In a column about why coffee makes some people defecate, which acknowledges researchers no little about how coffee affects the gastrointestinal tract, Robert Martindale, M.D., Ph.D., says the body’s response to coffee is “probably going through the gut-brain axis” and that coffee’s presence in the stomach “stimulates the colon to say, ‘Well, we’d better empty out’”

In a story about seven HIV vaccines under development, Louis Picker, M.D., describes the cytomegalovirus-based vaccine he developed at OHSU and is now being tested in humans through a clinical trial sponsored by Vir Biotechnology: “The results have shown great promise: 50-60% of vaccinated monkeys are protected against the simian immunodeficiency virus."

In light of the new omicron variant, William Messer, M.D., Ph.D., says: “I think we should be vigilant. I think we should do what we know works, which is vaccination, distancing inside, mask wearing, particularly in high-risk settings … a practice that works for all the variants."

In a story about patients needing to remain hospitalized even though they no longer need hospital-level care because they aren’t well enough to go home alone and there isn’t another available facility or method to provide them a lower level of care, Matthias Merkel, M.D., says: “We need a very centralized organization in how we manage that so we can use these resources the most effectively across all health systems. I don’t think anyone has discovered the magic bullet."

In a story about various treatments that are currently available or under development for the blindness-causing condition Leber congenital amaurosis, Mark Pennesi, M.D., Ph.D., notes patients with the condition usually have symptoms within the first decade of life.

In a story that explains how and why COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness wanes over time, Mark Slifka, Ph.D. says: “It’s been a challenge because some people will say, ‘Well the vaccines aren’t working.’ And that’s a misconception. Vaccines are still providing 90% protection against mortality and hospitalization."

An op-ed by Alessandra Colaianni, M.D., M.Phil., calls for changing bias against women in surgery: “A life in surgery is a difficult one -- full of long days, weighty decisions, and serious implications for mistakes. It's hard enough for anyone to do without worrying that, by virtue of their sex, they have something additional to prove. It's time to change the status quo.”

In a story about various ways under development to treat aortic regurgitation through transcatheter aortic valve implantation, Firas Zahr, M.D., say this of high surgical risk patients with this condition: “Unfortunately, many of these patients remain symptomatic despite being on optimal medical therapy, and there is a big knowledge and technology gap in treating these patients."

Deborah Meyers, M.D., says 31-year-old heart transplant recipient Vanessa Trotter is “one of these rare spirts that has … always taken lemons and made them into lemonade for herself. ... She really, to me, is a hero that way, even in her young age (she) was able to deal with things in such a sophisticated, thoughtful and mature way."

Eric Herman, M.D., describes how the OHSU Long COVID Program helps patients gradually recover from chronic COVID: “We train [patients] to see when their breath is telling them they are going too far. Once they understand where that is, they can maintain that level of activity safely and get stronger.”