Clinical Correlations

By Bryan Stierman

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Staphylococcus aureus, first discovered in the 1880s, is one of the most widespread human pathogens. It is also a commensal organism, with about 20% of the population permanently colonized and 60% of the population intermittently colonized. There is a wide variety of potential diseases that may develop when S aureus further invades the body, necessitating the use of antibiotics. Since the introduction of antibiotics into clinical practice, S aureus has developed unique ways to combat them. The evolution of…

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By Anjali Varma Desai, M.D

Faculty Peer Reviewed

In the news this week, former US Open champion Andy Roddick ended his tennis career while Barack Obama sought to continue his presidential career. The Democratic National Convention, held last week in Charlotte, NC, featured speeches by President Obama and his wife, as well as former President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Joseph Biden. Many speeches addressed various aspects of Obama’s record, including his hotly-debated health care plan, with concrete references to the expected impact on the solvency…

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By Devyani Kothari, MD

Faculty Peer Reviewed

In news this week, the Republic National Convention, which was held in Tampa, FL, concluded with speeches by Mitt Romney and Clint Eastwood. The final grand slam of the year, the US Open, headed into its second and final week in Flushing Meadows where Laura Robson, an 18-year-old from Britain sent Kim Clijsters into retirement after she defeated her in straight sets and Andy Roddick, also announced his retirement. Additionally, it’s hurricane season again as Hurricane Isaac hit…

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By Jeffrey Krutoy, DDS

Faculty Peer Reviewed

Bacterial infective endocarditis is a potentially devastating disease, and while it may be an easy tradition to blame the dentist, recent research and new guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) indicate that it may not be so simple.

 Infective endocarditis (IE), while relatively uncommon (with yearly incidence rates ranging from 2 to 6 cases per 100,000 people), results in high rates of morbidity and mortality even when treated. For this reason, physicians have emphasized the importance of…

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By Tracey Liebman, M.D.

Faculty Peer Reviewed

This week’s primecuts starts off with some other-worldly news . The NASA rover, known as Curiosity, had landed on Mars on August 6 after a 352-million-mile trip from earth. Finally, this week, Curiosity successfully made its first, albeit short, journey on Mars, going all of 23 feet. In the coming months and years, it will continue to take more journeys through the craters and mountains on Mars. With the intent of finding evidence that some form of life…

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