Latest News:

NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
Obesity epidemic stems from environment, panel says
May 8, 2012
The Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools and workplaces encourage people of all ages to exercise more, and suggested industry-wide guidelines on marketing food to children. NBC’s Robert Bazell reports... Dr. Robin Goland of Columbia University Medical Center, states, “Our pediatricians are seeing obese two-year-olds and four-year-olds. We have five-year-olds with impaired glucose tolerance. We have eight-year-olds with type 2 diabetes. This is a catastrophe.”

NEW YORK TIMES
Aspirin Seen to Be as Effective as Warfarin By Nicholas Bakalar
May 7, 2012
People with congestive heart failure are often treated with warfarin to prevent blood clots, but a large randomized double-blinded trial has found that aspirin works just as well. … “The advantage is that aspirin is easier to take,” said Dr. Shunichi Homma, the lead author and a professor of medicine at Columbia University.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Aspirin works as well as blood thinners warfarin, or Coumadin, in heart patients
May 7, 2012
Aspirin works as well as the blood thinner warfarin, or Coumadin, in most patients with heart failure when it comes to preventing death, stroke or brain hemorrhage, said a major international study on Wednesday. The findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine came from a landmark clinical trial that lasted 10 years and tracked 2,305 patients in 11 countries... "Since the overall risks and benefits are similar for aspirin and warfarin, the patient and his or her doctor are free to choose the treatment that best meets their particular medical needs," said lead investigator Shunichi Homma of Columbia University Medical Center.

ABC World News Tonight
Domino's to Make Gluten-Free Pizza
May 7, 2012
Pizza chain will offer option for customers who avoid wheat.  … Dr. Peter H.R. Green, director of Columbia University’s Celiac Disease Center, warns, “A gluten-free diet is not entirely healthy; often it lacks fiber. And the manufacturers of wheat flour fortify wheat flour with vitamins and minerals... It’s been demonstrated that if you’re on a gluten-free diet long-term, you can actually become B- vitamin deficient.”

Yong-Guang Yang, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine-Immunology, has received $1.84 million
over five years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for “Role of CD47 in
Xenograft Rejection by Macrophages.”

Henry Ginsberg, MD, Department of Medicine-Preventive Medicine, has received $1.6 million
over three years from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Pathways of Fenofibrate
Effects on Cardiovascular Outcomes in ACCORD.”

Nir Uriel, MD, Department of Medicine-Cardiology, has received $696,000 over five years from
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for “Insulin Resistance in Chronic Heart Failure:
Pathophysiology and Potential for Reversal.”

Milan Stojanovic, PhD, Department of Medicine-Nephrology, has received $474,000 over two
years from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering for “Isolation of
Narrow Subpopulations of Cells using Molecular Computing Cascades.”

Mathew Maurer, MD, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, received $450,000 over
three years from the Komen (Susan G.) Breast Cancer Foundation for “A Novel Combination
Therapy for Triple Negative Breast Cancer: Erlotinib And Metformin.” He also has received
$250,000 over one year from the Hope Foundation for “CSI-Lethality: A Novel Strategy for
Cancer Therapeutic Target Discovery.”

NEW FACULTY
Jennifer Amengual, MD, as assistant professor, Department of Medicine-Oncology.
Suzanne Lentzsch, MD, PhD, as assistant professor, Department of Medicine-Oncology.
Markus Mapara, MD, as assistant professor, Department of Medicine-Oncology.

NEW YORK TIMES ONLINE
Can Running Make Us Happier?
By Ilena Silverman
April 19, 2012
Siddhartha Mukherjee … tells us about researchers at Columbia University who discovered that feeding mice Prozac made them less anxious and more adventurous — but only when there was simultaneous brain-cell growth in the hippocampus.

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
One-third of U.S. not getting colon screen

April 14, 2012
The No. 2 U.S. cancer killer -- colon cancer -- is often preventable and highly curable if caught early, U.S. researchers said. … However, despite the availability of effective screening tests, about one-third of U.S. adults are not getting screened for colorectal cancer, said Dr. Benjamin Lebwohl, a gastroenterologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.

U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT/HEALTHDAY
Mouse Study Hints at New Path for Diabetes Treatment By Serena Gordon
April 12, 2012
A potential new treatment for type 2 diabetes targets the hormone glucagon instead of insulin, according to a new study in mice… What's more, the researchers didn't see any adverse effects from the treatment… "A new target for the adverse effects of glucagon on diabetes has been identified, and with treatment we got rid of all the bad stuff, but didn't cause side effects," said the study's lead author, Dr. Ira Tabas, a distinguished professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, in New York City.

Picked up by: [MSN HEALTH & FITNESS, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, HEALTH.COM, DOCTORS LOUNGE, EVERYDAY HEALTH].

Also covered by: Imperfect Parent New study reveals non-insulin diabetes treatment and
HealthCanal.com  Targeting Glucagon Pathway May Offer a New Approach to Treating Diabetes].

ABC NEWS ONLINE
Should You Go Gluten-Free?
By Katie Moisse
April 10, 2012
Miley Cyrus is the latest celeb to go gluten-free, a move some experts are calling the low-carb diet of the decade… one in 100 Americans suffers from a severe gluten allergy called celiac disease, and many more have gluten sensitivities that leave them feeling tired, achy and bloated. …  “Many people with celiac disease would get the label of irritable bowel syndrome,” said Dr. Peter Green, director of Columbia University’s Celiac Disease Center in New York.

GENETIC ENGINEERING & BIOTECHNOLOGY NEWS
Immune Mouse that Fully Recapitulates Individual Human Immune System Developed
March 15, 2012
Scientists report on the development of a mouse model that recapitulates the immune system of a single adult human. In contrast with existing humanized mouse models with immune systems derived from transplanted fetal and Columbia University Medical Center team is derived from a relatively few adult human HSCs. These could effectively be taken from any human volunteer or patient. Megan Sykes, M.D., and colleagues, say the the resulting "personalized immune" (PI) mice generated a robust and diverse repertoire of fully functional T cells that were self-tolerant, and exhibited immune responses that mimicked those of the adult CD34+ cell donor.

MANHATTAN TIMES
Partners in Research’ presents new collaboration for Columbia and community By Sandra E. Garcia
March 14, 2012
Columbia University, with its extensive resources for experimental, social and field research, among many such rigorous pursuits, has often turned to local organizations in northern Manhattan to conduct its studies. … The research study also included findings from the Washington Heights-Inwood Council on Aging (WHICOA) and the Columbia University Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. … Romero worked alongside Dr. Joyce Moon-Howard, Academic Principal Investigator of the Partners in Research Program and Mailman School Assistant Professor of Clinical Social Medical Sciences. … Dr. Rafael Lantigua, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Associate Director of the Division of General Medicine, has decades of experience in the medical field and a long history of community activism in Washington Heights. .. Sandra Harris, Assistant Vice President for Government and Community Affairs for Columbia University was enthused also about the collaboration, and spoke to the University's commitment to its success.

MEDICAL NEWS TODAY
Gut Cells Turned To Insulin Factories - New Type l Diabetes Treatment
March 13, 2012
According to a study conducted in mice by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and published 11 March 2012, in the journal Nature Genetics, cells in the intestine of patients with type 1 diabetes could be lured into generating insulin, eliminating the need for a stem cell transplant. … The study was carried out by Chutima Talchai, Ph.D, a New York Stem Cell Foundation-Druckenmiller Fellow, and Domenico Accili, M.D., professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center.

FOX NEWS ONLINE
Why women may not even know they're having a heart attack By Felicia Stoler
February 10, 2012
In 1990, Dr. Marianne Legato, founder of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University, was asked by the American Heart Association (AHA) to review the literature about women and coronary disease.  Over the last two decades, we have learned that heart disease is different in women than in men.

NEW YORK TIMES
Radioisotope Recipe Lacks One Ingredient: Cash
By Matthew L. Wald
February 7, 2012
For years, scientists and policy makers have been trying to address two improbably linked problems that hinge on a single radioactive isotope: how to reduce the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation, and how to assure supplies of a material used in thousands of heart, kidney and breast procedures a year. … The isotope is technetium 99m, or tech 99 for short. … Dr. Andrew J. Einstein, an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, who testified before a Senate committee in 2008 about the isotope shortage, said supplies were adequate at the moment.

WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
New Guide to Who Really Shouldn't Eat Gluten

February 7, 2012
[A] group of 15 experts from seven countries is proposing a new classification system for the gluten-related disorders plaguing a growing number of people around the world for unknown reasons. … "Many physicians would roll their eyes and say, 'God, another crazy person with food sensitivities,' " says Peter Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University and a co-author of the proposal. "It's only now that studies are coming out showing that there's something real about gluten sensitivity."

BBC ONLINE
Komen and Planned Parenthood: The pink army revolts
By Kate Dailey
February 3, 2012
"I've given a lot of talks on breast cancer. At the end of the session people will come up to me and say, 'I have lung cancer. Why doesn't anyone ever give a talk about that?'" says Barron Lerner, author of The Breast Cancer Wars and professor of medicine at the Columbia University Medical school.


USA TODAY
Too many rheumatoid arthritis patients inactive, study finds By Steven Reinberg
January 27, 2012
More than 40 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients live a sedentary life, a new study finds. … Dr. Jon Giles, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, said that "the most striking aspect to me about the paper is that although we generally consider joint pain and damage as the reason that rheumatoid arthritis patients may not exercise, this does not appear to be the primary driver of lack of exercise in the group studied.”

Joan Bathon, MD, Department of Medicine-Rheumatology, has received $2.9 million over five years from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for “Inflammation and Cardiovascular Disease in RA.”

Robin Goland, MD, Department of Medicine-Endocrinology and the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, and Raphael Clynes, MD, PhD, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, have received $1.9 million over five years from the NIH and University of Pittsburgh for “Nutritional Primary Prevention of Type 1 Diabetes.”

Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, Department of Medicine-Oncology, has received the Guardian First Book award for his nonfiction book, The Emperor of All Maladies.

A bequest of $1.456 million will fulfill a pledge to establish a professorship in the Department of Medicine.

A bequest of $208,450 will support cardiovascular research in the Department of Medicine.

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation made a payment of $112,499 toward a commitment of $224,999 to support studies in cancer survivorship in the Department of Medicine.


NPR BOOKS
U.S. Behind The Curve In Drunk Driving, Author Finds
November 17, 2011
When Barron Lerner was writing his book on the history of drunk driving in America — and efforts to control it — he carried out an experiment at home that involved a bottle of vodka, a shot glass and a Breathalyzer. He was the guinea pig. "I was trying to figure out just how drunk you had to be in order to not drive safely," says Lerner, a professor of medicine and public health at Columbia University, who wrote One for the Road. He decided to drink and test his levels — but he didn't actually get into a car.

THE NEW YORK TIMES
When Lobotomy Was Seen as Advanced
– December 20, 2011
Most of us recall lobotomies as they were depicted in the movie “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”— horrifying operations inappropriately used to control mentally ill patients. But in the 1950s, surgeons also used them to treat severe pain from cancer and other diseases. Now a Yale researcher has uncovered surprising new evidence of a famous patient who apparently received a lobotomy for cancer pain during that time: Eva Perón, the first lady of Argentina, who was known as Evita. Article authored by Dr. Barron H. Lerner, professor of medicine and public health at Columbia University Medical Center, whose book, “One for the Road: Drunk Driving Since 1900,” was recently published.

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT
Few Women Get Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy – December 8, 2011

Few women undergo breast reconstruction after a mastectomy, despite the known cosmetic and psychological advantages, a new study indicates. “The immediate reconstruction rates are higher in women with DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ, an early stage cancer) than with invasive cancer,” said Dr. Dawn Hershman, an associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center, in New York City.


NEW YORK TIMES
A Reminder on Maintaining Bone Health
By Jane E. Brody
November 1, 2011
… Most of the news about osteoporosis concerns the side effects of current therapies and preventives. But it is important to put these effects in perspective — and to focus on treatment benefits and practical measures that can help to prevent costly and debilitating fractures in fragile bones. … “Age is itself a major risk factor for fracture,” said Dr. Ethel Siris, director of the osteoporosis clinic at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

ABC NEWS
Obama’s Cholesterol Should Be Lower, Doctors Say By Carrie Gann
November 1, 2011
When it comes to President Obama’s health, some cardiologists recommend that his cholesterol levels go the way of his approval ratings: low. … Although his new numbers are an improvement, Dr. Lori Mosca, director of preventive cardiology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, said the president’s score could be lower.

BLOOMBERG NEWS
Heart-Device Makers May Find Shrinking-Stent Flaw Hurts $4 Billion Market

By Michelle Fay Cortez
November 1, 2011
A complication that causes drug- coated heart stents to weaken and shrink will be reviewed at a medical meeting next week, researchers said. The stent flaw, known as longitudinal compression, was added to the agenda at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics meeting that starts next week in San Francisco, said Gregg Stone, director of cardiovascular research at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and director of TCT.

WALL STREET JOURNAL
Painting the Town Pink to Raise Millions By Marshall Heyman
October 18, 2011
The ninth annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, which took place this weekend in New York, was big business. … Sitting with two of the day's beneficiaries—Ms. Miller from CancerCare and Dawn Hershman, a professor of medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center—Ms. Kurzig was wearing a magenta leather jacket and a pink ribbon necklace.

NEW YORK TIMES ONLINE
Well
Friends Still Let Friends Drive Drunk By Barron H. Lerner, M.D..
October 18, 2011
Drunken driving remains among the most preventable of violent injuries. … Barron H. Lerner, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine and public health at Columbia University Medical Center, is author of “One for the Road: Drunk Driving Since 1900,” just published by the Johns Hopkins University Press.

NEW YORK TIMES

The Shortfalls of Early Cancer Detection By Barron H. Lerner, MD

October 11, 2011
The outcry among many physicians and patients over a government panel’s recent announcement that healthy men should no longer receive P.S.A. blood testing to detect prostate cancer is rooted in a long and impassioned history among cancer screening advocates that early detection must always save lives. But as science has taught us, that’s not always the case. … Dr. Barron H. Lerner, professor of medicine and public health at Columbia University Medical Center, is the author of “The Breast Cancer Wars” and, this month, “One for the Road: Drunk Driving Since 1900.”

NY1 NEWS
Coffee Grinds Down Risk Of Depression In Women, Study Finds
By Kafi Drexel
September 27, 2011
Perhaps beating any drink special for ladies, a new study suggests that coffee fix might give women more than a temporary boost. Women who drank four cups or more a day over a long period of time had a 20 percent lower risk of depression. "There may be something in coffee that makes the body feel better or give you an endorphin or what they call neurotransmitter that's improved in the body," said New York Presbyterian Columbia Internist Dr. Seth Feltheimer.

USA TODAY
FDA to review safety of osteoporosis drugs
By Steven Reinberg
September 13, 2011
U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers recommended Friday that osteoporosis drugs such as Fosamax, Actonel, Boniva and Reclast come with revised labels, clarifying how long a patient should take a drug before potential health risks set in….While these side effects shouldn't be downplayed, "when you consider the number of very dangerous, life-threatening fractures that are prevented by these drugs, the benefits dwarf the side effects," said Dr. Elizabeth Shane, also a professor of medicine at Columbia University in New York City.

WABC-TV
Celiac disease and Pregnancy
September 8, 2011
An illness that's becoming better understood is celiac disease, and one effect is infertility. Interview with Dr. Peter Green.

WALL STREET JOURNAL (log-in required)
FDA Panel to Weigh Osteoporosis Drug Risks By Jennifer  Corbett Dooren
September 6, 2011
A widely prescribed class of drugs for osteoporosis has been shown to prevent common hip and spine fractures associated with the bone-destroying disease, but there are concerns that the drugs might cause a different set of problems….Elizabeth Shane, who was co-chairwoman of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research's task force that looked at atypical thigh fractures last year and is a professor of medicine at Columbia University, says the risk of an atypical thigh fracture is very low and doctors need to balance the need to protect patients with osteoporosis against common, often debilitating hip and other fractures.

NEW YORK TIMES
F.D.A. to Review Safety of Popular Bone Drugs By Duff Wilson
September 5, 2011
Two advisory panels of the Food and Drug Administration will consider on Friday whether to recommend requiring women who use popular bone drugs like Fosamax to take “drug holidays” because of rising concerns about rare side effects with long-term use, according to people involved in the review….“The risk-to-benefit ratio strongly favors biphosphonate therapy,” said Dr. Elizabeth J. Shane, a Columbia University professor and bone specialist who was co-chairwoman of task forces on the femur and jaw issues for the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. “And while we are upset and worried and do not want to do anything that would cause anybody harm, we don’t want to go back to 1990 and just have nothing for osteoporosis.”

CBS NEWS
Study shows rise of cancer in 9/11 firefighters
By Jonathan LaPook
September 1, 2011
The Lancet Medical Journal report is the first comprehensive cancer study of New York City Firefighters after 9/11. This federally funded study shows firefighters working at the site had ten percent more cancers than the general public and 19 percent more cancers than firemen not involved. In all, there were 263 cancers among almost nine thousand exposed firefighters…. "I would draw no definitive conclusion from it at this point. One wouldn't expect to see an elevation in solid tumors so early in seven year period. Usually it takes decades," said Columbia's Dr. Alfred Neugut who studies the link between environment and cancer.

PBS CHARLIE ROSE
Video: A Biography of Cancer

August 30, 2011
Joining me now is Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee. He's a cancer physician and an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia. The book is called the Emperor of all Maladies; A Biography of Cancer. Drawing upon his own experiences with patients, he presents a textured portrait of this disease in its 4,000 year history.

NEW YORK TIMES
Op-Ed
The Annals of Extreme Surgery By Barron H. Lerner
August 30, 2011
More and more doctors are now using an extremely aggressive procedure to treat certain colorectal and ovarian cancers called Hipec, in which patients first undergo surgery to remove any visible cancer, then have heated chemotherapy pumped into the abdominal cavity for 90 minutes to kill any remaining cells….We shouldn’t be surprised by the sudden emergence of this therapy. Heated chemotherapy is the latest in a long list of very toxic treatments used by well-meaning cancer doctors who have confused doing more for patients with doing what is best for them.

Barron H. Lerner, a professor of medicine and public health at Columbia, is the author of “The Breast Cancer Wars: Hope, Fear and the Pursuit of a Cure in Twentieth-Century America” and the forthcoming “One for the Road: Drunk Driving Since 1900.”

NPR Talk of the Nation
More Not Always Better When Treating Cancer
August 30, 2011
As more doctors turn to an aggressive treatment for certain forms of cancer, Dr. Barron Lerner warns that when it comes to treating cancer, more isn't always better. … NEAL CONAN, host: Dr. Lerner is a professor of medicine and public health at Columbia University.

NPR Planet Money
When Cancer Treatments Do More Harm Than Good By Jacob Goldstein
August 30, 2011
An op-ed in today’s NYT looks at the long history of aggressive cancer treatments that became widely popular before they were proven effective. Often, studies ultimately showed those treatments were useless, or even harmful. That history continues today. The author, a Columbia med school [sic] doc named Barron Lerner, singles out a treatment that uses heated chemotherapy drugs along with surgery to treat certain colorectal and ovarian cancer patients.

NEW YORK TIMES SUNDAY MAGAZINE
The Letting Go By Siddhartha Mukherjee
August 28, 2011
Our experience of death has become disembodied. The corpus has vanished from the most corporeal of our rituals. The corpus has vanished from the most corporeal of our rituals — and we are left standing with our hands outstretched and taut but with no counterweight to bear, like the man on the riverbank holding air….Siddhartha Mukherjee is an assistant professor of medicine in the division of medical oncology at Columbia University. He is the author of "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer."

WALL STREET JOURNAL
Lovelorn in a Facebook Age
By Elizabeth Bernstein
August 23, 2011
I  woke up one day last week to an anguished email from a friend whose girlfriend had just broken up with him.… "It's not a heartbroken thing, it's a brain-broken thing," says Marianne Legato, a cardiologist and founder of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University….The level of neurotransmitters in the brain are affected in a romantic split, producing a range of symptoms from sadness and anxiety to changes in sleep, appetite and even motor coordination.

NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
‘Superfoods’ May Ward-off-diseases
August 22, 2011
Columbia University cardiologist Dr. Lori Mosca says you can find healthy ingredients to make a superfood salad.

CNN
Marriage helps survival after heart surgery
By Carina Storrs
August 22, 2011
Marriage is thought to have a number of health benefits, including greater longevity, less stress, and a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, and depression. Now, a new study suggests you can add a better survival rate after heart surgery to the list of health perks.…It's possible that women may have less to gain from marriage because they tend to have larger support networks than men, notes Matthew M. Burg, Ph.D., associate clinical professor of medicine at Columbia University, in New York City.

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
PEN Literary Awards for 2011

August 11, 2011
The accolades continue for Siddhartha Mukherjee, a physician and an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia, who won a Pulitzer earlier this year and has now won the PEN/E.O. Wilson literary science writing award, also for his The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (Scribner).

MSNBC
When extreme exercise turns deadly By Linda Carroll
August 9, 2011
The heart-related deaths of two New York City triathlon competitors has once again opened the question of whether extreme exercise can be dangerous, or even deadly...Part of the problem is the frigid water that the triathletes plunge into, said Dr. Ajay Kirtane, a cardiologist and an assistant professor of medicine at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia Medical Center.

PBS NEWSHOUR
Telling the Story Behind Cancer
August 8, 2011
Health correspondent Betty Ann Bowser talks to Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer," a history of the search for ways to treat cancer and how it has been perceived…Dr. Mukherjee knows that reality well. He's an oncologist and cancer researcher at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.