WHSC News Releases for May 1999

May 20 '99	EXTRA RISK FACTORS PLACE INNER-CITY HEPATITIS C PATIENTS AT RISK FOR CHRONIC DISEASE In a study of inner-city patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infections, Emory University researchers have found that certain risk factors not only increase these individuals' chances for the development of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV), but also make them particularly vulnerable to developing the chronic form of the disease. FULL STORY
May 19 '99	INHIBITING KEY ENZYME SLOWS DOWN HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE PROGRESSION IN MICE Emory University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School scientists have discovered that an enzyme called caspase-1, found in the brains of humans and mice, may play a critical role in the progression of Huntington's disease. By inhibiting the enzyme, they have significantly delayed the progression of Huntington's disease in mice. The research is reported in the May 20 issue of Nature. FULL STORY
May 18 '99 *previously embargoed*	CHRONIC DEPRESSION: Study of Antidepressant (nefazodone HCI) plus Talk Therapy Show Highest Rates Ever of Response and Remission Drug therapy with the antidepressant nefazodone HCI combined with a certain kind of talk therapy offer relief from chronic depression much more effectively than either therapy alone, report researchers at this week's American Psychiatric Association meeting. FULL STORY
May 17 '99	EMORY UNIVERSITY, TRIANGLE PHARMACEUTICALS AND GLAXO WELLCOME RESOLVE DISPUTE RELATING TO COVIRACILTM (EMTRICITABINE, FORMERLY KNOWN AS FTC) Glaxo Wellcome Inc. and Glaxo Group Limited have granted a worldwide, exclusive license to Emory University and Triangle Pharmaceuticals Inc., giving them access to development and clinical data, drug substance and patent property associated with Coviracil. FULL STORY
May 17 '99 *previously embargoed*	TREATMENT-RESISTANT DEPRESSION:Results of Latest Electromagnetic Stimulation Study Show Promise An investigational treatment employing electromagnetic stimulation relieved depression in 25 patients whose depression failed to respond to conventional treatment, report Emory University researchers at this week's American Psychiatric Association meeting. FULL STORY
May 17 '99	EMORY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL USES NEW TREATMENT FOR ABDONIMAL ANEURYSMSThree patients at Emory University Hospital have successfully undergone a new type of minimally invasive vascular surgery to treat dangerous abdominal aortic aneurysms, reducing the patient's recovery time and hospitalization. FULL STORY
May 14 '99	AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION PLANS FIRST COMPREHENSIVE GUIDELINES FOR HIV/AIDS TREATMENT For the first time ever, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is working to establish treatment guidelines for an illness that is primarily medical, but that has psychiatric complications. At the association's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., this week, an APA workgroup will submit the first draft of Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Persons with HIV Infection and AIDS it plans to publish for national dissemination in 2000. FULL STORY
May 7 '99	CAVEMAN'S DIET VS. TODAY'S DIET AMONG FASCINATING TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED AT ANTHROPOLOGICAL MEDICINE LECTURE AT MUSEUM The public will have the opportunity Tuesday, May 18, at 7 p.m., to learn about anthropological medicine from an expert in the field and they'll hear about it in an apropos setting: the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Art & Archeology of Emory University. The lecture will be in the museum's Reception Hall, level three, 571 Kilgo St., Atlanta. For information, call 404/ 727-5686. Charge: $5 to be paid at the door. FULL STORY
May 7 '99	FORMER UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA BASKETBALL STAR AND NBA PRO GRADUATES MEDICAL SCHOOL NEAR TOP OF HIS CLASS Graduation day May 10 won't be the first time Alec C. Kessler has stood out among his Emory University School of Medicine classmates. FULL STORY
May 7 '99	EMORY/ VAMC PHYSICIAN HEADS TO KOSOVO WITH FLYING DOCTORS OF AMERICA MEDICAL RELIEF MISSION Among the team that left Atlanta May 1 for a Flying Doctors of America medical mercy mission to help Kosovo refugees is Dorian Hayes, M.D., assistant professor of radiology at the Emory University School of Medicine and staff radiologist at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). Dr. Hayes and 10 other volunteers on the Flying Doctors team is serving from May 1-9 in refugee camps near Tirana, Albania, offering medical help to Kosovo refugees. The team expects to treat about 400 to 700 refugees a day. FULL STORY
May 7 '99	SURGERY QUELLS DYSTONIA SYMPTOMS IN OTHERWISE UNTREATABLE PATIENTS Nine patients with dystonia symptoms unresponsive to conventional treatment found relief from new surgical approaches to the movement disorder, report Jerrold L. Vitek, M.D., Ph.D., and his Emory University colleagues at the recent meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. FULL STORY
May 7 '99	NIH CHOOSES EMORY AS SITE FOR ONE OF THREE PARKINSON'S DISEASE RESEARCH CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE Patients with Parkinson's disease can be encouraged that scientists will make substantial progress in the next few years in unraveling the causes of Parkinson's disease and finding new ways to diagnose and treat this disorder, thanks to added muscle from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). FULL STORY
May 7 '99	NEXT STOP ON MAN'S 1,000-MILE JOURNEY TO INCREASE DEPRESSION AWARENESS First, clinical depression drove Stuart Perry's father to take his own life. Then, the same illness nearly claimed Perry's marriage and pushed him to the brink of suicide. But now, after successful treatment, Mr. Perry is walking 1,000 miles, from his south Georgia hometown to Chicago, to show the 18 million other Americans battling depression they can win back their lives. Mr. Perry's three-month-long walk is an effort called Journey for Life that began May 1 during Mental Health Month. FULL STORY
May 7 '99	TWO MEDICAL STUDENTS TAKE NOTION OF 'SERVICE' TO THE EXTREME With Jeff Beckman and Marisa Rogers, it's hard to know where to begin. Both of these fourth-year students at the Emory University School of Medicine have not only excelled in their academic studies but also contributed so much to their school and the community. Between them, they've served as class officer, taught elementary and middle school children about AIDS, volunteered at a clinic that treats homeless patients, organized fundraising campaigns for the American Cancer Society, served as mentors for children in the Boys' and Girls' Club, raised issues of racial awareness on campus and chaired an organization that gives medical students an opportunity to volunteer in the Atlanta area. FULL STORY
May 7 '99	'RELEVANCE OF THYROID IN DEPRESSION' DISCUSSED BY EMORY PSYCHIATRIST AT JUNE 15 LECTURE Emory University psychiatrist Philip Ninan, M.D., will discuss at a public lecture the importance of understanding thyroid gland function in treating major depression. FULL STORY

For more general information on The Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences
Center, call The Health Sciences Communications Office at
404-727-5686, or send e-mail to hsnews@emory.edu