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Role Model (House)
Encyclopedia
"Role Model" is the seventeenth episode of the first season of House
, which premiered on the Fox
network on April 12, 2005. The episode follows a presidential candidate, Senator Gary H. Wright (D
-NJ
) (played by Joe Morton
), following a stroke, while continuing the feud that has developed between Vogler (Chi McBride
) and House (Hugh Laurie
). The ICU nurse who attends to the senator is the on-set medical adviser on the show, Bobbin Bergstrom.
Presidential candidate Senator Gary H. Wright vomits and passes out at a fund raiser. Vogler offers not to force House to fire either Cameron or Foreman
(Chase
is safe as he is feeding Vogler information) if House treats Sen. Wright and gives a speech supporting Vogler's new drug at a conference.
Foreman finds a scar on Sen. Wright's tongue from a childhood accident and a lack of reflexes (e.g., patellar reflex
), which indicates a neurological disorder. Tests show that Sen. Wright has Toxoplasmosis
strongly indicating an immunodefence weakened by AIDS
. The first HIV test is positive, but a second one is negative. As the senator's condition worsens, it becomes impossible for House to run further tests for the Hairy cell leukemia
he believes the senator has. However, viral tests clue House to the fact that Sen. Wright's problem stems from a childhood epilepsy
treatment (phenytoin
). As Sen. Wright's condition improves he tells House he is still running for President
even though he knows he will not win, because he believes it will make the path easier for those who follow him. Meanwhile, in the clinic, House diagnoses a woman complaining of bruises and rashes with sexsomnia.
At the conference, House gives an extremely brief (two-sentence), monotonous and lackluster speech in a weak attempt to pacify Vogler. However Vogler is not satisfied and orders House to step it up or he will force him to fire either Foreman or Cameron again. House then returns to the podium and tells the ugly truth about Vogler's drug: it's not a new drug at all, but rather an old drug whose patent is about to expire, forcing Vogler's company to reformulate it with an additional medication to create a "new" drug, which they will encourage doctors to prescribe
rather than the soon-to-be less expensive old drug that's about to go into generic status
. House's staff, all present for the speech, react in ways showing their disbelief (Foreman shakes his head, Chase downs the rest of his glass of wine, Cameron looks torn between admiration and sorrow). House sarcastically mentions to Vogler, "I threw in a joke" (after Vogler had earlier asked him to), leaving Vogler to speak to the audience. That night, Cameron makes the decision for him, going to House's apartment to quit her job. She tries to shake his hand, but he refuses. She says "goodbye, House" and walks out the door.
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, which premiered on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network on April 12, 2005. The episode follows a presidential candidate, Senator Gary H. Wright (D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-NJ
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
) (played by Joe Morton
Joe Morton
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Morton, Jr. is an American stage, television, and film actor.-Early life:Morton was born in The Bronx, a borough of New York City, New York. He is the son of Evelyn, a secretary, and Joseph Thomas Morton, Sr., a U.S. army intelligence officer. Because of his father's...
), following a stroke, while continuing the feud that has developed between Vogler (Chi McBride
Chi McBride
Kenneth "Chi" McBride is an American actor. He starred as Steven Harper on the series Boston Public, as Emerson Cod on Pushing Daisies, and recently appeared in Fox's drama Human Target.-Early life:...
) and House (Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
). The ICU nurse who attends to the senator is the on-set medical adviser on the show, Bobbin Bergstrom.
Plot
African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Presidential candidate Senator Gary H. Wright vomits and passes out at a fund raiser. Vogler offers not to force House to fire either Cameron or Foreman
Eric Foreman
Eric Foreman, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is portrayed by Omar Epps.-Background:A neurologist, Foreman was a member of Dr. Gregory House's handpicked team of specialists at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital's Diagnostic Medicine Department...
(Chase
Robert Chase
Dr. Robert Chase is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is portrayed by Jesse Spencer. His character was a part of the team of diagnosticians who worked under Gregory House until the end of the third season when House fires him. However, he was then re-hired in season 6...
is safe as he is feeding Vogler information) if House treats Sen. Wright and gives a speech supporting Vogler's new drug at a conference.
Foreman finds a scar on Sen. Wright's tongue from a childhood accident and a lack of reflexes (e.g., patellar reflex
Patellar reflex
The patellar reflex or knee-jerk is a deep tendon reflex and is a myotatic reflex.-Mechanism:Striking the patellar tendon with a tendon hammer just below the patella stretches the sensory nerve fiber of the femoral nerve which synapses at the level of L4 in the spinal cord, completely independent...
), which indicates a neurological disorder. Tests show that Sen. Wright has Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite infects most genera of warm-blooded animals, including humans, but the primary host is the felid family. Animals are infected by eating infected meat, by ingestion of feces of a cat that has itself...
strongly indicating an immunodefence weakened by AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. The first HIV test is positive, but a second one is negative. As the senator's condition worsens, it becomes impossible for House to run further tests for the Hairy cell leukemia
Hairy cell leukemia
Hairy cell leukemia is an uncommon hematological malignancy characterized by an accumulation of abnormal B lymphocytes. It is usually classified as a sub-type of chronic lymphoid leukemia...
he believes the senator has. However, viral tests clue House to the fact that Sen. Wright's problem stems from a childhood epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
treatment (phenytoin
Phenytoin
Phenytoin sodium is a commonly used antiepileptic. Phenytoin acts to suppress the abnormal brain activity seen in seizure by reducing electrical conductance among brain cells by stabilizing the inactive state of voltage-gated sodium channels...
). As Sen. Wright's condition improves he tells House he is still running for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
even though he knows he will not win, because he believes it will make the path easier for those who follow him. Meanwhile, in the clinic, House diagnoses a woman complaining of bruises and rashes with sexsomnia.
At the conference, House gives an extremely brief (two-sentence), monotonous and lackluster speech in a weak attempt to pacify Vogler. However Vogler is not satisfied and orders House to step it up or he will force him to fire either Foreman or Cameron again. House then returns to the podium and tells the ugly truth about Vogler's drug: it's not a new drug at all, but rather an old drug whose patent is about to expire, forcing Vogler's company to reformulate it with an additional medication to create a "new" drug, which they will encourage doctors to prescribe
Medical prescription
A prescription is a health-care program implemented by a physician or other medical practitioner in the form of instructions that govern the plan of care for an individual patient. Prescriptions may include orders to be performed by a patient, caretaker, nurse, pharmacist or other therapist....
rather than the soon-to-be less expensive old drug that's about to go into generic status
Generic drug
A generic drug is a drug defined as "a drug product that is comparable to brand/reference listed drug product in dosage form, strength, route of administration, quality and performance characteristics, and intended use." It has also been defined as a term referring to any drug marketed under its...
. House's staff, all present for the speech, react in ways showing their disbelief (Foreman shakes his head, Chase downs the rest of his glass of wine, Cameron looks torn between admiration and sorrow). House sarcastically mentions to Vogler, "I threw in a joke" (after Vogler had earlier asked him to), leaving Vogler to speak to the audience. That night, Cameron makes the decision for him, going to House's apartment to quit her job. She tries to shake his hand, but he refuses. She says "goodbye, House" and walks out the door.
Medical errors
- Even though intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is an option for treating CVIDCvidCvid stands for*Common variable immunodeficiencyand is also used to refer to the video codec Compact Video or*Cinepak*Cvid also stands for Dollar...
, it is typically contraindicated in the presence of an infection due to the increased risk of an anaphylactic shockAnaphylaxisAnaphylaxis is defined as "a serious allergic reaction that is rapid in onset and may cause death". It typically results in a number of symptoms including throat swelling, an itchy rash, and low blood pressure...
. - The time required for a CVID patient to recover a near-normal immune system would require several months following treatment, so this was shortened in the episode for the sake of dramatic effect.
- Toxoplasma (presumably Toxoplasma gondiiToxoplasma gondiiToxoplasma gondii is a species of parasitic protozoa in the genus Toxoplasma. The definitive host of T. gondii is the cat, but the parasite can be carried by many warm-blooded animals . Toxoplasmosis, the disease of which T...
) is not a fungus, it is a protozoon. Ironically, in an earlier episode ("Maternity") it is implied to be a virus. - Upper motor neuron lesion presents with brisk reflexes [hyper reflexive] not absent reflex. And to be more precise upper motor neuron lesion has increased deep tendon reflex (DTR) and here they have shown absent Patellar reflexPatellar reflexThe patellar reflex or knee-jerk is a deep tendon reflex and is a myotatic reflex.-Mechanism:Striking the patellar tendon with a tendon hammer just below the patella stretches the sensory nerve fiber of the femoral nerve which synapses at the level of L4 in the spinal cord, completely independent...
or knee-jerk reflex i.e. one of major DTR.
External links
- "Role Model" at Fox.com