Berk P D, Min A D, Friedman S L
Division of Liver Disease, Box 1633, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One East 100th Street, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Mt Sinai J Med. 2001 Mar;68(2):88-95.
The Division of Liver Disease at Mount Sinai, now into its fifth decade, has evolved through two remarkable periods in its development and is on the cusp of a third exciting era. The first, extending from the division's creation in 1957 to the retirement in 1988 of its first division chief, Fenton Schaffner, was characterized by brilliant clinical and pathophysiologic insights derived from the unique collaboration of Schaffner, a master clinician, with Hans Popper, a world renowned pathologist widely acknowledged as the father of the modern discipline of hepatology. The second, extending from the appointment in 1988 of Paul D. Berk as Schaffner's successor to the present day, has witnessed enormous growth in the clinical and scientific activities of the division, together with the emergence of a world-class liver transplant program at Mount Sinai. During this recent period, an extensive program of formal clinical research was established; the basic research program then expanded into the areas of hepatic transport, molecular virology, and the cellular and molecular pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis; and both the clinical and research productivity of the division increased dramatically. A major undertaking, now in its second year, has been the creation of the Center for the Study of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis; Mount Sinai has contributed important advances toward the understanding of this disease. Funding for the Center, from the Artzt Family Foundation Trust, supports a series of interrelated basic studies on the immunology and pathobiology of the disease, as well as creation of a unique clinical database, a serum and tissue bank, and a program of clinical studies. This integration of basic and clinical research in pursuit of new methods of diagnosis and treatment serves as a model for the division's continued leadership role.
西奈山医院肝病科现已步入第五个十年，在其发展过程中经历了两个非凡时期，正处于第三个令人振奋的时代的开端。第一个时期从该科室1957年成立至1988年首任科室主任芬顿·沙夫纳退休，其特点是沙夫纳这位临床大师与汉斯·波珀（被广泛公认为现代肝病学之父的世界著名病理学家）的独特合作带来了卓越的临床和病理生理学见解。第二个时期从1988年保罗·D·伯克被任命为沙夫纳的继任者至今，见证了该科室临床和科研活动的巨大发展，以及西奈山医院世界级肝脏移植项目的出现。在最近这段时期，建立了广泛的正规临床研究项目；基础研究项目随后扩展到肝脏转运、分子病毒学以及肝纤维化的细胞和分子发病机制领域；该科室的临床和科研产出都大幅增加。一项重要工作，现已进入第二年，是创建原发性胆汁性肝硬化研究中心；西奈山医院在对这种疾病的理解方面取得了重要进展。该中心由阿尔茨家族基金会信托基金提供资金，支持一系列关于该疾病免疫学和病理生物学的相互关联的基础研究，以及创建一个独特的临床数据库、一个血清和组织库，还有一个临床研究项目。这种为寻求新的诊断和治疗方法而将基础研究与临床研究相结合的模式，是该科室持续发挥领导作用的典范。
