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Briefs

	Graham receives Weiss Award
	Obsessive behaviors can undermine child's development
	Vaccines, antiviral supply key to controlling influenza epidemic

Graham receives Weiss Award

David Y. Graham, M.D., professor of medicine and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, is the 2005 recipient of the Samuel S. Weiss Award from the American College of Gastroenterology.

Graham, who is also chief of the digestive disease section in the BCM Department of Medicine, is internationally recognized for his expertise in medicine and gastroenterology. He is the author of more than 680 scientific papers, several books and 100 chapters in medical textbooks. He is listed as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Gastroenterology Professionals of the 20th Century by Gastroenterology.com, one of ISI’s Highly Cited Researchers in Clinical Medicine and as one of the Best Doctors in America.

He has patents on the development of diagnostic tests for Helicobacter pylori infection, the cause of peptic ulcer and gastric cancer; for Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, possibly related to inflammatory bowel disease; and for vaccine development against Norwalk virus infection. Norwalk virus is considered the most common cause of food-borne and cruise-ship associated diarrhea. He is a past president of the American College of Gastroenterology.

Obsessive behaviors can undermine child's development

All children have worries and doubts, but when they begin to obsess about them, it might hamper their ability to function.

"We all have little obsessions and compulsions here and there, but a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder isn't given unless the behavior begins to impede with how the child functions," said Thröstur Björgvinsson, M.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences with the Menninger Department of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "The child may have trouble sleeping, check homework over and over again, or not have friends over because of fears that they might bring germs in the house."

OCD is an anxiety disorder that if left untreated can take over a person's life. Children suffering from OCD develop obsessive thoughts that cause fear or anxiety. To get rid of the thoughts and relieve the fear, they perform rituals.

Typical obsessions include: fear of dirt or contamination, concern with order, fear of harming a family member or friend and fear of thinking evil or "sinful" thoughts. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors such as, excessive hand washing or repeatedly checking things, and mental acts like repeatedly counting to the same number or praying, that they do in response to the obsession.

Björgvinsson says the first line of treatment of OCD is through a cognitive behavioral psychotherapy program called exposure and response prevention. CBT helps children confront their fears and find new ways of dealing with them.

If the child suffers from severe OCD, antidepressants may be prescribed in combination with therapy.

"It's important to use the treatments appropriately to avoid the long-term adverse effects of OCD on the child's development," he said.

Vaccines, antiviral supply key to controlling influenza epidemic

To be ready for an avian flu pandemic - or global epidemic - the United States must demonstrate the ability to handle the "normal" influenza epidemic that occurs every year, say researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

"Never missing an opportunity to vaccinate someone or educate the public about antiviral medication is one solution to controlling the yearly epidemic," said W Paul Glezen, M.D., professor of molecular virology and microbiology at BCM. "We must vaccinate as many people as possible to increase the amount of vaccines produced each year."

Increasing the demand for the vaccines and antiviral medications will increase the amount manufactured and they may even be effective in controlling the avian influenza, or H5N1 strain of influenza.

"Right now there is no evidence that the avian flu viruses spread readily from person to person, but we are all very susceptible to this new strain of flu because we have not seen it circulate from human to human in our lifetime," said Glezen.

Antiviral influenza medications, which are also effective in treating and controlling influenza during the yearly epidemics, include amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamavir (Relenza).

Amantadine and rimantadine are commonly used to treat influenza A, but are ineffective for the avian flu. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamavir (Relenza), effective against A and B viruses, would be more likely to reduce symptoms of the avian flu.

Another vaccine effective in controlling influenza is FluMist. The nasal-spray vaccine, made with the live attenuated virus, is available for healthy people ages 5 to 49 and is sprayed once into each nostril. A single dose provides almost immediate protection against the flu.

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