Bill Clinton Hospitalized with Chest Discomfort; Stent Inserted in Coronary Arteries

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton experienced chest discomfort on Thursday and checked himself into a hospital, where he had stents inserted into one of his coronary arteries. Clinton, who is 63, underwent a quadruple bypass surgery six years ago to fix blocked arteries.

His cardiologist said that one of the coronary grafts he had at that time had become completely blocked, which is not uncommon.

The former president was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, the same hospital that performed the bypass operation in 2004. The procedure was said to have gone smoothly, and Clinton is reportedly in good spirits and resting comfortably.

So what is coronary artery stenting? It's a relatively common procedure in which a tiny, uninflated balloon on the end of a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel and snaked through to the site of a buildup of plaque. Once in place the balloon is inflated to press the plaque up against the artery wall and widen the opening (a procedure known as a balloon angioplasty). The same balloon is then used to put in place a stent, a type of metal mesh screen that holds the artery open.

Clinton's doctor explains the president's procedure and his health in this video.

Henrietta Lacks: Unsung Pioneer of Medicine Now in the Spotlight

The name Henrietta Lacks may not be familiar to many laypeople (yet), but it's well known to scientists and doctors all over the world. The twist is that Lacks was not a researcher, but a patient.

A poor black woman diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951, Lacks was treated for the disease and her cancer cells were harvested without her knowledge or permission. It turns out these cells, nicknamed HeLa, were the first "immortal" cells: constantly reproducing from 1951 until today. And HeLa cells have been used by researchers over the last half-century to develop breakthroughs in polio, cancer, and many other diseases.

The amazing story of Henrietta Lacks is detail in the the acclaimed new book "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by award-winning science writer Rebecca Skloot. (In a series of remarkable coincidences, this book about the ever-reproducing HeLa cells will be published February 2nd - Groundhog Day - and Skloot begins her tour to promote the book, which she's dubbed "The Immortal Book Tour," today, February 1st: the start of Black History Month.)

The last point is important because Skloot's book isn't just a science story but a personal story of Lacks (who died in 1951) and her family, who for more than 20 years didn't know of Henrietta's role in medical advances. (To this day, the family that has given so much to science has never been paid a dime, even though HeLa cells are sold to scientists and researchers for hefty sums.)

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" has gained a lot of early praise from everyone from scientists and professors to book reviewers from the Chicago Tribune, Forbes, and other media to fellow nonfiction writers such as Susan Orlean.

Skloot was featured in a story on Henrietta Lacks on ABC's World News Sunday on January 31st.

More on the book:
You can find a selection of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" reviews here.

Wired magazine created a chart detailing the remarkable contributions Henrietta Lacks has made to science.

Oprah Winfrey's "O" magazine published a 5,000-word excerpt of Skloot's book; you can read it here.

"This Emotional Life" Starts Tonight on PBS

Above: A man with Asperger's syndrome talks about the challenges of living with the disorder on "This Emotional Life."

PBS takes a look inside the brain and what research is telling us about how it handles emotions when its three-part series, "This Emotional Life," premieres Monday, January 4th (at 9 p.m. on WNET, Channel 13, in New York City). In the first episode, "Social Relationships," "social connections and relationships are analyzed and the neurological processes behind our daily interactions are revealed," according to PBS. The series seems to be generating a lot of interest, because its Web site has been down much of the early evening Monday (or maybe the site is just buggy).

The second part, "Negative Emotions," airs Tuesday night, and the final part, "Positive Emotions," premieres on Wednesday.

The host of "This Emotional Life"is Dan Gilbert, a professor in the department of psychology at Harvard and author of Stumbling On Happiness. The show includes segments with celebrities discussing their own emotional struggles, such as tennis great John McEnroe on his well-known problems with anger and Chevy Chase on depression.

The Seattle Times notes that the series was conceived and co-produced by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The paper explains that "This Emotional Life" "explores the cutting-edge science that unravels some of the mysteries of human emotion, such as how infants form early attachments that determine lifelong emotional health, and how therapists use eye movement to help people reprocess disturbing memories."

But it notes that "This Emotional Life"also reflects Allen's interest in connecting the research to the stories of real people and helping them cope with the problems discusses in the episodes. So, for example, it discusses post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and reveals how military families are getting help. And when explaining Asperger's syndrome it also profiles a 29-year-old man with the disorder (video clip above).

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Ranges from Mild to Deadly

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is the name given to a group of hereditary disorders that all involve the weakening of connective tissues in the body. Among the most common symptoms seen in patients with EDS are skin that bruises and stretches easily, small and fragile blood vessels, loose joints, and weakness of body tissues.

Since connective tissue is found throughout the body and serves many important roles, such as supporting skin and bones and making up blood vessels, malfunctioning in this tissue can be a very serious problem. Joints can move beyond their normal range of motion, and this can lead to dislocation of the shoulder and other major joints.

There is no cure for Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Treatment for these disorders focuses on managing symptoms.

For more information on Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, see these articles from the Mayo Clinic, Medicine.net, and the U.S. government's National Library of Medicine. These articles explain the six different types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, their characteristics, and more

Crib Recall, November 2009 - CPSC Recalls 2.1 Million Cribs

More than two million cribs made by Stork Craft are being recalled, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) announced on its Web site Monday, November 23rd.

About 1.2 million of the drop-side cribs were sold in the U.S.; the remainder were sold in Canada, where Stork Craft is based. Some of the cribs were sold with the Fisher-Price label.

A baby can become trapped between the side and the mattress, creating a suffocation hazard. In addition, broken or missing parts can cause a problem, and in some cases the side of the crib can be installed upside down, also causing a hazard.

The CPSC announcement says in part:

"CPSC urges parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit. They should find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby. Consumers should contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side."

This is the biggest crib recall in history. There have been other crib recalls this year, including those made by Delta Enterprises and Simplicity, as well as Stork Craft. The earlier Stork Craft recall this year involved more than half a million cribs.

Check the CPSC crib recall announcement for descriptions of how the cribs can malfunction, manufacture dates, and retailers that sold the cribs.