Newswise — Victor L. Schuster, M.D., Chairman of Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, is one of the nation's leading experts on the biochemistry and physiology of prostaglandins, the chemical messengers responsible for pain and swelling in arthritis inflammation. He is available for interviews regarding the FDA hearings during February 16 - 18 about the gastrointestinal safety and cardiovascular side effects of Cox-2 inhibitors. This class of drugs impedes the production of prostaglandins -- and therefore pain -- but has created controversy as a result of recent studies in which several were shown to increase the risk of heart attack and stroke in some patients.
Dr. Schuster has conducted research on prostaglandins for several decades under grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Kidney Association, the American Heart Association, as well as other prestigious medical organizations. Current initiatives include two large grants from the NIH to study the "Mechanisms of Renal Prostaglandin Transport" (2001 - 2005) and "Cell Signaling in the Kidney" (2003 - 2008). His many publications in this field include the American Journal of Physiology, Molecular Pharmacology and Biochemistry), as well as chapters in medical text books. Dr. Schuster is a prominent academic practitioner, as well as a distinguished educator and administrator in Montefiore Medical Center's largest department, Medicine, which covers a range of disciplines, including internal medicine, rheumatology, gastroenterology, dermatology, hematology, allergy and immunology, and geriatrics.
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