offers both msdos and macintosh software and we hope to support other operating systems unix mumps amiga uploads are welcome we actively solicit information and software which you have personaly developed or have found useful in your local medical education efforts either as an instructor or student once you have connected to the site via ftp cd change directory to either the med ed mac incoming or the med ed msdos incoming directories change the mode to binary and send or put your files note that you won t be able to see the files with the ls or dir commands please compress your files as appropriate to the operating system zip for msdos compactor or something similar for macintosh to save disk space after uploading please send email to steve clancy slclancy uci edu for msdos or albert saisho saisho uci edu for mac describing the file s you have uploaded and any other information we might need to describe it note that we can only accept software or information that has been designated as shareware public domain or that may otherwise be distributed freely please do not upload commercial software doing so may jeopardize the existence of this ftp site if you wish to upload software for other operating systems please contact either steve clancy m l s or albert saisho m d at the addresses above hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april aids news summaries aids daily summary the centers for disease control and prevention cdc national aids clearinghouse makes available the following information as a public service only providing this information does not constitute endorsement by the cdc the cdc clearinghouse or any other organization reproduction of this text is encouraged however copies may not be sold copyright information inc bethesda md april nih set to test multiple aids vaccines reuters frank jacqueline washington the clinton administration will permit the national institutes of health to test multiple aids vaccines instead of only allowing the army to test a single vaccine administration sources said thursday the decision ends the controversy between army aids researchers who had hoped to test a vaccine made by microgenesys inc and the national institutes of health which contended that multiple vaccines should be tested health and human services secretary donna shalala said a final announcement on the therapeutic vaccine trials was expected to be made last friday companies including genentech inc chiron corp and immuno ag have already told nih that they are prepared to participate in the vaccine tests the testing is intended to demonstrate whether aids vaccines are effective in thwarting the replication of hiv in patients already infected shalala refuted last week s reports that the clinton administration had decided the army s test of the microgenesys vaxsyn should proceed without tests of others at the same time the report was inaccurate and i expect there to be some announcement in the next hours about that particular aids research project said shalala administration sources subsequently confirmed that nih director dr bernadine healy and food and drug administration commissioner david kessler had convinced the white house that multiple vaccines should be tested simultaneously but microgenesys president frank volvovitz said a test of multiple vaccines could triple the cost of the trial and delay it by two years hicnet medical newsletter page volume number april the limits of azt s impact on hiv u s news world report vol no p azt has become the most widely used drug to fight aids since it was approved by the food and drug administration in burroughs wellcome the manufacturer of azt made million last year alone from sales of the drug however a team of european researchers recently reported that although hiv positive patients taking azt demonstrated a slightly lower risk of developing aids within the first year of treatment that benefit disappeared two years later the lancet published preliminary findings of the three year study which could give more reason for critics to argue the drug s cost side effects and general efficacy even though u s researchers concede the study was more comprehensive than american trials many argue the european researchers suggestion that hiv positive patients experience little improvement in their illness before the development of aids symptoms in addition researchers have long been familiar with the end of part internet david stat com fax bitnet atw h asuacad fidonet amateur packet ax wb tpy wb tpy az usa na
