Top geneticist wins Japan Prize

Professor of Medical Genetics Victor A. McKusick, from the School of Medicine, will receive the coveted Japan Prize in medical genetics and genomics in an April 23 ceremony. In addition to the presentation, the Prize includes 50 million yen ($470,000). Held in Tokyo, the 24-year-old Japan Prize recognizes living individuals who have made significant advancements in science and technology.

McKusick, 86, began his education at Tufts University, where he spent three years before enrolling in the Hopkins School of Medicine in 1943 without even completing his bachelor's degree. Since then, McKusick has remained at Hopkins, doing residency in internal medicine and training as a cardiologist. His professional interests later turned to genetics.

His accomplishments in the field involve being the first to describe Marfan syndrome's cluster of characteristics, working to identify genes leading to different physical conditions and publishing what is now known as Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, a catalog of diseases and their genetic factors.

Other accolades which McKusick has received include the 2001 National Medal of Science and the 1997 Albert Lasker Award for Achievement in Medical Science. At Hopkins, he served 1985 as the William Osler Professor of Medicine, chairman of the Department of Medicine and physician-in-chief at Hopkins Hospital before retiring last month.Professor of Medical Genetics Victor A. McKusick, from the School of Medicine, will receive the coveted Japan Prize in medical genetics and genomics in an April 23 ceremony. In addition to the presentation, the Prize includes 50 million yen ($470,000). Held in Tokyo, the 24-year-old Japan Prize recognizes living individuals who have made significant advancements in science and technology.

McKusick, 86, began his education at Tufts University, where he spent three years before enrolling in the Hopkins School of Medicine in 1943 without even completing his bachelor's degree. Since then, McKusick has remained at Hopkins, doing residency in internal medicine and training as a cardiologist. His professional interests later turned to genetics.

His accomplishments in the field involve being the first to describe Marfan syndrome's cluster of characteristics, working to identify genes leading to different physical conditions and publishing what is now known as Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, a catalog of diseases and their genetic factors.

Other accolades which McKusick has received include the 2001 National Medal of Science and the 1997 Albert Lasker Award for Achievement in Medical Science. At Hopkins, he served 1985 as the William Osler Professor of Medicine, chairman of the Department of Medicine and physician-in-chief at Hopkins Hospital before retiring last month.



Hopkins Hospital goes rubber free

The Hopkins Hospital has achieved a major goal in the medical field by becoming "latex safe." Latex gloves will no longer be used in the hospital, and use of most latex in other products will cease.

The pervasive problems with latex in medicine have grown in recent years, with about 6 percent of the public and nearly 15 percent of healthcare workers having a latex allergy. Frequent contact with the natural rubber proteins found in latex has been shown to increase the chances of developing an allergy.

The allergic reactions to latex include decreased blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, swelling in the extremities and airway constriction. In severe cases, the anaphylactic shock resulting from a latex allergy can result in death. The new gloves that Hopkins will use are composed of the synthetic materials neoprene and polyisoprene. Nonsterile gloves made from these substances cost about the same as nonsterile latex gloves, while sterile neoprene and polyisoprene cost 30 to 50 percent more than the latex ones

Hopkins, where the first rubber surgical gloves in the United States were introduced in 1894, is the first major medical institution to be deemed "latex safe."



Poultry workers have high risk of E. coli infection

A new study by Lance B. Price and his colleagues at the Bloomberg School of Public Health reports that poultry workers have 32 times greater odds of carrying an antibiotic-resistant strain of E. coli bacteria. Those studied were workers in the poultry industry and members of the community on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia.

Stool samples from the 49 participants were tested for various antibiotics, and the results showed that the 16 poultry workers were 32 times more likely than the 33 community members to carry a strain of E. coli that is resistant to the common antibiotic gentamicin. Of the 16 antimicrobials used in feeds produced for food animals, gentamicin is the most common. The findings of Price's study corroborate similar studies done in Europe.

Price is a member of the research faculty at the Hopkins School of Medicine's Division of Infectious Diseases in addition to acting as a scientific adviser to the School of Public Health's Center for a Livable Future, which provided the majority of the funding for this research. Complete results of the study are available in December's Environmental Health Perspectives.



High school gym helps control weight later on

Researchers at the School of Public Health recently reported in the findings of a study showing that teens who have physical education at school are less likely to be overweight adults. Each day of physical education corresponds to a 5-percent decrease in the odds of being overweight.

The research team looked at 3,345 students in grades eight through 12 who were surveyed as part of the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. This survey asked the teens about their physical education and extracurricular physical activity.

The Hopkins researchers measured the participants' height and weight five years after the initial survey. Teens participating in wheel-related activities, like rollerblading or biking, outside of school at least four times a week had the most decreased likelihood of being overweight later in life. The results of the study, written by Robert Wm. Blum, David Menschik, Saifuddin Ahmed and Miriam H. Alexander, are published in the January issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

Source:media.www.jhunewsletter.com