Transplant
program transformed
Yale's
section of Organ Transplantation and Immunology recently received a transplant
of its own. Sukru Emre, former director of the adult and pediatric liver
transplant programs at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in New York, was named
section chief. Emre's appointment was made as Yale makes a $12.5 million investment
in its transplant section. His mission is to revive a largely inactive liver
transplant program while strengthening Yale's kidney and pancreatic transplant
sections.
A
native of Turkey and a world-renowned transplant surgeon, Emre is recognized
for his innovative solutions to clinical problems. He has dealt successfully
with the shortage of organ donors though split liver transplants, in which
sections of a single liver are used for two patients. Emre's long-term goal is
to increase the number of liver transplants at Yale from four or five a year to
between 80 and 100; double the number of kidney transplants to 150; and bring
the number of pancreatic transplants up to 20.
The
clock is ticking on Lyme Disease
Medical
school researchers have identified a chink in the lifecycle of the tick-borne
bacterium that causes Lyme disease, suggesting a way to stop ticks from
carrying the disease. Ticks pick up the bacterium as larvae when they suck
blood from mice. As the tick bites
the mouse, it injects a protein that suppresses the mouse's immune response.
Erol Fikrig, professor of medicine, epidemiology, and microbial pathogenesis,
and colleagues discovered that the bacterium, B. burgdorferi, uses this protein to move from mouse to tick. When
the researchers blocked the protein, either by preventing ticks from producing
it or by inducing the mice to block it, the bacterium couldn't survive. The
findings, published in the inaugural issue of Cell Host & Microbe, in July, could help prevent infections in humans
by targeting the bacterium at this early stage in its lifecycle. For more on
this story, see "Findings."
From
the hospital wards to the halls of Congress
John
Barrasso, an orthopedic surgeon who received his medical degree from Georgetown
in 1978 and did his residency at Yale medical school, is the new Republican
U.S. senator from Wyoming. He was named in June to replace the late Sen. Craig
Thomas.
Barrasso,
54, was previously a rodeo physician for the Professional Rodeo Cowboy's Association
and a volunteer team physician for Casper College as well as several local high
schools. He also served as chief of staff of the Wyoming Medical Center, as
president of the National Association of Physician Broadcasters, and as a
member of the American Medical Association Council of Ethics and Judicial
Affairs. Barrasso, who was twice elected to the Wyoming state senate, believes
in "limited government, lower taxes, less spending, traditional values, local
control, and a strong defense." His priorities as a U.S. senator include supporting
rural health care, promoting energy independence and the agriculture industry,
and abolishing the so-called death tax.
Rested
doctors make for healthier patients
When
medical residents work fewer hours, fewer patients are transferred to intensive
care and there aren't as many medication mishaps, according to a Yale School of
Medicine study in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study also found that when residents work
shorter shifts, more patients are discharged to their homes or rehabilitation
centers rather than to nursing homes. (See Noted, July/August.)
In
2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education implemented
regulations limiting residents to 80 hours a week. The rules were intended to
reduce errors caused by fatigue, but there was concern that transferring
patient care more often could increase errors. Dr. Leora Horwitz, postdoctoral
fellow in internal medicine, and colleagues looked at data for patients
discharged one year before and one year after these work-hour regulations were
instituted. "We found no evidence of adverse unintended consequences after the
institution of work-hour regulation," said Horwitz. Besides reducing residents'
fatigue, she said, the positive result could be due to the increased clinical
involvement of more senior physicians to compensate for the turnover of residents.
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