PrimeCuts

By Brian Greet, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

On the twenty first of this month, rebels proclaimed that they had been attacked by the Syrian government with the use of chemical warfare. Medicins Sans Frontieres is reporting this week that they treated approximately 3,600 patients with “neurotoxic symptoms” of whom 355 had expired. Bart Janssens, MSF Director of Operations, stated “MSF can neither scientifically confirm the cause of these symptoms or establish who is responsible for the attack.” He went on to say, “However, the reported …

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By: Kelly Forrester, MD

At Fenway Park on Sunday, after hitting a 6th inning home run that led the Yankees to a victory against the Red Sox, Alex Rodriguez made the ultimate statement to angry officials and fans that he is not going to give in.  Rodriguez has been under fire since January because of his ties to the Biogenesis baseball scandal where he was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs.  On August 5th, Rodriguez was suspended for 211 games, although he is allowed to play …

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By: Theresa Sumberac, MD

What do the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilization, and gene mapping have in common? Their successes are all due, in varying extents, to the use of HeLa cells. HeLa cells were originally derived from a self-replicating cell line obtained unknowingly 65 years ago from Henrietta Lacks, a woman battling an aggressive form of cervical cancer. Researchers soon realized the potential of these cells, which have been referenced in over 74,000 studies to date. Concern by Ms. Lacks’ descendants erupted in the …

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By: Matthew Weiss, MD

Though Don Draper publicly explained to us “Why I’m Quitting Tobacco” as far back as 1965, we’re still collectively dealing with the repercussions of those smokers, Don included, who didn’t follow his sage advice. Lung cancer today, 85% of which is attributable to cigarette use, makes up more than a quarter of all cancer deaths and claims roughly 160,000 American lives yearly – more than the toll from colorectal, breast and prostate cancers combined . Nearly 90 percent of patients with …

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By Arnab Ghosh, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

This week’s Clinical Correlations begins with news from across the ‘pond’ and the much-anticipated birth of Prince George of Cambridge. The third in line to crown of the English monarchy, behind his grandfather Prince Charles and father Prince William the Prince George, George Alexander Louis was born on the 22rd of July 2013. The last use of the name, commonly represented in the history of the British monarchy, was by the Queen’s father, King George VI. It is …

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By Mark Adelman, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

In the wake of George Zimmerman’s acquittal this past week for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, rallies and marches continue around the country to protest perceived racial inequalities in the criminal justice system. President Obama spoke on Friday in an unusually personal manner regarding the experiences of young African American men. Summing up his views by stating, “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago,” Obama urged more frank, open discussions about the history and future …

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By Matthew Light, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed  

This week in the news and in the journals we look back at the Boston Strangler case, a previous pneumococcal vaccination strategy and we evaluate current coronary artery catheterization practices, and the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding related to the use of the new oral anticoagulants.

A break in the 50 year old Boston Strangler case links seminal fluid found at the crime scene of victim number eleven to long-suspected Massachusetts rapist, Albert DeSalvo . DeSalvo was convicted of …

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By Matthew Light, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

As summer continues, the heat presses on, the inevitable slow march towards shorter days progresses and NYU Langone Medical Center marked its first week with a new class of interns. There is much in the news including political unrest in Egypt, verbal escalation in the New York City mayoral race, and the release of new data in the fields of renal transplant and heart failure.

This week as America celebrated its independence, military forces removed democratically elected Egyptian …

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