In the News

December 2007

Genetic Counselor Shows Patients the Options
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 21

After receiving an undergraduate degree in 2002, Jessica Scott spent a year shadowing three genetic counselors in the Baltimore area. She used that experience as a springboard into the two-year masterýs program at the School of Medicine, where she was one of five students plucked from a field of 80 applicants. She graduated in May 2005 and a month later became Mercy Medical Centerýs genetic counselor, making her one of 2,200 nationwide, she said. Shannon Dixon, MS, CGC, assistant professor at the School, said, "Our program is a highly competitive one that relies heavily on clinical rotations in the second year. That's what limits us to five students; there aren't that many counselors out there to work withýyet."
www.baltimoresun.com

Healing at the Holidays
Washington Times - Dec. 21

For the past four years, the University of Maryland Medical Center has held a Christmas party as part of the Transplant Patient Education Series that it hosts each month for recipients. Benjamin Philosophe, MD, PhD, associate professor at the School of Medicine who runs the center's transplant division, said the program offers social healing to patients, which he says is just as important as physical rehabilitation. Philosophe said that each person's experience is unique in the details, but that they share a common bond. "They all have in common that their lives have been significantly changed," he said. "To see all of these people that are doing so well is actually very emotional because a lot of these people were close to dying."
washingtontimes.com

Health Hazards Add to Nursing Shortages
The Gazette - Dec. 21

A survey conducted in collaboration with the Environmental Health Education Center at the School of Nursing found nurses around the nation are getting seriously ill from constant exposure to hazardous chemicals and are being forced to quit. Barbara Sattler, DrPH, RN, FAAN, research associate professor and director of that center, said that although the survey was a small sampling of the nation's 2.9 million nurses, it serves as a flash point of a national problem. "The vast majority of chemical products that are even in our houses have had no pre-market testing," Sattler said. "Our government has been a little bit asleep at the wheel."
www.gazette.net

Physician Shortage Looms in State
The Gazette - Dec. 21

Widespread shortages in many physician specialties can be expected by 2015 in Maryland, especially in rural counties, unless action is taken soon, said a committee of top medical experts in an unpublished report due to the state government next month. Robert Barish, MD, MBA, vice dean for clinical affairs for the School of Medicine, told the task force that "even if we increased the size of [medical school] classes and built more medical schools, we will still not have enough physicians to train these students." Medical schools face declining enrollments nationally.

State's Lawyers Rarely Get into Trouble-With the Attorney Grievance Commission
Capital News Service - Dec. 21

The number of lawyers sanctioned by the state has fallen in the last 10 years, with the biggest drop happening in the last fiscal year, when only 57 of the stateýs 33,018 lawyers were disciplined by being disbarred, suspended or reprimanded. In its annual report, the Attorney Grievance Commission attributed the downward trend in sanctions to professionalism and continuing education courses. Robert Condlin, JD, LLM, professor at the School of Law, is skeptical about the downward trend. "It's weird," Condlin said. "Maryland law schools have had a long-standing ethics requirement since the 1960s. The standards have not changed, the commission personnel have not changed, [ethics] rules have not changed. There is no way to explain what is happening."
www.mddailyrecord.com

Study Finds Obese People Wait Longer for Kidney Transplant
The Associated Press - Dec. 21

Very obese people who need a kidney transplant are far less likely to get one than normal weight people, and when they do, their wait is an average of a year to 18 months longer, according to a new study published online this week in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Transplant centers normally won't give an organ to a patient with a body mass index over 40, which is morbidly obese, said Benjamin Philosophe, MD, PhD, associate professor at the School of Medicine and head of the transplantation division at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Such patients are at a higher risk for a number of complications. However, Philosophe said he and many doctors "will give them the benefit of the doubt that they will lose the weight and will put them on the list hoping that while they lose that weight they will accumulate waiting time."
ap.google.com

More City Court Cases End in Pleas Than Trials
WBAL-TV, Ch. 11, 6 p.m. - Dec. 14; 5, 6, and 9 a.m. - Dec. 15
WBALTV.com - Dec. 14

An analysis of 18 monthsý worth of data provided by the Baltimore City Stateýs Attorneyýs Office revealed that prosecutors are more likely to offer a deal than go to trial in murder cases. In 2006, 56.1 percent of murder charges were settled by plea bargain, and in the first six months of 2007, prosecutors offered a plea deal 48.9 percent of the time. "For the most part, plea deals are a function of two variables: the strength of the case as assessed by the prosecutor and the likely sentence that the defendant will get if convicted," said Andrew Levy, JD, adjunct professor at the School of Law.
www.wbaltv.com

Agent Aims at Restoring Hormone-Sensitive Status of Breast
MedPageToday.com - Dec. 15

Breast cancer clinicians faced with tumor cells that have transformed during therapy, from hormone sensitive to insensitive, are trying to reverse the process with a lymphoma drug. When the histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat (Zolinza), approved for T-cell cutaneous lymphoma, was added to tamoxifen in a small study, there were major responses for four of 17 highly treated patients with metastatic disease whose tumor cells had become nonresponsive. The preclinical study reported here examined the effects of vorinostate and two other histone deacetylase inhibitors (MS-275 and β-actin) on the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. The cells are both hormone refractory and estrogen receptor-negative but have detectable levels of aromatase, reported Gauri Sabnis, PharmD, postdoctoral fellow at the School of Medicine.
www.medpagetoday.com

Experts Differ on GOP Suit Seeking to Overturn Tax Increases, Slots Vote
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Dec. 17

Maryland Republicans, hoping to stop tax hikes passed by the Democratic legislature, have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a recent special session. Dan Friedman, JD, an adjunct professor in the School of Law who wrote a 2005 reference guide to the Maryland Constitution, said the arguments for overturning the tax increases are not persuasive. "What they couldn't win in the political process, they're trying to get as a result of procedural issues," he said.
www.examiner.com

First Two Centuries
Maryland Morning With Sheilah Kast, WYPR-FM, 9 a.m. - Dec. 17

Host Sheilah Kast spoke with Larry Pitrof, author of University of Maryland School of Medicine-The First Two Centuries. Pitrof is also the executive director of the University of Maryland Medical Alumni Association. They discussed the founding of the original College of Medicine as well as some of its notable alumni, one of whom went on to invent Pepsi cola.
www.wypr.org

Hometown Hero Nominee
11 TV Hill, WBAL-TV, 11:30 a.m. - Dec. 16

In his effort to end the cycle of violence, Carnell Cooper, MD, associate professor at the School of Medicine, created the violence prevention program at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. Determination to create a support network for at-risk youth along with his passion to end violence in Baltimore has earned him a semifinalist position as Americaýs Greatest Hometown Hero in Volvoýs sixth annual Volvo for Life Awards. Adrian Barnes, who entered the shock trauma center as a shooting victim and now is an outreach worker with the violence prevention program, discussed his journey from patient to employee.
www.wbaltv.com

New Pain-Relief Gel for Osteoarthritis to Hit Pharmacy Shelves Soon
Daily Herald (Chicago) - Dec. 16
U.S.News & World Report - Nov. 9

People with osteoarthritis have a new pain-relief option that doesnýt involve popping a pill. Voltaren Gel, now approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, can be applied directly to the skin on an arthritic knee or hand. "The advantage to this preparation is that it seems like it's providing comparable relief but with little systemic absorption," says Raymond Flores, MD, associate professor at the School of Medicine. Flores is not affiliated with the manufacturer of Voltaren Gel.
www.dailyherald.com
health.usnews.com

Reputation: Where the Personal and the Participatory Meet
Rador.Oreilly.com - Dec. 15

Following a symposium on reputation economies in cyberspace at Yale Law Schoolýs Information Society Project, the fog surrounding reputation is clearing, but the emerging landscape is different from what many expected. Danielle Citron, JD, assistant professor at the School of Law, made a presentation concerning harassment of women online. She hammered home the extent of the problem with alarming anecdotes (such as the famous death threats against programmer/author Kathy Sierra) and statistics. Citron also looked at the history of terror as well as the sociological literature on group harassment, and pointed out that all the contributory factors are accentuated in the online world, while inhibitory factors are reduced.
radar.oreilly.com

Shire Snaps Up Alba's Gastrointestinal Drug for $325 Million
in-PharmaTechnologist.com - Dec. 17

US biopharma firm Alba Therapeutics Corporation has received a boost to its coffers after Shire agreed to pay up to $325 million to help bring its lead gastrointestinal drug candidate to market. At the turn of the millennium, a group of scientists including Alessio Fasano, MD, professor at the School of Medicine, attempted to characterize the zonula occludens toxin secreted by the cholera bacteria Vibrio cholerae. Fasano went on to co-found Albaýcurrently still the only company targeting zonulin-and just seven years later, the fruits of his research have led to this deal.
www.in-pharmatechnologist.com

Steroids Report May Lead to Libel Lawsuit, MLB Prepared for Legal Battles
The Washington Times - Dec. 14
Washingtontimes.com - Dec. 14

While Major League Baseball looks to enact the recommendations laid out by former Sen. George Mitchell in his report on performance-enhancing drugs in the game, league officials are readying themselves for the possibility of lawsuits from players. With more than 80 names now linked to the use of steroids, human growth hormone, and other drugs, legal experts say lawsuits for libel and defamation of character may not be too far behind. But, they say, players have minimal chances of winning any suits. "You can say, 'I've been defamed,' but unless you can establish that [Mitchell] should have known, you're not actionably defamed," said James Astrachan, JD, adjunct professor at the School of Law.
www.washingtontimes.com

Appellate Court Slashes Award that Exceeded Damage
The Daily Record - Dec. 14
DailyRecord.com - Dec. 14

Plaintiffs seeking monetary damages will have to do a little more mathematical legwork before they file in court, following the Court of Special Appealsý decision that said complainants must ask for a certain sum rather than a minimum amount. "The case stands for the proposition that you must be very careful what you ask for and be very specific in the damages clause," said Morton Fisher Jr., JD, adjunct professor at the School of Law and a real estate attorney at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP.

Energy Markets: House Panel Supports FERCýs New Authority
E&E Daily - Dec. 13

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has authority to regulate any entity that affects physical natural gas or electricity prices, key members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee said on Wednesday at a hearing on energy market speculation. Both FERC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have commenced legal proceedings against the former hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC for illegal activity in the natural gas futures market in 2006. This is the first time FERC has used its new enforcement authority. The jurisdictional battle was part of a broader hearing on the effect exempt commercial futures markets―such as the Intercontinental Exchangeýwere having on energy prices because of unregulated excessive speculation. Energy futures markets, including oil and natural gas, and others that only involved ýsophisticatedý participants were exempted from CFTC regulation by a provision in the 2000 CFTC reauthorization act. Michael Greenberger, JD, a former CFTC director of the Division of Trading and Markets and currently a professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, said there was a simple fix to the regulation problem. "The simplest way to repeal it is to add two words to the act, so it reads: an exempt commodity does 'not include' an agriculture or energy commodity," Greenberger said. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the subcommittee, said after the hearing he thought Greenberger's idea was "an interesting thing to look at."

Heart-Disease Prevention Is Target of Plan
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 14

Churches, barbershops, and other unlikely allies would take part in a communitywide assault on heart disease proposed this week by the Baltimore City and Baltimore County health officers. Under a grant from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the School of Medicine has involved 13 barbershops and beauty salons in blood pressure screenings. The screenings are performed by the barbers and stylists and by community health workers who rotate from one shop to another. Elijah Saunders, MD, a professor at the School, said African-Americans might be somewhat more susceptible to high blood pressure than Caucasians. "But if you're predisposed by your heredity, then sodium can very definitely be a precipitating factor," said Saunders, who has advised the health officers.
www.baltimoresun.com

Shot Trooper Visits Doctors Who Saved His Life
WMAR-TV, Ch. 2, 6 p.m. - Dec. 13
WJZ-TV, Ch. 13, 5:30 p.m. - Dec. 13

Last year this time, Maryland State Trooper Eric Workman was shot and left for dead. Yesterday, he made a special trip to visit the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, where he thanked the entire staff for saving his life. At the helm of the effort was Thomas Scalea, MD, professor at the School of Medicine and physician-in-chief at the center. "I'm out of bed and I'm running for the door and the phone rings," said Scalea, remembering when he received the call that an officer was down. "I said 'I got the page guys, I'm on my way.'"
wjz.com
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Competition for Stem Cell Research Funding Surges
The Daily Record - Dec. 13
DailyRecord.com - Dec. 13
The Baltimore Business Journal - Dec. 13

The Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission has received 127 letters of intent from researchers vying to win $23 million in state funding. The commission, created to help spark growth in the state's life sciences industry, awarded researchers $15 million earlier this year. Scientists at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the University of Marylandýs College Park campus dominated the first batch of grants. "The point is there are many different ways to address these [health] issues," said Karen H. Rothenberg, JD, MPA, dean of the School of Law and a commission member. "Our commission allows all approaches. We need to let a thousand flowers bloom."

Energy Traders Blamed for Soaring Prices
The Associated Press - Dec. 13
Burlington (Vt.) Free Press - Dec. 13
BurlingtonFreePress.com - Dec. 13
Bennington (Vt.) Banner - Dec. 13
BenningtonBanner.com - Dec. 13
HedgeWorld.com - Dec. 13

A subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives heard from witnesses Wednesday on the consequences of energy speculation and on the regulatory framework for the trading of energy-related commodities and their derivatives. Commodities traders investing in the energy futures market can drive up costs by gobbling up energy contracts before winter weather hits and holding onto them until temperatures plummet, said Michael Greenberger, JD, professor at the School of Law, director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, and former director of the division of trading and markets at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, who testified at the hearing.
www.forbes.com
www.burlingtonfreepress.com
www.benningtonbanner.com

Federal Inmates Could See Term Cuts
WMAR-TV, Ch. 2, 5 and 6 p.m. - Dec. 12; 5 and 6 a.m. - Dec. 13

The federal government is making big changes in the sentencing of criminals caught with crack cocaine. In a decision that could reopen more than 20,000 cases, the U.S. Sentencing Commission has given federal judges the power to reduce prison terms for crack offenders. For decades the debate has waged with many upset that the crack possession sentence is much more harsh than cocaine offenses. "African- Americans involved with crack were sentenced much more heavily than whites involved in an equal amount of cocaine," said Andrew Levy, JD, an adjunct professor at the School of Law and attorney who practices in federal court. "It's been recognized for a long time that that was very unjust."
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Methods to Minimize Pretrial Incarceration Time on Councilýs Agenda
The Daily Record - Dec. 13
DailyRecord.com - Dec. 13

In the Baltimore City Criminal Justice Coordinating Councilýs (CJCC) last meeting of the year, members rallied around a proposal to minimize the time nonviolent suspects spend in jail before their trials. Douglas Colbert, JD, a School of Law professor who regularly attends CJCC meetings, announced that the six students in his "Access to Justice" clinic had assisted in the release of 31 of 45 such defendants this past semester by representing them at bail review hearings. He called for the Office of the Public Defender, the Office of the State's Attorney, and the Division of Pretrial Detention and Services to come up with an ongoing list of nonviolent defendants awaiting trial, and to pool their manpower so that each defendantýs full story can be presented to the judge at the bail review hearing. ýWe can do better," Colbert said. "Let's figure out how we can give more attention to people who are accused of nonviolent crimes and can't afford bail. Letýs take a closer look."

Nurses at Risk Due to Chemical Exposure in Hospitals
Nurse.com - Dec. 12
Nursingworld.org (reprinted from Baltimore Examiner) - Dec. 12

Nurses may face health risks because of their unwitting exposure to typical hospital chemicals such as disinfectants, medication, and radiation, an environmental group at the School of Nursing revealed Tuesday. The collaborative group included the American Nurses Association, Health Care Without Harm, and the Schoolýs Environmental Health Education Center, and says this survey is the first of its kind. When nurse Paxson Barker, RN, a doctoral student and research assistant, told her supervisors at a previous hospital in Texas the harsh solvents she used to scrub the catheterization lab floor were literally stealing her breath, she said, "My hospital fought me tooth and nail, because I didn't have the science behind me. I lost my job." "We want valid, scientifically supported data," said Brenda Afzal, MS, RN, project manager for the Environmental Health Education Center. "We would like to see a study done by" the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. "Maryland is a leader on these issues," added Barbara Sattler, DrPH, RN, FAAN, professor and director of the Environmental Health Education Center.
www.nursingworld.org
include.nurse.com

Reflux Among Babies Often a Misdiagnosis
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 13
BaltimoreSun.com - Dec. 13

As long as there have been babies, there have been babies who spit up. Now this behavior, long dismissed as something that most infants just do, has evolved into a 21st-century disease. Critics say the condition is widely misdiagnosed and overtreated with unnecessary doses of heartburn medicine developed for adults. Steven Czinn, MD, professor and chairman of pediatrics at the School of Medicine, said he tries to make it clear to parents that as long as their children fall into the category of "the happy spitter," that is, they spit up but seem unfazed by it, there's no need to panic or use medication.
www.baltimoresun.com

Does Castration Stop Rapists?
ABC News - Dec. 12

Castration has been used by psychiatrists and mandated by various states to treat some sex offenders. Castrationýphysical or chemicalýhowever, does not guarantee that a man will forever be sexually dysfunctional or that he won't again commit rape. "You can be castrated and still have an intact penis," said Andrew Kramer, MD, an assistant professor at the School of Medicine. "If he was castrated, his testosterone levels would drop significantly but not all the way to zero. Most testosterone is produced by the testes, but some is made in the adrenal glands above the kidneys."
abcnews.go.com

Fall's Enrollment Sets a Record
The Washington Post - Dec. 5 (also published in another newspaper and two Web sites)
Washingtonpost.com - Dec. 5

A record number of studentsýmore than 137,000 in allýare enrolled at University System of Maryland institutions this fall, the system announced. Enrollment at eight of the 11 institutions grew, with the University of Maryland, Baltimore's enrollment increasing more than 4 percent.
www.washingtonpost.com

Federal Inmates Could See Term Cuts
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 12
Baltimoresun.com - Dec. 12

A day after the Supreme Court restored substantial power to federal judges to hand down sentences below recommended guidelines, the U.S. Sentencing Commission gave them additional authority to reduce prison terms for those already locked up for crack cocaine-related crimes. "I would hope that there would be some triaging so they would deal with those cases first," said Andrew D. Levy, JD, an adjunct professor at the School of Law and attorney who practices in federal court. "Although judges will have more latitude now, the sentencing guidelines still recommend harsher penalties in crack-related cases."
www.baltimoresun.com

Indian Cuisine is Quick and Easy and Full of Flavor
Peoria Journal Star - Dec. 12

Sukumaran "Murali" Muralidharan, PhD, research associate at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, didnýt set out to revolutionize American cooking. In fact, he earned his PhD in organic photo chemistry and stumbled onto the amazing response of people to his native dishes. "There is such joy in cooking. Some people consider cooking a chore. For me, that is never the case," he said.
www.pjstar.com

News of the Weird
Connect Savannah - Dec. 11

An Indonesian fisherman, Dede, age 35, is in reasonably good health except that his hands and feet resemble something out of the "Alien" movie series, with huge root-like growths that render his arms and legs useless, according to a November Discovery Channel TV program, "Half Man, Half Tree," reported on by Londonýs Daily Telegraph. Dermatologist Anthony Gaspari, MD, professor at the School of Medicine, flew to Indonesia and determined that Dedeýs condition was caused by a genetic inability to restrain the growth of warts ("cutaneous horns") produced by the human papilloma virus. Gaspari prescribed a regimen of vitamin A, which he said should reduce the size of the warts enough so that, with surgery, Dede could use his hands again.
www.connectsavannah.com

Nurses at Risk Due to Chemical Exposure in Hospitals
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Dec. 12
Examiner.com - Dec. 12
eFluxmedia.com - Dec. 12
Occupational Hazards - Dec. 11
Environmental News Service - Dec. 11
WMAR-TV, Ch. 2, 5 p.m. - Dec. 11
WBAL-TV, Ch. 11, 5 p.m. - Dec. 11
WBFF-TV, Ch. 45, 10 p.m. - Dec. 11

Nurses may face health risks because of their unwitting exposure to typical hospital chemicals such as disinfectants, medication, and radiation, an environmental group at the School of Nursing revealed Tuesday. The collaborative group included the American Nurses Association, Health Care Without Harm, and the Schoolýs Environmental Health Education Center, and says this survey is the first of its kind. When nurse Paxson Barker, RN, a doctoral student and research assistant, told her supervisors at a previous hospital in Texas the harsh solvents she used to scrub the catheterization lab floor were literally stealing her breath, she said, "My hospital fought me tooth and nail, because I didn't have the science behind me. I lost my job." "We want valid, scientifically supported data," said Brenda Afzal, MS, RN, project manager for the Environmental Health Education Center. "We would like to see a study done by" the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. "Maryland is a leader on these issues," said Barbara Sattler, DrPH, RN, FAAN, professor and director of the Environmental Health Education Center.
bapaper.examiner.com
www.occupationalhazards.com

Randallstown Shooter Appeals 100-Year Term
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 12
Baltimoresun.com - Dec. 12

Attorneys for the former Randallstown High School student sentenced to 100 years in prison for shooting into a crowd of students on the school parking lot in 2004 asked a judge yesterday to grant him a new sentencing hearing, arguing that the prison term was "unconstitutionally disproportionate." Andrew Levy, JD, an adjunct professor at the School of Law and an attorney, testified that, "A very good argument can be made that it was grossly disproportionate to the offense, taken on its own terms and, when compared to other sentences in Maryland, it is virtually off the charts."
www.baltimoresun.com

Supreme Court Hears Boumediene v. Bush
WUSA-TV, 9:40 a.m. - Dec. 5

Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor in the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, said that the case of Boumediene v. Bush to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court today is the "case of the term for the court and the pinnacle of serious constitutional arguments in the court." Greenberger adds, "The question is whether Congress and the president correctly denied detainees at Guantanamo Bay access to the writ of habeas corpus in federal district courts to challenge the validity of their detention. The writ essentially allows someone put in prison by an executive official to get before a neutral magistrate to challenge the lawfulness of their detention." Greenberger says this question goes to the heart of the Guantanamo detention facility.
media.umaryland.edu:8080

Gel OK'd to Treat Arthritis
North Jersey Media Group - Dec. 11

Voltaren Gel, approved by the Food and Drug Administration, can be applied to the skin on an arthritic knee or hand. The manufacturer, Novartis, says it will be available by prescription in early 2008. "The advantage to this preparation [compared with oral painkillers] is that it seems like it's providing comparable relief but with little systemic absorption," says Raymond Flores, MD, an associate professor at the School of Medicine.
www.northjersey.com

HIV Clinic is an Eye-Opener for University of Maryland Law Students
The Daily Record - Dec. 10

Lawyers in training at the School of Law's HIV Legal Representation Project and the Interdisciplinary Practice Clinic represent clients in a wide variety of legal issues, including contested custody, family law, public benefits, and debt collection. ýThe students learn how to interview clients, how to build relationships of trust, and how to counsel in sensitive issues,ý said Deborah Weimer, JD, LLM, the professor at the School who has managed the clinic for 19 years. "The goal is to sensitize them to people who are poor and don't have access to a lawyerýand who are needy, marginalized, and without resources." The clinic has teamed up with the School of Social Work in a program called Grandparent/Family Connections. "Often, grandparents have to deal with their own health issues as well," Weimer noted. "The program provides support to grandparents so that the grandchildren donýt end up in foster care."

Hornsby Retrial Months Away
The Gazette - Dec. 6
The Gazette.net - Dec. 6

Federal prosecutors said they would retry former Prince Georgeýs County school superintendent Andre Hornsby for alleged kickback schemes, but added that the trial wonýt begin for several months. A U.S. District Court judge declared a mistrial Nov. 28 after the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on any of the 16 charges leveled against Andre Hornsby during a six-week trial. Abraham Dash, JD, professor at the School of Law, said mistrials are not uncommon in "complex, white-collar" crimes like those Hornsby allegedly committed because the evidence is rarely as straightforward as it is in a violent crime. "When you have a 12-person jury, it's not rare that you'll have one or two [jurors] who will just tie the jury up," he said. "When you get 12 diverse people, you never know whatýs in the mind of each one."
www.gazette.net

Nurses Survey Suggests Risk From Chemicals
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Dec. 11

Nurses who are exposed to high levels of chemicals and drugs on the job are more likely to report having asthma, miscarriages, and some cancers, according to a survey released today. More than 1,500 nurses nationwide, including a sample from Missouri and Illinois, were asked last year about their health histories and on-the-job exposures to cleaning products, radiation, mercury, and other potentially hazardous materials. The survey was conducted by the Washington-based nonprofit Environmental Working Group. The questionnaire was co-sponsored by the nonprofit group Health Care Without Harm, the American Nurses Association, and the School of Nursing's Environmental Health Education Center.
www.stltoday.com

Patient Trend: More Go Online for Health Searches, Experts Worry
DelmarvaNow.com - Dec. 11

Some experts caution that not all Internet information is sound, and search results may be confusing. "I've gone to Google and searched for a health condition only to have millions of things come back to me," said M.J. Tooey, MLS, AHIP, director of the Health Sciences and Human Services Library. Tooey is a fan of MedlinePlus, a government site that offers medical information from general research to local services.
www.dailytimesonline.com

The Soul of a New Vaccine
The New York Times - Dec. 11

Sanaria Inc. (meaning "healthy air," a play on the Italian "mal'aria" or "bad air") is making a vaccine the old-fashioned way, more or less as Louis Pasteur did. Avoiding modern recombinant DNA technology that injects tiny fragments of parasite protein to prime an immune response, Sanaria uses the whole parasite, extracted by hand from the mosquito's salivary glands, and weakened so it cannot multiply. Myron Levine, MD, DTPH, a professor at the School of Medicine and director of the School's Center for Vaccine Development, said that any successful vaccine "would be used in places where kidsý chances of dying of malaria are much greater than any theoretical risk of dying from a rare blood problem."
www.nytimes.com

Water Crisis: Too Soon for Worst-Case Fears?
Water Technology Online - Dec. 6
Cox News Service - Dec. 5

Atlanta residents may be wonderingýand worryingýabout Georgiaýs plans for a worst-case drought scenario in which their taps go dry, but government officials say they donýt think thatýs going to happen. Instead, state officials are focusing their drought emergency planning efforts on select communities north and east of Atlanta that they consider to be at greater risk of severe water shortages. Michael Greenberger, JD, professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, said the looming drought disaster appears to be beyond Georgia's ability to deal with on its own.
www.watertechonline.com

Xanafide Bypasses Multi-Drug Resistance Proteins in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
CheckBiotech.org - Dec. 11

The study, presented on December 9th at the 2007 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Ga., demonstrated that the uptake, efflux, and cytotoxicity of Xanafide in this study were unaffected by multi-drug resistant proteins expressed in acute myeloid leukemia cells, and secondary AML cells in particular, while other topoisomerase II inhibitors evaluated in this study were affected by the expression of these proteins. "The results of this in vitro study are encouraging and add to a growing body of literature supporting the potential therapeutic activity of Xanafide in the treatment of AML," said Maria Baer, MD, professor at the School of Medicine, director of the Hematologic Malignancies Program at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, and lead investigator in the study.
www.checkbiotech.org

Brain Fade-Is It Neurodegenerative or Simply a Sign of Aging?
Nursing Spectrum - Dec. 3

ýPrimary cognitive change caused by aging is a slowdown in thinking, learning, and remembering,ý says Elizabeth Galik, MSN, CRNP, a clinical instructor at the School of Nursing. "But even though cognition might slow, we don't lose cognitive accuracy in the normal aging process. This means it might take older adults longer to remember where they put their keys, but they will find them."
include.nurse.com

Groundbreaking Thinkers in Wisconsin
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Dec. 9

University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Robert Enright, PhD, is known as the father of forgiveness research. To write about forgiveness studies without mentioning him "is like doing a paper on psychoanalysis and leaving out Sigmund Freud," says Frederick DiBlasio, PhD, MSW, associate professor at the School of Social Work.
www.jsonline.com

Group: Public Restrooms Are a Right
WTOPnews.com - Dec. 10

On this yearýs World Toilet DayýNov. 19ýSteven Soifer, PhD, MSW, associate professor who teaches community organizing at the School of Social Work and co-founder of the Baltimore-based American Restroom Association, took a tour of restrooms in downtown establishments. Even in the association's headquarters city, Soifer found many establishments hostile to his groupýs conviction that the public not only has a right to use restroom facilities, but that those facilities should be clean and reasonably private, as well as accessible by handicapped people, the elderly, and pregnant women.
www.wtopnews.com

Guantanomo's Fate in Hands of Supreme Court
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Dec. 10

The U.S. Supreme Court is now deciding the debate over the rights of detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A decision giving those prisoners access to U.S. courts would be a death knell for the detention center and expose the facility and its operations, said Michael Greenberger, JD, professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security. "One way or the other, Guantanamo will be shut. It's just a matter of time," he said.

Missouri Foster Care Reinbursement Is Low
Northwest County Journal - Dec. 4

Missouri recently earned the dubious distinction as one of the worst states in America regarding a key aspect of caring for foster children. In October, the National Foster Care Coalition, the School of Social Work, and the advocacy group Children's Rights released a study on foster care reimbursement rates. The study looked at the actual cost in each state of caring for foster children and compared those numbers to what states reimburse foster parents.
northwestcountyjournal.stltoday.com

Some Fear Medicines May Put Fosters Kids' Future Health at Risk
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Dec. 10

A recent investigation by a New York newspaper revealed an escalating use of psychotropic medications for foster children in a nearby countyý reflecting a national trend. Some experts say thatýs because foster children have far greater rates of mental illness and emotional disturbance than other kids. Yet physicians and lawmakers nationwide now fear that the increasing prescription of the drugs, without ironclad assurance of their safety, could be sentencing foster children to physical or mental ailments later in life. "I don't know that we're getting closer to a ýthe right kid gets the right drug at the right timeý kind of approach," says Julie Zito, PhD, MS, associate professor at the School of Pharmacy and expert in the use of psychotropic drugs within the foster care population.
www.democratandchronicle.com

Suing the Landlord: Negligent-Security Suites Present Problems of Proof, Causation
The Daily Record - Dec. 10

Baltimore family has filed suit against the owner of Temple Gardensýa high-rise apartment building overlooking the Druid Hill reservoir in West Baltimoreýwhere 72-year-old Shirley Cooper was murdered in June, claiming that inadequate security at the private, historic 147-unit residence allowed the killer to reach Cooper in her apartment. "Generally, the landlord can be liable if the tenant can prove that the crime was foreseeable in some way, that the landlord should've taken some kind of precautions," says professor Andrew King, PhD, LLB, who teaches landlord-tenant law at the School of Law.

WIC is a Wise Investment in Nation's Future
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 10

Maureen Black, PhD, professor of pediatrics and director of the Growth and Nutrition Clinic at the School of Medicine, co-authored an Op-Ed saying Congress is considering a compromise with President Bush that would limit the funding of the countryýs largest and most successful health and nutrition program targeted to pregnant women, infants, and children (WIC) under age 5. She said that families, health care professionals, and child advocates are justifiably outraged at the harm to children's health and well-being that will result if WIC is not adequately funded.
www.baltimoresun.com

Changes in Lifestyle Prompted by Celiac Disease
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 6

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that affects about 1 percent of people in the United States, says Alessio Fasano, MD, professor and director of the Center for Celiac Research at the School of Medicine. Like all autoimmune diseases, its recipe is the genes with which you are born.
www.baltimoresun.com

Detainees Case to be Decided by Supreme Court
ABC News Radio - Dec. 5

The U.S. Supreme Court is now deciding the debate over the rights of detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. According to Michael Greenberger, JD, professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, "If the Bush administration loses this case, it will almost certainly be a death knell for Guantanamo Bay as a detention facility. A ruling adverse to the administration, while only technically giving detainees their day in court, will almost certainly open a Pandora's box of judicial scrutiny."

Health Insurance "Smoker" Fees
WYPR-FM, 9 a.m. - Dec. 5
WYPR.org - Dec. 5

The Tribune Company plans to add fees to health insurance premiums of employees who smoke. Kathleen Dachille, JD, assistant professor at the School of Law and the director of the Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation, and Advocacy, discussed whether this is an emerging trend among employer-driven health plans and how might such policies affect businesses who are considering whether to adopt similar fees.
www.wypr.org

Judging Guantanamo: The Court, Congress, and the White House
The Council on Foreign Relations.com - Dec. 5

The status of the suspected terrorists detained by the United States in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba continues to test the balance between the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the U.S. government. "A basic principle of international law is you can't try someone for an offense that's not defined," said Peter Danchin, JSD, LLM, LLB, assistant professor at the School of Law.
www.cfr.org

Miracle Cure? Be Skeptical
Newsweek - Dec. 10

In Jerry Adler's column, the health reporter for Newsweek says he will not report on any amazing new treatments for anything, unless they were tested in large, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials published in high-quality peer-reviewed medical journals. He says he was ýshamed intoý not reporting anything less than the high-quality peer-reviewed studies by a new book from R. Barker Bausell, PhD, professor in the School of Nursing. Bausell wrote Snake Oil Science to educate journalists and the public that "just because someone with a PhD or MD performs a clinical trial doesn't mean that [it] possesses any credibility whatsoever. The vast majority are worse than worthless."
www.newsweek.com

Names in the News
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 6

Robert Barish, MD, MBA, professor and vice dean at the School of Medicine, has been selected as the University of Maryland, Baltimore's Public Servant of the Year. He was selected for his role as commander of a team of all-volunteer health care providers who assisted Hurricane Katrina survivors.
www.baltimoresun.com

Profile of Celiac Disease Research at the School of Medicine
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 6

Three patients of Alessio Fasano, MD, a professor at the School of Medicine, have different symptoms. Yet all could have the same malady: celiac disease. This autoimmune disorder interferes with absorption of nutrients from food and is triggered by the consumption of gluten, a protein in wheat and other grains found in many staples of the American diet, including pizza, pasta and bread. Fasano is a gastroenterologist who directs the School's Center for Celiac Research. "In medicine, if you find the solution to the problem and have a remedy, you really fulfill your mission."
www.baltimoresun.com

Region to Ramp Up Nursing Education to Fight Shortage
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Dec. 5

Each year, the Baltimore region's 14 schools and colleges offering nursing courses turn away thousands of applicantsýand not because they are unqualified. "It's not a problem of recruiting; the real story is the lack of nurse faculty and space to put the students," said Patricia Adams, spokeswoman for the School of Nursing.
www.examiner.com

State's Fly-ash Crackdown Part of National Effort
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Dec. 6

Maryland's struggle to regulate coal fly ash from polluting the water is part of a burgeoning national effort to bring the potentially harmful waste under control. With the health concerns from fly-ash contamination becoming more alarming, officials want either the state or federal government to do more. ýWeýre always looking at the disaster afterwards,ý said Brenda Afzal, RN, MS, project manager of the School of Nursing's Environmental Health and Education Center. "We've got to get to the point when we ask ourselves, what are we doing, and how do we prevent that?"
www.examiner.com

Appellate Chief Picked for State's Top Court
The Washington Post - Dec. 5
Washingtonpost.com - Dec. 5
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 5
baltimoresun.com - Dec. 5
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Dec. 5
(Baltimore)examiner.com - Dec. 5

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has announced the appointment of Joseph Murphy Jr., JD, adjunct professor at the School of Law and chief judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, to fill a vacancy on the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals. William Reynolds, JD, professor at the School, who called Murphy "immensely qualified," said, "He's a really good judge who understands how the law works and how the judicial system works."
www.washingtonpost.com
www.baltimoresun.com
www.examiner.com

Detainees Case Heads to Supreme Court
abcnews.go.com - Dec. 5

Wednesday, lawyers for President Bush once again travels to the highest court in the land to debate the rights of detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The question of what to do with detainees captured on and off an unorthodox battlefield has provoked a raging controversy around the world. According to Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, "If the Bush administration loses this case, it will almost certainly be a death knell for Guantanamo Bay as a detention facility. A ruling adverse to the administration, while only technically giving detainees their day in court, will almost certainly open a Pandora's box of judicial scrutiny." Some officials directly involved with the process to review the detention of prisoners at Guantanamo say the system is flawed.
abcnews.go.com

Meet A Longtime Foster Care Family
ManassesJM.com - Dec. 2

Each foster family in Manassas, Va., is paid a fixed rate to provide food and shelter, but Virginiaýs basic monthly rates range from $368 to $546 depending on the childrenýs ages, according to an October report released by Childrenýs Rights, the National Foster Parent Association, and the School of Social Work. And foster parents have to provide more than just home-cooked meals and rides to karate classes. Being foster parents is not for those who canýt handle a little attitude or resentment along the way.

Passing the Torch of Jewish Tradition
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 4

There's no uncertainty in the Lindenbaums' living room about what holiday they are celebrating this year. The husband and wife once made merry in winter with a Christmas tree for Amanda, who was raised Catholic, and a Hanukkah menorah for Heath, who grew up Jewish. But now menorah stickers cling to the windows of their Pikesville home, which is strung indoors and out with blue and white lights in preparation for the holiday beginning Dec. 4. Amanda, an admissions counselor and at the School of Social Work and a 2003 alumna with a masterýs degree in social work, and her husband decided last year to maintain a Jewish home for their two children, though they will still visit her parents for breakfast on Dec. 25. "We have a festive home, but it's not a Christmas tree home," she said.
www.baltimoresun.com

Water Crisis: Too Soon for Worst-Case Fears?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Dec. 5

Atlanta residents may be wonderingýand worryingýabout Georgia's plans for a worst-case drought scenario in which their taps go dry, but government officials say they donýt think that's going to happen. Instead, state officials are focusing their drought emergency planning efforts on select communities north and east of Atlanta that they consider to be at greater risk of severe water shortages. Michael Greenberger, JD, a professor at the School of Law and director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security, said the looming drought disaster appears to be beyond Georgia's ability to deal with on its own.
www.ajc.com

Woman in New Market Brings Pharmacy Classes to Shady Grove
Frederick News-Post - Dec. 5

For Heather Congdon, PharmD, CACP, CDE, planning has paid off. Congdon, who lives in New Market, began laying the groundwork to bring a satellite campus of the School of Pharmacy to the Universities at Shady Grove in May. As the assistant dean for the School at Shady Grove, Congdon was tasked with starting the program to relieve overcrowding at the Baltimore campus, where accepting more students was not an option.
www.fredericknewspost.com

Appellate Chief Picked for State's Top Court
The Washington Post - Dec. 5
Washingtonpost.com - Dec. 5
The (Baltimore) Sun - Dec. 5
baltimoresun.com - Dec. 5
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Dec. 5
(Baltimore)examiner.com - Dec. 5

Maryland Gov. Martin OýMalley has announced the appointment of Joseph Murphy Jr., JD, adjunct professor at the School of Law and chief judge of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, to fill a vacancy on the stateýs highest court, the Court of Appeals. William Reynolds, JD, professor at the School, who called Murphy "immensely qualified," said, "He's a really good judge who understands how the law works and how the judicial system works."
www.washingtonpost.com
www.baltimoresun.com
www.examiner.com

Catholic Charities Partnering with Three Hospitals to Serve Hispanics
The Daily Record - Dec. 4

For more than four decades, Baltimoreýs low-income, Spanish-speaking immigrants have sought legal advice, English lessons, and other critical resources at the Hispanic Apostolate in Fells Point. Soon theyýll find health services there, too. Catholic Charities, which is providing infrastructure such as staff and offices, has announced a new partnership among St. Joseph Medical Center, St. Agnes Hospital, and Johns Hopkins Hospital, and leaders also are in talks with the Dental School regarding dental services at the site.

High-Tech Autopsies May Replace Conventional Ones
Ivanhoe's Medical Breakthroughs ý Dec. 4

Computed tomography (CT) may someday replace the conventional way of performing autopsies to determine the cause of some accidental deaths. ýCT is a sensitive imaging tool for detecting injuries and cause of death in victims of blunt trauma,ý lead researcher Barry Daly, MD, professor at the School of Medicine, was quoted as saying. "When there are major injuries, such as those resulting from a motor vehicle accident, CT may provide enough information to enable a conventional autopsy to be avoided altogether."
www.ivanhoe.com

JHU Tops R&D Funding List
The Baltimore Business Journal - Dec. 3

Johns Hopkins University led the nation in funding for medical, science, and engineering research in 2006 with nearly $1.49 billion, according to a new National Science Foundation report. The Baltimore-based school ranked first for overall research dollars. The University of Maryland, Baltimore also made the National Science Foundation list, ranking 35th with $405.2 million in overall research and development funding in 2006.
baltimore.bizjournals.com

Mental Illness May Originate in Womb
North Jersey Media Group - Dec. 4

Alan Brown, a psychiatrist at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, got access to data from a study that collected blood samples between 1959 and 1966 from thousands of pregnant women at different stages of their pregnancy. In a 2004 analysis that compared blood samples from the mothers of 64 children who went on to develop schizophrenia with blood samples of similar mothers whose offspring did not, Brown and his colleagues showed that women who had higher levels of influenza antibodies in their first or second trimester had offspring who were three to seven times more likely to develop schizophrenia. Animal research conducted by Paul Patterson, a professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology, along with William Carpenter, MD, professor at the School of Medicine, and James Koenig, PhD, professor at the School, both researchers at the School's Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, appears to support the theories of Brown and others.
www.northjersey.com

Methadone Eases Pain, Blunts Addiction
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Dec. 4

"Methadone is an opiate and a painkiller that prevents users from getting high on heroin by competing with the much more potent opiates for the body's opiate receptors," said Christopher Welsh, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine. "What methadone does is binds to the receptor and activates it. But then it makes it harder for other opiates to function," he said.
www.examiner.com

Vital Signs: Shock Trauma Survives in Critical Conditions
The Corridor, Inc. - November 2007 issue

Thomas Scalea, MD, professor at the School of Medicine and physician-in-chief at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, with a two-way radio in hand, listens intently to the details of another car crash. A 51-year-old male is stabilized but has injuries to his torso. Without hesitation, Scalea radios in: "Send the patient to Shock Trauma."
www.corridorinc.com

A Test of Maine Regulations on Internet Tobacco Sales to Minors
The Christian Science Monitor - Nov. 28

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will decide whether Maineýs state law that requires shipping companies to verify that the person who is receiving cigarettes bought online is 18 years of age or older impedes interstate shipping. Shipping companies say that the 2003 statute is an illegal restraint on interstate commerce. The companies are capable of conducting age verification, said Kathleen Hoke Dachille, JD, an assistant professor and director of the Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation, and Advocacy at the School of Law, who filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of several anti-smoking groups. "When I am sending something by FedEx, there are a whole host of things I can ask them to do. There are different ways I can ship it, different rules about who can accept it, what the signature requirement must be, and who it can be left with," she said.
www.csmonitor.com

The 3-Minute Interview: Dr. Robert Gallo
The (Baltimore) Examiner - Dec. 3

Robert Gallo, MD, a professor at the School of Medicine and director of its Institute of Human Virology, co-discovered the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) two decades ago and linked it to AIDS. Today, he leads a worldwide network of research on new drugs to fight HIV and the quest to develop an effective vaccine.
www.examiner.com

Tracing Schizophrenia Back to the Womb
The Washington Post - Nov. 27
MontereyHerald.com - Dec. 3

Alan Brown, a psychiatrist at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, got access to data from a study that collected blood samples between 1959 and 1966 from thousands of pregnant women at different stages of their pregnancy. In a 2004 analysis that compared blood samples from the mothers of 64 children who went on to develop schizophrenia with blood samples of similar mothers whose offspring did not, Brown and his colleagues showed that women who had higher levels of influenza antibodies in their first or second trimester had offspring who were three to seven times more likely to develop schizophrenia. Animal research conducted by Paul Patterson, a professor of biology at the California Institute of Technology, along with William Carpenter, MD, professor at the School of Medicine, and James Koenig, PhD, professor at the School, both researchers at the School's Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, appears to support the theories of Brown and others.
www.washingtonpost.com
www.montereyherald.com

Young Scientist of the Year Working to Establish 'Jamaica-Pharma'
The Jamaica Observer - Dec. 1

Recently awarded the Scientific Research Council/Jamaica Public Service Co. Young Scientist of the Year, Seymour Webster is taking Jamaica closer to realizing a local pharmaceutical industry. Jamaica's nascent pharmaceutical industry deserves more support, he believes, pointing to the example of scientist Dr. Henry Lowe and research partner Joseph Bryant, DVM, MS, an associate professor at the School of Medicine's Institute of Human Virology, who are negotiating with international pharmaceutical companies to produce anti-cancer drugs based on compounds he found in two native plants.
www.jamaicaobserver.com