PROFNET EXPERT ALERTS: Swine Flu / Teen Pregnancy / Vampires in Pop Culture

PROFNET EXPERT ALERTS: Swine Flu / Teen Pregnancy / Vampires in Pop Culture

    ___________   TOPIC ALERT    Swine Flu (continued, 6 responses)    _____________   EXPERT ALERTS    1.  Behavior: Growing Vampire-Focused Trend in Pop Culture   2.  Family Issues: TV's Impact on Teen Pregnancy   3.  Health: Over-Prescribing Antidepressants   4.  Health: UVC Rays in Tanning Beds Cause Skin Cancer   5.  Home: Steps to Conserve Energy Without Sacrificing Comfort   

SWINE FLU (continued)

We've added the following to items posted previously at http://budurl.com/swinefluexperts3

1. Following are experts from the WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER who can comment:

-- JON STUART ABRAMSON, M.D., Weston M. Kelsey Professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics, is physician-in-chief at Brenner Children's Hospital. Abramson has been on faculty at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center for over 28 years, and during this time, he has been heavily involved in clinical and research aspects of influenza disease. Additionally, he has served as the chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the chair of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). In both of these roles, he was involved in the U.S. influenza pandemic planning efforts, including the process for developing a prioritization scheme for which groups would get the pandemic vaccine as it became available. Currently, he is one of 15 people serving on the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) and a member of the WHO 2009 Pandemic Task Force. SAGE is charged with advising WHO on overall global policies and strategies, ranging from vaccine and technology, research and development, to delivery of immunization and its linkages with other health interventions. In July 2009, SAGE provided recommendations to the WHO director general about worldwide use and prioritization of pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine. Abramson has been named to: Best Doctors in America, the National Registry of Who's Who, and Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He is a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Disease Society of America.

-- LAURENCE B. GIVNER, M.D., is chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, professor and vice chair for Clinical Affairs, Department of Pediatrics. The Infectious Diseases Group at Brenner's Children Hospital is one of eight in the country that monitor disease and antibiotic resistance due to the common bacteria, pneumococcus. Givner oversees this U.S. Pediatric Multicenter Surveillance Group at Brenner. He has done much research on antibiotic resistance of other common bacteria as well, including meningococcus. Other areas of expertise include: prevention and treatment of infections in infants, infections due to group A/B strep, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. He is also on the Executive Committee for Pandemic Influenza Preparedness at Wake Forest Baptist. Givner has been named to: Best Doctors in America, America's Top Doctors, and America's Top Pediatricians. He has received many teaching awards, including the 2002 Teaching Excellence Award from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Givner is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in general pediatrics and in pediatric infectious diseases.

-- KEVIN P. HIGH, M.D., M.S., is chief of the Section on Infectious Diseases; professor of medicine, Sections on Infectious Diseases, Hematology/Oncology, and Molecular Medicine; and the section editor of Clinical Infectious Diseases and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. He is also a member of the editorial board for Medscape in the area of infectious diseases. Some of his major research areas include changes in immunity and infection risk in older adults, clinical relevance of surrogate markers of immune senescence, infections in patients with suppressed immunity and nutritional modulation of immune responses in transplant recipients and the elderly. High is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in infectious diseases.

-- CHRISTOPHER A. OHL, M.D., is an associate professor of internal medicine, Section on Infectious Diseases; medical director of the Center for Antimicrobial Utilization, Stewardship and Epidemiology; and chairman of the Pandemic Influenza Planning Executive Committee. He is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and of the IDSA Education Committee, the N.C. Emerging Infections Medical Advisory Committee, the N.C. Public Health and Institutions Task Force, and the Wake Forest Baptist Infection Control Committee and International Health Committee. Ohl is also a consultant to the Center for Disease Control on antimicrobial stewardship and antibiotic resistance, and to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the anti-invectives' advisory committee. Some of his major research areas include regional surveillance for antimicrobial resistance in community and hospital pathogens, clinical antimicrobial resistance and its relationship to antibiotic use, bioterrorism and emerging infections. He is a peer reviewer for Clinical Infectious Disease, Infection Control Hospital Epidemiology, Emerging Infectious Diseases, the International Journal of Infectious Disease, and a visiting professor at Tokai University School of Medicine, Japan. He has 22 years' military experience in the Navy and Naval Reserve. He currently holds the rank of captain. Ohl is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in infectious diseases.

-- TIMOTHY R. PETERS, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics, Section on Infectious Diseases, serves as an attending physician in pediatric infectious diseases at Brenner Children's Hospital, and his major research area regards the epidemiology and control of influenza virus and other vaccine-preventable respiratory pathogens. He is a member of the Wake Forest University Brenner Children's Hospital program in vaccine sciences, and directs a laboratory that conducts basic research on viral replication and co-pathogenic relationships between influenza virus and bacteria, and provides molecular diagnostic support for clinical studies of influenza virus. Peters is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in general pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases.

-- ROBERT JACKSON SHERERTZ, M.D., is the medical director of the Wake Forest University Physicians Quality Outcomes; professor of internal medicine, Section on Infectious Diseases; and the hospital epidemiologist and chair of the Infection Control Committee. He is also co-chair of the Quality of Care Council. He is the co-developer of a yearly IDSA recertification course for infectious disease physicians. He is a member of the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Infectious Disease Society of America. Some of his major research areas include pathogenesis and prevention of foreign body infections, transmission of staphylococcus aureus infections and nosocomial infections. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease. News Contact: Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu Phone: +1-336-716-2415 (10/2/09)

_____________ EXPERT ALERTS

1. BEHAVIOR: GROWING VAMPIRE-FOCUSED TREND IN POP CULTURE. DR. BETH ERICKSON, Ph.D., speaker and author based in Edina, Minn., can discuss the benefits and dangers of the growing vampire-focused trend in pop culture: "Since Stephenie Meyer's 'Twilight' saga, everywhere you look, you see a new vampire 'something.' The reason 'Grimm's Fairy Tales' are so grim is that they give children a kind of screen on which to externalize their fears. To a young child, the world can be a scary place indeed, with the safety of parents being a child's only protection from big, bad 'wolves.' By the time children reach adolescence, they know the chances are slim of being baked in an oven or of grandma being a wolf, threatening to eat them. And they have learned from fairy tales like 'Little Red Riding Hood' to take precautions and leave a trail of 'bread crumbs' when they go 'hiking' through the forest of life. However, just because adolescents have outgrown their childlike fears doesn't mean the world is no longer a scary place from time to time. The recent spate of vampire movies provides adolescents an opportunity to face fears (vampires) they know are not real. Goodness knows, our country's economic climate has made this last 12 or more months scary for everyone. So vampire movies present the opportunity to be scared out of their wits while being worldly enough to know this threat is not real." News Contact: Jackie O'Neal, jackieoneal@helloworld.com Phone: +1-609-334-8621 Web site: http://www.drbetherickson.com/ (10/2/09)

2. FAMILY ISSUES: TV'S IMPACT ON TEEN PREGNANCY. MARC ANDREAS, vice president of marketing and communications for BETHANY CHRISTIAN SERVICES, the nation's largest adoption agency, is one of the nation's leading authorities on adoption and family services: "Due to the incredible success of '16 and Pregnant' -- 71 million viewers this past summer, making it the #1 show on all of TV for women 12-34 -- MTV has announced it has ordered 'Teen Mom,' a spinoff of the '16 and Pregnant' series that will continue to follow four young moms as they struggle with the challenges of their first year of motherhood. MTV's reach among teenagers is second to none, so these programs carry great weight in educating impressionable viewers on the difficulties of raising a child. MTV has done a tremendous job of illustrating the challenges these young ladies (and their boyfriends) face in making choices that will impact them for the rest of their lives, without glorifying their circumstances. In fact, '16 and Pregnant' could just as easily have been named 'The Real World,' as it is a better representation of the real world than the current show holding that title. With 'Teen Mom,' I hope MTV continues to provide a glimpse of the realities facing these women every day." Andreas can offer insight on the message these programs deliver regarding teen pregnancy and the impact they have on pregnant teenagers considering raising the child on their own or making an adoption plan. He is located in Grand Rapids, Mich. News Contact: Joe DiBenedetto, jdibenedetto@lambert-edwards.com Phone: +1-616- 233-0500 Web site: http://www.bethany.org/ (10/2/09)

3. HEALTH: OVER-PRESCRIBING ANTIDEPRESSANTS. JONATHAN ALPERT is a New York City psychotherapist and Metro newspaper advice columnist. With a recent study revealing that the use of antidepressants in the United States has doubled between 1996-2005 -- from 13 million people to 27 million -- he is available to weigh in on the hot topic of over-prescribing and people looking for a quick fix: "Doctors are prescribing psych meds for the equivalent of a psychological sniffle. Just as one wouldn't have surgery to repair a broken fingernail, one shouldn't jump to antidepressants to treat everyday stress or mild depression." Alpert is frequently consulted by major media outlets, including television, magazines and newspapers. Web site: http://www.jonathanalpert.com/ (10/2/09)

4. HEALTH: UVC RAYS IN TANNING BEDS CAUSE SKIN CANCER. S. MANJULA JEGASOTHY, dermatologist with MIAMI SKIN INSTITUTE: "Did you know that even Congress and your state legislature recognize how harmful indoor tanning beds are for your skin? They emit mainly UVC rays because they most quickly induce the cellular skin changes that give you a 'golden glow.' However, it has now been documented in studies all over the world that these same UVC rays are most implicated in causing skin cancer. Effective immediately, Congress and your state legislature will require written permission from a legal guardian for those under 18 to procure the 'service' of these potentially skin cancer- causing tanning booths." Jegasothy is fluent in French. News Contact: Lori Parrales, smjskininstitute@yahoo.com Phone: +1-305-377-0067 (10/2/09)

5. HOME: STEPS TO CONSERVE ENERGY WITHOUT SACRIFICING COMFORT. KRISTIN ANDERSON, brand manager for KAZ, INC., manufacturers of Honeywell fans and air circulators: "October is Energy Awareness Month and the U.S. Department of Energy's theme, 'A Sustainable Energy Future; Putting All the Pieces Together,' encourages all consumers to understand how they can employ energy- saving practices and help shape this country's energy future. There are easy steps that can conserve energy without sacrificing comfort. In fact, there are many economic and environmentally friendly choices people can make when it comes to heating their homes that allow them to stay warm and save money on heating bills." Anderson can discuss low-cost tips that can help consumers conserve energy and money while also remaining comfortable indoors this winter. She is located in Southborough, Mass. News Contact: Kim Miller, kmiller@tieronepr.com Phone: +1-617-610-0583 (10/2/09)

PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire. To submit an Opportunity by e-mail: profnet@profnet.com To consult the ProfNet Experts Database: http://www.prnewswire.com/profnet To contact ProfNet by phone: +1-800-PROFNET, ext. 1 To share a thought on ProfNet Expert Alerts: profnetalerts@prnewswire.com

PRNewswire -- Oct 2

Source: ProfNet

NOTE TO EDITORS: The following expert has provided direct contact information: Jonathan Alpert jonathan@jonathanalpert.com Cell: +1-202-841-3458

---

Profile: International Entertainment