September 2018

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

September 2018 BulletinALLEGHENY COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY September 2018 Genomic Tests Pittsburgh Advances In Breast and the Cancer Treatment Polio Vaccine Telehealth Developments Houston Harbauughhh has over 30 yyeears off expeeriihlihiiience in helping physicians anddild medical pract ices manage chhhange throughh contract negotiations with hospitals and payyoors; contract management; advocacy and new practice start-up counsel. WWee have ppprovided critical supppport in practice merggqers and acquisitions. And we have provided sound advocacy on issues ranging from HIPPAAA compliance to medical staff and peer review matters. EEvvveery challenge a medical practice can facee, wwee havvee seen. WWee havvee helped practices of all size and structure meet these challenges. And wewe know what is ahead. hh-law.com Business • Employment • Estates and TTrrusts • Health Care Litigation • Oil and Gas • Public Finance • Real Estate BulletinALLEGHENY COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY SEPTEMBER 2018 / VOL. 108 NO. 9 Opinion Departments Articles Medical Editor.......................330 Community Notes................350 Legal Report ......................340 Explore Pittsburgh’s Hottest Fine Foundation, Jewish Healthcare Federal and Pennsylvania New Restaurants Foundation Announce Winners of 10th Telehealth Developments Deval (Reshma) Paranjpe, MD, FACS Anniversary Fine Awards for Teamwork Mike Cassidy, Esq Excellence in Health Care Editorial ..............................332 Materia Medica ....................344 Disruptive Innovation? Community Notes................351 Eculizumab: A New Treatment Option John Kokales, MD Healthcare Council’s Annual For Myasthenia Gravis Fall Member Conference Lisa Yamagishi, PharmD Perspective ........................ 334 Karen M. Fancher, PharmD, BCOP Pittsburgh and Society News ...................... 354 the Polio Vaccine Pittsburgh Ophthalmology Society Special Report .....................352 Kristen Ann Ehrenberger, MD, PhD Welcomes Shakeel R. Shareef, MD Reportable Diseases 2018: Q2 in October Allegheny County Health Department Perspective ........................ 336 Genomic Tests Results Alliance News ..................... 354 Special Report .....................353 in Major Advances in Mark Your Calendar: December 2 Statement of Ownership, Management Breast Cancer Treatment ACMS Alliance Holiday Party and Circulation Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD Perspective ........................ 338 On the cover Why Neurosurgeons Should Re-Engage in the Palliative Care The Ibis of Cancer Pain Patients Nestor D. Tomycz, MD Apartment, Venice, FL Mark F. Thompson, MD Dr. Thompson specializes in cardiology. EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING OFFICES: Bulletin of the Allegheny County Medical Society, 713 Ridge Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212; (412) 321-5030; fax (412) 321-5323. USPS #072920. PUBLISHER: Allegheny Affiliated with Pennsylvania Medical Society and American Medical Association Bulletin County Medical Society at above ad- dress. The Bulletin of the Allegheny County 2018 PAMED DISTRICT TRUSTEE Medical Society welcomes Medical Editor Executive Committee Amelia A. Paré contributions from readers, physicians, Deval (Reshma) Paranjpe and Board of Directors medical students, members of allied ([email protected]) COMMITTEES professions, spouses, etc. Items may President Awards be letters, informal clinical reports, Associate Editors Robert C. Cicco Keith T. Kanel editorials, or articles. Contributions Richard Daffner President-elect Bylaws are received with the understanding [email protected] Adele L. Towers William K. Johnjulio that they are not under simultaneous Charles Horton Vice President Finance consideration by another publication. ([email protected]) William K. Johnjulio Peter G. Ellis Issued the third Saturday of each Robert H. Howland Secretary Gala month. Deadline for submission of ([email protected]) Patricia L. Bononi David L. Blinn copy is the SECOND Monday John Kokales Treasurer Patricia L. Bononi preceding publication date. Periodical [email protected] Peter G. Ellis Nominating postage paid at Pittsburgh, PA. Scott Miller Board Chair Thomas P. Campbell ([email protected]) Bulletin of the Allegheny County David J. Deitrick Primary Care Amelia A. Paré Medical Society reserves the right to Lawrence R. John ([email protected]) edit all reader contributions for brevity, DIRECTORS Joseph C. Paviglianiti clarity and length as well as to reject 2018 ([email protected]) any subject material submitted. David L. Blinn The opinions expressed in the William F. Coppula Editorials and other opinion pieces Kevin O. Garrett Managing Editor are those of the writer and do not Raymond E. Pontzer Meagan K. Sable necessarily reflect the official John P. Williams ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF ([email protected]) policy of the Allegheny County 2019 Chief Executive Officer Medical Society, the institution with Thomas P. Campbell Jeremy T. Bonfini which the author is affiliated, or the Michael B. Gaffney ([email protected]) opinion of the Editorial Board. Keith T. Kanel Assistant to the Director Advertisements do not imply Jason L. Lamb Dorothy S. Hostovich sponsorship by or endorsement of Maria J. Sunseri ([email protected]) ACMS ALLIANCE the ACMS, except where noted. 2020 Accounting and Finance Manager President Publisher reserves the right to exclude Lawrence R. John Amanda S. Kemp Kathleen Reshmi any advertisement which in its opinion Bruce A. MacLeod ([email protected]) First Vice President does not conform to the standards of Amelia A. Paré Director of Publications Patty Barnett the publication. The acceptance of Matthew B. Straka Meagan K. Sable Second Vice President advertising in this publication in no Angela M. Stupi ([email protected]) Joyce Orr way constitutes approval or Assistant Executive Director, Recording Secretary endorsement of products or services PEER REVIEW BOARD Director of Member Relations Justina Purpura by the Allegheny County Medical 2018 James D. Ireland Corresponding Secretary Society of any company or its Sharon L. Goldstein ([email protected]) Doris Delserone products. Membership Relations Manager Treasurer Bruce A. MacLeod Subscriptions: $30 nonprofit Nadine M. Popovich Josephine Martinez 2019 organizations; $40 ACMS advertisers; ([email protected]) Assistant Treasurer Robert W. Bragdon $50 others. Single copy, $5. John A. Straka Sandra Da Costa Advertising rates and information sent 2020 upon request by calling (412) James W. Boyle 321-5030 or online at www.acms.org. Matthew A. Vasil COPYRIGHT 2018: ALLEGHENY COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY www.acms.org POSTMASTER—Send address changes to: Bulletin of the Allegheny County Medical Society, 713 Ridge Avenue, Leadership and Advocacy for Patients and Physicians Pittsburgh, PA 15212. ISSN: 0098-3772 ® Medical Editor Explore Pittsburgh’s Hottest New Restaurants DEVAL (RESHMA) PARANJPE, MD, FACS Autumn evokes in most of us a features sourdough crusts made from you’ll be glad to know that chef/owner sense of buckling down and getting unbleached, nonbromated flour topped Chris Bonfili (also of B Gourmet in down to serious work that harkens back with fresh, local and organic Sewickley) is opening his next venture at to our own school days, even though we ingredients. At $19-24 for a 16 inch pie, the site of the former Mullen’s on East may have worked hard all summer. But it isn’t cheap, but quality tastes good Carson Street. The first floor will feature as the hot weather recedes and cool fall and the proof is apparently in the substantial and elegant comfort food and breezes arrive, a different mode of (nationally recognized) pie. a craft beer menu that will be sure to living comes to pass. Gone are the please as the cold weather arrives. The backyard barbecues, the casual salads 2) Bitter Ends Garden and second floor will feature seasonal and suppers on the deck, picnics, and Luncheonette, 4613 Liberty Avenue, American cuisine a la Avenue B and vacations. Your meal choices are back Bloomfield—Top 50 National Finalist for wine/craft cocktail service. to cooking indoors or venturing out and 2018 Bon Appetit’s Top 10 New rediscovering your own city. Restaurants. Serves breakfast and lunch 5) Lorelei, 124 S. Highland Ave, But where to go? What to try? Your Wed-Sun, featuring housemade East Liberty. Unique Alpine-inspired time and resources are limited, and the sandwiches, salads, pastries, cocktail bar and beer hall, this labor of array of culinary choices in Pittsburgh doughnuts, snacks and coffee. love features Executive Chef Jamilka is finally, happily, and utterly Vegetables are sourced from the Borges, the pastry chef formerly of the bewildering, as befits a city of note. owners’ organic farm in Verona, and you Twisted Frenchman, and the cocktail Fear not, gentle reader! Here’s a list can order online. Menu changes daily. and wine program is headed by talents of the dozen hottest new Pittsburgh from Hidden Harbor and the Rick restaurants to explore and make your fall 3) Fish Nor Fowl, 5523 Penn DeShantz restaurant group. Sure to free time enjoyable. Remember to take Avenue, Garfield (former Salt of the please during Oktoberfest. time to refresh and recharge yourself; Earth location). Another Rick DeShantz part of that includes taking pleasure in restaurant, this is a crowdpleaser with 6) Mediterra Café, 430 Beaver the simple things. I can think of no better upscale, unique and delicious fare under Street, Sewickley Village. Mediterra simple and deeply satisfying joy than a the headings of Farm, Field, Water, and artisan bakery (est. 2001) has now good meal with good company, whether Sweets. Craft
Recommended publications
  • 1 X 60 It Was the Largest Public Health Experiment in Modern History— a Crusade That Eradicated One of the Twentieth Century’S Most Dreaded Diseases
    1 x 60 It was the largest public health experiment in modern history— a crusade that eradicated one of the twentieth century’s most dreaded diseases. In the summer of 1950, fear gripped the residents of Wytheville, Virginia. Movie theaters shut down, baseball games were cancelled and panicky parents kept their children indoors—anything to keep them safe from an invisible invader. Outsiders sped through town with their windows rolled up and bandanas covering their faces. The ones who couldn’t escape the perpetrator were left paralyzed, and some died in the wake of the devas- tating and contagious virus. Polio had struck in Wytheville. The town was in the midst of a full-blown epidemic. That year alone, more than 33,000 1 x 60 Americans fell victim—half of them under the age of ten. The polio epidemic terrified Americans for decades, affecting thou- CONTACT sands of children, leaving many crippled, paralyzed, or condemned to life in Tom Koch, Vice President an iron lung. But on April 26, 1954, hope emerged. At the Franklin Sherman PBS International 10 Guest Street Elementary School in McLean, Virginia, six-year-old Randy Kerr stood at Boston, MA 02135 USA the head of a long line of children, and waited patiently while a nurse gently TEL: 617-300-3893 rolled up his sleeve, then filled a syringe with a cherry-colored liquid con- FAX: 617-779-7900 taining the world’s first polio vaccine. Developed just a few years earlier by [email protected] virologist Jonas Salk, the polio vaccine had not yet been widely tested on pbsinternational.org humans.
    [Show full text]
  • Take Charge of Your Health Today. Be Informed. Be Involved. COVID-19 Vaccine Trials Must Include Black Community
    A6 JULY 8-14, 2020 HEALTH NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER Take Charge Of Your Health Today. Be Informed. Be Involved. COVID-19 vaccine trials must include Black community This month, the “Take Charge of Your up 25% of all COVID-19 cases in Allegheny ment phase. African American participants Health Today” page discusses vaccine tri- County (according to the Allegheny County are then typically interacting with an all- als and their relationship with Pittsburgh’s Health Department), yet only make up about white research team. This could lead to lower African American community. The current 13% of its population. We can’t afford not to retention rates. Including African Americans COVID-19 pandemic has increased pres- be included in the COVID-19 vaccine clinical throughout the entire process looks like gar- sure for the medical community to develop trials. nering input around recruitment and reten- a vaccine to combat COVID-19. The devel- In order to gain footing in research-inclu- tion plans, protocols and the dissemination opment of a new vaccine means that clinical sive spaces, it is my hope that studies include process. trials will eventually begin to recruit par- opportunities for community input on topics Establish pipelines for researchers from ticipants. We must ensure that COVID-19 like the value of participation. What is in it for the community. African Americans are usu- clinical trials will include African American community members who are asked to share ally an afterthought when conducting re- participants. Systemic racism in the United their lived experiences? What is the plan for search studies.
    [Show full text]
  • Public Partnership Jonas Salk Research
    THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH FALL 2012/WINTER 2013 The Legacy PUBLIC of and RESEARCH more PARTNERSHIP JONAS Highlights … SALK “It [was] a proud moment in the city and the region’s history. And it changed the course of biomedical science. The development of the polio vaccine is important to remember, because it became our Margaret McDonald, associate vice chancellor scientific future.” for academic affairs in the health sciences Pitt Public Health Magazine Fall 2012/Winter 2013 A publication of the Managing Editor: Sonia Gill For inquiries, feedback, or comments please contact: Writers: Christine O’Toole, Allison Hydzik, Sonia Gill, Director of External Affairs, Cyndy McGrath, Sonia Gill, Cathryn Hoel, [email protected] Karen Coulter Perkins, Kristen de Paor Pitt Public Health is published biannually for Marketing Communications Manager: the alumni and friends of the University of Karen C. Perkins A600 Crabtree Hall Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. 130 DeSoto Street Design: Little Kelpie Pittsburgh, PA 15261 Pitt Public Health is printed on Roland Enviro Printing: Knepper Press, Migliozzi Printing 100 paper using vegetable-based inks. www.publichealth.pitt.edu Services Cover Image: Photography: Sam Hogson, R. Alan Adams, Frozen laboratory samples from the University of Pittsburgh Center for Cert no. XXX-XXX-000 pioneering poliomyelitis research Instructional Development and Distance conducted at Pitt by Jonas Salk; photographed by Jonathan Salk Education, Karen Coulter Perkins Dean’s MessaGE Collaborative Partnerships Inspiration for our work at Pitt Public Health comes from all over the that Pitt Public Health has the considerable talent to change world. I recently had the privilege of exploring the archives of Jonas those outcomes and an obligation to the community to demand Salk in California.
    [Show full text]
  • De Novo Synthesis and Secretion of a 36-Kd Protein by Cells That Form Lupus Inclusions in Response to Alpha-Interferon
    De novo synthesis and secretion of a 36-kD protein by cells that form lupus inclusions in response to alpha-interferon. S A Rich J Clin Invest. 1995;95(1):219-226. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI117643. Research Article In response to the pure recombinant human alpha-IFN, IFLrA, Raji and Daudi were the only two cell lines among 19 human lymphoblastoid cell lines tested that formed the human lupus inclusions (LI) to a high frequency. Raji, Daudi, and five other cell lines were examined for protein changes that might accompany LI formation. Their selection was based upon T or B origin, association with Epstein-Barr virus, and ability to form LI. A trace protein of an estimated molecular mass of 36 kD (p36) and an isoelectric point of 5.6 was detected on two-dimensional gels only of alpha-IFN-treated Raji and Daudi cells. Gamma-IFN did not induce p36 or LI in any of these seven cell lines. In Daudi cells p36 and LI formed simultaneously in response to IFLrA, and persisted until the alpha-IFN-induced death of the culture. In Raji cells, p36 and LI appearance and disappearance coincided with the addition and removal of alpha-IFN. Fractionation of Raji cells with nonionic-detergent buffer placed p36 with the inclusions in the cytoplasmic supernatant. With detergent-free buffer p36 and LI were distributed evenly between the nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions. Pulse-chase experiments revealed that p36 was secreted. The de novo synthesis of p36 with alpha-IFN treatment was shown by labeling the cell proteins with [35S] methionine before and after the addition of alpha-IFN.
    [Show full text]
  • Process Paper and Bibliography
    From Miracle To Mishap: The Cutter Incident and its Impact on Modern Vaccine Safety Standards Melinda Chen Senior Division Individual Documentary Process Paper: 488 Words This year, I wanted to explore a topic that was both outside of my comfort zone and relevant to modern times. The topic of vaccines first caught my attention after I heard about the resurgence of measles and other preventable diseases in America. From there, I encountered many sources which vaguely referenced a past safety issue with the polio vaccine. I decided to dig deeper, and discovered that this ‘issue’ was the Cutter Incident, a catastrophe in which over 120,000 people received polio vaccines containing live virus. I soon realized that the Cutter Incident was both a perfect fit for this year’s theme of Triumph and Tragedy, as well as story waiting to be told. I started my research by looking at secondary sources, especially books, to get a general idea of the topic. Next, I turned to primary documents and accounts, including those found in the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives, the U.S. National Library of Medicine, and the National Archives for more specific information including statistics and correspondences between government officials. I also wanted to hear from people who could provide different perspectives regarding the incident, which led to me reaching out to Dr. Peter Salk, Dr. Paul Offit, and Anne Gottsdanker for interviews. Dr. Salk and Ms. Gottsdanker were especially helpful since, as the son of Jonas Salk and a victim of the Cutter Incident respectively, they were able to give perspectives that I could not find in any other source.
    [Show full text]
  • A Message from Your President
    Volume 21 No. 3 3rd. Quarter 2019 Polio News PRESENTED BY WILDROSE POLIO SUPPO R T S O C I E T Y INSIDE THIS ISSUE: A message from your Laughter Is Good P r e s i d e n t 2 Medicine Hello and welcome to the summer edition of POLIO NEWS. As your new Pres- ident, let me introduce myself. My name is John Sugden. My wife, Marge, and Next Event 3 I, have been members of the Society for 5 years. Marge is the Polio Survivor and has Post Polio Syndrome. Prior to moving to St. Albert, we lived in Chilli- A Great Lesson On wack, BC, Cold Lake and Calgary. While in BC we were members of PPASS 4 Stress BC (Post Polio Awareness and Support Society). You are probably aware of two events coming up with WPSS, but let me remind Julius Youngner, Polio 5 you. Vaccine Pioneer First, our annual picnic is scheduled for August 9th at Hawrelak Park. It’s a 20th Anniversary Cele- 6 good time to socialize and have some munchies with folks we don’t see very of- bration ten throughout the year. Wanted— th th 7 Second, the event of the year happens on September 28 – the 20 Anniversary an Administrator of the Society. I hope you will consider attending; plus, talk to friends and rela- tives who might also like to celebrate with us. We are planning to have enter- tainment, guest speakers and a fine meal. There will be a silent auction of items Pictures from the AGM 8 you ‘just need to take home!’, and the book about our polio journeys will be available.
    [Show full text]
  • Julius Youngner 1920–2017
    OBITUARY Julius Youngner 1920–2017 UPMC/Pitt Health Sciences Vincent Racaniello Without Julius Youngner, the world would not be on the verge of with the idea of using cell cultures to study viruses, an interest that eradicating poliomyelitis. It is true that Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin lead him to Pittsburgh to work with Salk on an inactivated vaccine developed the vaccines against poliovirus. However, behind every against poliovirus. great scientific achievement are those who made it possible. The efficacy of Salk’s vaccine against poliovirus was tested in a phase Salk was working on developing the inactivated vaccine against III clinical trial in 1954, the largest ever done, involving 1.8 million poliovirus when he heard that a young scientist was looking for ways children. Within months after licensure of the vaccine in April 1955, to use cell culture to study viruses. Youngner had worked on cell cul- children began to develop paralysis that was traced to batches of incom- ture at the National Institutes of Health and wanted to combine his pletely inactivated vaccine produced by Cutter Laboratories. Youngner knowledge with the study of virology. After receiving Salk’s invitation, recalled that he had traveled to the company early in April 1955 and he arrived at the University of Pittsburgh in 1949. found that scientists there were having difficulty with the procedure Salk’s group had been using monkeys to conduct neutralization for inactivating the virus with formalin. He told Salk that the company assays to determine the number of poliovirus serotypes. Youngner should not be permitted to make the vaccine.
    [Show full text]
  • How the American Society for Virology Was Founded
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Elsevier - Publisher Connector Virology 344 (2006) 250 – 257 www.elsevier.com/locate/yviro How the American Society for Virology was Founded Wolfang K. Joklik a,*, Sidney E. Grossberg b a Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA b Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA Received 20 July 2005; accepted 10 September 2005 Abstract The American Society for Virology, the very first such Society to be formed anywhere, was founded at a meeting of some 40 virologists at Chicago O’Hare International airport on June 9, 1981. They met after a decade and a half of intense discussion that originated at the 9th International Congress of Microbiology in Moscow in 1966 when a small group of virologists requested the International Association of Microbiological Societies to form a Virology Section within IAMS, and this request was rejected. Virologists therefore held their own First International Congress of Virology in Helsinki in 1968 which was very successful and generated intense informal discussion among leading virologists in this country as to the desirability of founding an American society for virologists. Proposals were circulated and discussed which resulted in the informal Chicago meeting that created the mechanism for founding the ASV and organizing its 1st Annual Meeting at Cornell in Ithaca in August 1982. D 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents Background ............................................................... 250 The phase of public discussion ..................................................... 252 The phase of committee work ....................................................
    [Show full text]
  • June, 2019 – Publication of Boca Area Post Polio Group, Boca Raton, Fl 2
    A Publication of the Boca Area Post Polio Group June 2019 “Sharing and Caring Together” Volume 22 Issue 6 MAY ’19 MINUTES A comfortable, overcast, south FL spring day brought 20 members to view the video presentation! We welcomed ‘newbies’ Gerson/Regina Migliacio, Deerfield Beach. We welcomed back Theresa Jarosz, Mae Kaplan, Ginger McGinty & Gabrielle Siman! Dining Around–9 will be there; will you? Member Update – Bruce/Dianne Sachs back to MI safely.Keep all members in prayer! Library –Please return Polio books in Oct. Cruise 2020 – 24 are packed, details pg 7. Due to video presentation difficulties, Polio History & Polio Care In the Past & How It No June, July, August or Effects Us Today, became an audio. Daniel J. Wilson, PhD began presentation by September Meetings!! looking at the evolution of polio care and how it changed medical practice during epidemic years 1894 – 1960. Significant epidemic in Rockland, VT, 1894, 1323 cases. First major Let’s Do Dinner . polio epidemic 1916 in the northeast with over June 18 @ 5:00 PM 27,000 cases in 26 states, 6,000 deaths – before the iron lung. In 1916 they didn’t LongHorn Steakhouse know how it was spread; how infected, and no 1562 S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach one knew about PPS - panic among patients, 561-278-1944 for directions parents and health care providers. [NW corner of Linton Blvd. & Federal Highway] In 1926 resort-like Warm Springs Rehab Facility, in GA was established by FDR who understood the benefits of warm mineral water & believed in treating whole patients including psychological to help transition back into life.
    [Show full text]
  • Signals Triggered by These Pathogens in Dendritic Cells
    In This Issue: ICIS Awards p2 Discovery of IL-8 p16 Memorial - Julius Youngner p19 Memorial - Simon Skurkovich p20 Signal THE INTERNATIONAL CYTOKINE & INTERFERON SOCIETYs NEWSLETTER­­­ OCTOBER 2017 I VOLUME 5 I NO. 2 It was with great pleasure and humility that I have served as the Society’s President for these past 2 years. The ICIS is a wonderful organization, filled with trusted and valued colleagues and collaborators, and leaders in the field of cytokine and interferon research. These past 2 years have gone by quickly, but not without major changes. First and foremost, Joan Oefner was recruited as Managing Director. Joan has taken many initiatives to promote the society, expand its membership, and enhance the value and benefits of Society membership. It is clear that under her directorship we can look forward to a vibrant and valued Society that will promote the best in cytokine and interferon research. I would also like to acknowledge my appreciation to the Milstein Young. They have been so generous in their time to help my tenure Family for their continued support of the ICIS. The Milstein Award as President in many ways. My thanks also go to two other Executive continues to recognize the best in cytokine/interferon research, the Committee members, Sarah Gaffen (Secretary) and Karen Mossman Young Investigator Awards highlight the future stars in cytokine (Treasurer). and interferon research, and the Travel awards have enabled many society members to attend the annual meeting. Mere words cannot I am especially excited and pleased to know that the leadership express the gratitude of the entire membership for the continuing of the ICIS will be in the good hands of Nancy Reich and Kate support the Milstein Family has provided over these many years.
    [Show full text]
  • Severe Alzheimer Disease Steven A
    NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH • OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR | VOLUME 26 ISSUE 1 • JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 Immunotherapy Higher Brain Glucose Levels May Mean More- Pioneer Tells All Severe Alzheimer Disease Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D. BY EMILY PETRUS, NINDS S TEVEN R O S ENBE R G i s w i d e ly considered the father of cancer immunotherapy. His 40-year scientific journey has led to an explosion of immunotherapy treatments for numerous cancer types both at the NIH and across the globe. His journey began when he witnessed one of the rarest events in medicine—the spontaneous regression of a tumor. Early in his career, he had encountered a young man whose cancer had disappeared. Rosenberg, who’s now the chief of surgery in the National Cancer Institute (NCI), believed that the answer had to lie in the patient’s own immune system. Rosenberg started his pioneering work on immunotherapy in the late 1970s when almost nothing was known about T NIA lymphocyte function in cancer and there was no convincing evidence that any immune NIH scientists found potential connections between problems with how the brain processes glucose and Alzheimer disease: glucose processed normally (red); glucose processed poorly (blue) so there’s excess in some areas of the brain. reaction existed in patients against their cancer. Shortly after the description of a scientists have found a connection between abnormalities in how the brain T-cell growth factor now called interleukin breaks down glucose and the severity of the signature amyloid plaques and tangles in the 2 (IL-2), Rosenberg began studies of the brain, as well as the onset of eventual outward symptoms, of Alzheimer disease.
    [Show full text]
  • Defeat of an Enemy
    DEFEAT OF AN ENEMY Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg Reports on the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Triumph of the Pitt Polio Vaccine UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DEFEAT Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg Reports on the OF AN ENEMY 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Triumph of the Pitt Polio Vaccine INSIDE REMEMBERING POLIO 2 A Tribute to Pittsburgh’s Own Polio Pioneers 14 The Fight Against Polio Revisited: Historical Vignettes 28 The History and Future of Vaccine Development: 50th Anniversary Scientific Symposium 50 As Seen in the Faces of Children: Photo Essay on Polio Kids 54 Pitt Polio Vaccine 50th Anniversary Celebratory Banquet 58 Commemorating the Development of the Salk Polio Vaccine: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Marker Dedication Ceremony 62 The End of Polio: An Exhibition 66 Making Headlines “Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.” —Jonas Salk DEFEAT OF AN ENEMY On the cover: A photographer documents Jonas Salk (second from right) administering the polio vaccine to a child as Pitt polio vaccine team member Mary Bailey (far right) watches. Lab technician Francis Yurochko, holding vial, works Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg Reports on the 50th Anniversary Celebration in the background with unidentified colleagues. of the Triumph of the Pitt Polio Vaccine UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH On April 10, 2005, the University of Pittsburgh launched a three-day celebration of the 50th anniversary of the development of the Salk polio vaccine and the unique roles the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh community played in this medical milestone. The commemoration included a community celebration honoring Pittsburgh polio pioneers, a two-day scientific symposium, and a celebratory banquet.
    [Show full text]