Posted on 08/16/2004 9:22:15 AM PDT by Pharmboy
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Police said Monday they believe a former Olympic athlete killed his neurosurgeon wife before jumping to his death from a 10th-story dormitory window. Investigators identified the man as Robert Howard, a University of Arkansas medical student who competed in track and field in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, said medical school police Capt. Bryan Patterson.
"Nobody that I know of had any kind of a hint that there were any kind of problems at all, let alone problems to that degree," said Dick Booth, an assistant coach at Arkansas who helped Howard prepare for the Olympic trials last month.
Leslie Taylor, a spokeswoman for University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, said campus police received a call early Saturday from someone concerned about a medical student.
Police arrived at the dormitory room and tried to talk to the man, but he jumped out of the window about 20 minutes later, Patterson said.
Later that morning, investigators went to a private residence and found the student's wife, Dr. Robin Mitchell, stabbed to death. Mitchell was chief resident in neurosurgery at the medical school.
"There is evidence that the student killed his wife," Little Rock police said in a news release.
Howard finished eighth in the triple jump at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and seventh at the 2000 Games in Sydney. The former All-American and NCAA champion, who competed for the university from 1994-98, took last year off from medical school in an unsuccessful bid to make the Olympic team this year.
Howard graduated from Shea High School in Pawtucket, R.I., in 1994 where he was one of the state's all-time top high school track performers.
"This is the last thing you would expect from somebody like Rob, but you never know what's going on in people's lives," said Thom Spann, Howard's high school coach.
AP-ES-08-16-04 1138EDT
I like that description. Stated well. Thanks.
Prepare to don your asbestos BVD's.
De nada. Well, it's off to bed . just did a sixteen (hour) tour. G'night(day?)
CC
They're called "steroids" but these strength-enhancing hormones are actually MALE hormone (testosterone) knock-offs. And yes: aggressive behavior is a side effect. There IS a difference, y'know...
Thanks, Pharm.
I think you're confusing things. No cholesterol lowering agent was ever taken off the market because it made males more aggressive. And the testosterone-based "steroids" will have the same effect upon women as far as aggression. However, they will not affect all men or all women the same. Individuals respond as individuals to these and other drugs as well.
This is why Baycol was removed:
BAYER VOLUNTARILY WITHDRAWS BAYCOL
FDA today announced that Bayer Pharmaceutical Division is voluntarily withdrawing Baycol (cerivastatin) from the U.S. market because of reports of sometimes fatal rhabdomyolysis, a severe muscle adverse reaction from this cholesterol-lowering (lipid-lowering) product. The FDA agrees with and supports this decision.
Baycol (cerivastatin), which was initially approved in the U.S. in 1997, is a member of a class of cholesterol lowering drugs that are commonly referred to as "statins." Statins lower cholesterol levels by blocking a specific enzyme in the body that is involved in the synthesis of cholesterol. While all statins have been associated with very rare reports of rhabdomyolysis, cases of fatal rhabdomyolysis in association with the use of Baycol have been reported significantly more frequently than for other approved statins.
Fatal rhabdomyolysis reports with Baycol have been reported most frequently when used at higher doses, when used in elderly patients, and particularly, when used in combination with gemfibrozil (LOPID and generics), another lipid lowering drug. FDA has received reports of 31 U.S. deaths due to severe rhabdomyolysis associated with use of Baycol, 12 of which involved concomitant gemfibrozil use.
Rhabdomyolysis is a condition that results in muscle cell breakdown and release of the contents of muscle cells into the bloodstream. Symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include muscle pain, weakness, tenderness, malaise, fever, dark urine, nausea, and vomiting. The pain may involve specific groups of muscles or may be generalized throughout the body.
Most frequently the involved muscle groups are the calves and lower back; however, some patients report no symptoms of muscle injury. In rare cases the muscle injury is so severe that patients develop renal failure and other organ failure, which can be fatal.
Bayer Pharmaceutical Division has announced plans to withdraw Baycol to the pharmacy level. Pharmacies will be instructed to return the product to the manufacturer for a refund.
Patients who are taking Baycol should consult with their physicians about switching to alternate medications to control their cholesterol levels. Patients taking Baycol who are experiencing muscle pain or are also taking gemfibrozil should discontinue Baycol immediately and consult their physician.
There are five other statins available in the U.S. that may be considered as alternatives to Baycol. They are: lovastatin (Mevacor), pravastatin (Pravachol), simvastatin (Zocor), fluvastatin (Lescol), and atorvastatin (Lipitor).
Ah, I hate hemorrhoids too.... but murder suicide?
As far as your other point, it was total deaths that were up in the trials where cholesterol was lowered significantly. Some of these were due to cancer, some suicide and some were due to accidental deaths.
Excellent observation!
You don't think he 'stuck' the landing? You think he 'bounced' a little?
Now THAT is interesting. Care to share your link to info on that?
Low Cholesterol Linked to Violence
violence and low cholesterol *LINK*
Low Cholestrol, Serotonin and Violence
New data strengthen cholesterol/violence connection
LOW CHOLESTEROL AGAIN LINKED TO VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, VIOLENT DEATH
Can your cholesterol be too low?
This was all on the first page of search results, I didn't bother to look at all ten pages...
Thanks. Sorry for the misunderstanding. From your post you said that you had a source (as in singular), so I thought you had a particularly link/article in mind.
IIRC, something like 10% of most entering classes at Harvard Medical School have
spent some time in "mental institutions".
Sometimes the brilliant brains that get a person in medical school also have
some twists and bends.
Wow. I have his autograph and tutored him at the UofA. I didn't even know he went on to UAMS.
I tutored him in Chemistry at the UofA. He seemed perfectly normal to me.
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