The Star-Democrat from Easton, Maryland • Page 11

By ALICIA CHANG AP Science Writer Many U.S. medical schools are willing to give companies that sponsor studies of new drugs and treatments considerable control over the results, according to survey results that some doctors found troubling. Half of the schools said they would let pharmaceutical companies and makers of medical devices draft articles that appear in medical journals, and a quarter would allow them to supply the actual results. But academics draw the line at gag orders that keep researchers from publishing negative findings. is totally beyond reasonable practice.

What seeing here is a willingness by some institutions to give more leeway than they said Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a Yale University cardiologist and epidemiologist who was not involved in the survey. Private industry funds more than two-thirds of medical research at U.S. universities, a situation that has led increasingly to conflict-of-interest suspicions. Two decades ago, the federal government was the main benefactor.

The study, led by Michelle Mello of the Harvard School of Public Health, appears in New England Journal of Medicine. Harvard researchers sent surveys to the 122 accredited medical schools to gauge what kinds of standards exist between researchers and sponsors. All but 15 responded. The researchers did not directly establish exactly how much control universities actually give to companies. But the medical schools overwhelmingly agreed that they would not enter into contracts that would allow companies to edit research articles or suppress negative results.

The schools were split on other issues. Fifty percent would allow companies to draft research papers, while nearly 25 percent would let them provide the data. Three-fourths had disputes over payment after a contract was signed, and 17 percent argued over access to data. results are really said Dr. Jerome Kassirer, former editor in chief of the journal and author of a recent book about conflict of interest in research.

investigators may be willing to accept constraints just to maintain good relations with the said Kassirer, who had no role in the survey. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group, insists that corporate sponsors do not interfere with independence. The group publishes voluntary research guidelines stating that companies will sometimes help analyze and interpret results and have the right to review articles before publication. The guidelines also note that sponsors own the data and have sole discretion over who has access to the information. Recent controversies involving companies accused of suppressing unfavorable results have led to demands for more public disclosure of industry- sponsored research.

Drug manufacturers Glaxo- SmithKline and Merck were recently sued for allegedly hiding information about the antidepressant Paxil and the painkiller Vioxx, respectively. An accompanying editorial noted several efforts under way to change the situation, among them: The American Medical Association is working with the industry to eliminate gag clauses in research contracts. The Association of American Medical Colleges is developing a set of principles for researchers and sponsors of studies. A bill is pending in Congress that would require public and private sponsors to register their studies in a government database. REGIONAL A11 THE STAR DEMOCRAT THURSDAY, MAY 26,2005 The Star Democrat offers 10 lines of an obituary free of charge for the first day it runs in The Star Democrat Families who wish to include more information than can be presented in 10 lines may do so for a nominal fee.

For more information about placing an obituary in The Star Democrat please consult your funeral director. OBITUARY POLICY OBITUARIES QUEENSTOWN FREE GIFT WITH PURCHASE! Be one of the first 100 shoppers to show $200 in same-day receipts between May 27 and May 30 and receive a FREE $5 gas per qualifying guest while supplies last. Same-day receipts must be dated May 27-May 30, 2005. Redeem at Mall Office or Naturalizer. AAA Member Days at Prime Outlets, June 4-5 Events, contests and offers just for AAA Members.

The first 100 AAA Members each day receive a FREE GIFT. Visit primeoutlets.com/aaa for details. L.L.BEAN FACTORY STORE KASPER OUTLET OSHKOSH JONES NEW YORK NATURALIZER 40 more brand-name stores. OPENING FALL 2005: TOMMY HILFIGER GAP OUTLET BANANA REPUBLIC FACTORY STORE The stores listed are merely representative and not necessarily those participating in this sale. 10 miles east of the Bay Bridge.

Located at the Rte 50 North Split 410-827-8699 primeoutlets.com THE MEMORIAL DAY SIDEWALK SALE, MAY 27-30 The power of passionate shopping COMING COMING THE SIDEWALK IS SIZZLING WITH SAVINGS Tammy D. Davis BALTIMORE Tammy D. Davis of Baltimore and formerly of St. Michaels died Wednesday, May 18, 2005, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore. She was 43.

She was the daughter of Ethel Thompson and the late Leon Sampson. She is survived by a daughter, Sheena Davis, and a grandson, Darrell Davis-Tunstall. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at Union United Methodist Church in St. Michaels, where friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m.

Friday, May 27. Burial will be at Charles Thomas Cemetery in St. Michaels. Arrangements by Bennie Smith Funeral Home, Easton. TAMMY DAVIS Stella M.

Dubauskas NEWCOMB Stella Mary Dubauskas of Newcomb died Tuesday, May 24, 2005, at Heartland House Inc. She was 75. Born June 1, 1929, in Baltimore, she was the daughter of Julius and Agatha Dubauskas. She is survived by two nephews, LeRoy Wilkison, and his wife, Carol, and Edward Wilkison, and his wife, Cheryl; five great-nephews, James Wilkison, and his wife, Pauline, Roy Wilkison, and his Jessica, Christopher Wilkison, Edward Wilkison, and his wife, Kristy, and Shawn Wilkison and his wife, Melissa; and two great-great- nephews, Mason and Matthew Wilkison. Services will be held at 10 a.m.

Saturday, May 28, at Mc- Cully-Polyniak Funeral Home in Baltimore, where friends may call from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 27. Interment will be held at Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Queen County, 300 Del Rhodes Queenstown, Md. 21658.

Carol A. Shenton CAMBRIDGE Carol A. Shenton, 59, of Cambridge died Sunday, May 22, 2005, at Chesapeake Woods Center. A memorial service and reception will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 29, at Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 1211 in Cambridge.

Mario Silva-Dominguez TRAPPE Mario Silva- Dominguez died Sunday, May 15, 2005. Visitation will be held from 4 to 6 p.m Saturday, May 28, at the Fleegle and Helfenbein Funeral Home in Greensboro. A private interment will be held in Honduras. Priscilla Wallace FRONT Priscilla Wallace, 59, or Front Royal and formerly of Cambridge dide Tuesday, May 24, 2005, at Winchester Medical Center in Winchester, Va. Services will be 10 a.m.

Saturday, May 28, at Thomas Funeral Home, P.A., in Cambridge, where friends may call one hour prior. Ricky S. Wright Ricky Shelton Wright, 48, died Friday, May 20, 2005. A viewing will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. May 27 at Congo Funeral Home, Wilmington, Del.

The homegoing service is at 11 a.m. May 28, at the United Methodist Church, Church Hill, where a viewing will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Interment is in The Rochester Memorial Gardens, Ingleside. Ismail Merchant dies at 68 Was half of Merchant-Ivory filmmaking duo By BETH GARDINER Associated Press Writer LONDON (AP) Filmmaker Ismail Merchant, who with partner James Ivory became synonymous with classy costume drama in films such as Room With A and died Wednesday. He was 68.

Merchant died surrounded by family and friends at a hospital in London, Merchant Ivory Productions said. Merchant, who was born in Bombay but spent most of his life in the West, had been unwell for some time and recently underwent surgery for abdominal ulcers, according to Indian television reports. Merchant and Ivory, an American, made some 40 films together and won six Oscars since forming their famous partnership in 1961 with German-born screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Their hits especially E.M. Forster adaptations like Room With a and helped revive the taste for well- made, emotionally literate period drama.

In an interview with The Associated Press last year, Merchant said Merchant-Ivory films worked because they captured great stories. should be a good story speak about a time and place that is he said. should capture something wonderful with some great characters whether set in the past or in the Merchant generally served as producer, the business mind behind the collaboration, while Ivory directed. Merchant first traveled to the United States in 1958 to study for a business degree at New York University. He met Ivory in a New York City coffee shop in 1961.

Their first film together, was based on a novel by Prawer Jhabvala, and its 1963 premiere was held at the residence of Ambassador to India John Kenneth Galbraith. we first began, Ruth told us she had never written a Merchant told AP. was not a problem since I had never produced a feature film and Jim had never directed Merchant and Ivory departed in recent years from the flawlessly appointed period films for which they were famous. They offered their take on French farce in 2003 with starring Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts. They also were at work on a musical about the Hindu goddess Shakti, starring a singing, dancing Tina Turner.

Also to be released is White a period drama set in China and starring Ralph Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave and Natasha Richardson. Information about survivors was not immediately available. Rodent virus now linked to 6 transplant deaths By MARILYNN MARCHIONE AP Medical Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) Doctors are being urged to carefully watch patients who have undergone organ transplant and blood transfusions after at least six deaths were linked to a rodent-borne virus in the past two years. Though no evidence that the deaths are anything but rare, recent discoveries that rabies and West Nile virus can spread through donated organs has officials worried that the latest virus might have gone undetected before now. know how commonly it said Dr.

Matthew Kuehnert, assistant director of blood safety for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. learning as we go here. This is a new Rhode Island and Massachusetts officials said Monday they are investigating the deaths of three people who got infected organs from a female donor whose pet hamster tested positive for lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, or LCMV. A fourth organ recipient is believed to be recovering. On Tuesday, health officials in Wisconsin revealed that four transplant recipients died in the only previously known cases involving the virus in December 2003.

The cases clear-cut the organ donor and a woman who received a lung from him in an operation in Minnesota both tested negative for LCMV. But three other transplant patients tested positive for the virus, strongly suggesting the donor was the source. That was the only thing in common the recipients had, said James Kazmier- czak, an epidemiologist for the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. About 5 percent of mice, hamsters and other rodents carry LCMV and about 2 percent of the general public has antibodies to it, meaning been exposed to it at some point, Kazmierczak said. The virus usually causes little or no illness in healthy people, but can be deadly for those with weak immune systems like cancer patients and transplant recipients, who take immune-suppressing drugs to prevent organ rejection.

Organs are routinely tested for many viruses but there is no commercial test for LCMV. The CDC, state health officials, the Food and Drug Administration and others are investigating. Some sought to reassure people who need transplants. would encourage people who are on the waiting list not to be concerned with said Rhode Island health director David Gifford. is an extremely rare and unusual Wisconsin officials said they made no public statements in 2003 because of the tenuous evidence and because the virus spread person-to-person and considered a public health threat.

A doctor who treated one of the New England organ recipients said she did- find out about the Wisconsin cases until too late to save her life. Dr. Staci Fischer, infectious disease physician for the transplant group at Rhode Island Hospital, discovered the infection in April, when two of her kidney transplant patients developed flu- like symptoms. One survived, but the other did not. Study: Drug companies have strong influence on medical research After the trial is over, the industry sponsor may prohibit investigators from sharing raw research data with third parties? In your best judgment, would your office allow a clause in a multicenter clinical-trial agreement saying that the sponsor will own the data produced by the research? The sponsor may decide that the results should not be published? The sponsor may include its own statistical analyses in manuscripts? Influence on medical research studied Sponsors with a financial interest in the outcome of research could interfere with the publication of unfavorable data.

Medical research institutions were surveyed on the kind of control that industry should exercise over the publication of research. SOURCE: New England Journal of MedicineAP Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Not sureNOTE: Figures are rounded.