Gregory Hageman, MD
Science Magazine

Until recently, researchers had few clues to what causes age-related macular degeneration (AMD). But recent gene discoveries have gone a long way toward solving the mystery. The new links between AMD and the complement genes suggest that excessive inflammation resulting from uncontrolled complement activity underlies the vision-destroying changes that particularly strike the macula, the central region of the retina. AMD’s causes have been hard to pin down partly because the disease develops late in life and because it is complex. "Until last year, we just didn't have a clue about the etiology (of AMD). It's been very frustrating," says Hageman, a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Charles Helm, MD
Nationwide Public Radio

GlaxoSmithKline is rushing to test two new vaccines for bird flu and a good vaccine could mean good profits for the company that develops it. GlaxoSmithKline is investing about $2 billion in new research and manufacturing to combat a possible pandemic flu. Helms, an infectious disease specialist at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, says there's something of a vaccine race under way. "The fact that the companies are geared up and working as hard as they are is to the benefit of everyone," he said.

Brian Olshanksy, MD
ABCNews.com

Olshanky, director of cardiac electrophysiology for UI Heart and Vascular Center, was quoted in a story about the public perception that stress can cause heart disease. The story specifically focused on the stress faced by Ken Lay, the former Enron executive who died of an apparent heart attack. The American Heart Association lists stress as a possible risk factor for heart attacks, but it's not one of the major known risk factors. "The reason that the (AHA) and others have not made depression and stress a risk factor for death after a heart attack is that the whole concept of stress is very hard to define," Olshansky explained. "What is stressful for one person may not be stressful for another."

Christine Sindt, OD
Various national news outlets

A story about contact lens wearers contracting the Fusarium keratitis fungus from tainted solution notes that the number of cases is tiny considering that 30 million Americans wear contact lenses. Sindt, who directs the Contact Lens Clinic at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, said the hospital had treated four patients with fusarium infections since last June. She said the fungus usually gets in the eye only if there's a break in the defense mechanisms of the ocular surface. "Poor hygiene and compliance habits lead to ocular distress and ocular infections," Sindt said, "so it's very important to wear these lenses as recommended."