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Prescribing Sunshine For Multiple Sclerosis?
Could a holiday in the sun reduce the risk of developing multiple sclerosis? In a recent review for F1000 Medicine Reports, Bridget Bagert and Dennis Bourdette highlight recent advances in potential treatments.
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U.S. Decision On Use Of Adjuvants Could Reduce World Supply Of H1N1 Vaccine, Says Lancet Editorial
"A U.S. plan to rely on swine flu vaccines without ingredients to stretch the supply [known as adjuvants] would reduce the number of available shots just when other countries need them most, the British journal Lancet said in an editorial," Bloomberg writes. On July 7, the WHO recommended the use of adjuvants - "mixes of oil and water that trigger a stronger response in the body to antigen, the substance that induces immunity" - to increase the global vaccine supply. Though adjuvants are not approved for flu vaccines in the U.S., HHS" decision to declare the H1N1 flu a public health emergency in April gave the FDA the go-ahead to use "unapproved medical products including adjuvants," according to Bloomberg.
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Tummy Troubles -- Gastrin Key In Bacterial-Induced Stomach Cancer
Current research suggests that levels of gastrin play a key role in the development of Helicobacter-induced stomach cancer. The related report by Takaishi et al, "Gastrin is an essential cofactor for Helicobacter-associated gastric corpus carcinogenesis in C57BL/6 mice," appears in the July 2009 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.
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New HIV Microbicide Developed-- And A Way To Mass Produce It In Plants

In what could be a major pharmaceutical breakthrough, research published online in The FASEB Journal describes how scientists from St George"s, University of London have devised a one-two punch to stop HIV. First the report describes a new protein that can kill the virus when used as a microbicide. Then the report shows how it might be possible to manufacture this protein in quantities large enough to make it affordable for people in developing countries. "We desperately need to control the spread of HIV, particularly in developing countries," said Julian Ma of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at St. George"s and the senior researcher involved in the work. "A vaccine is still some way off, but microbicides could provide a more immediate solution, provided we can overcome major hurdles of high efficacy, low cost, and wide availability - all of which we address in this study." In the research paper, Ma and colleagues describe how they combined two protein microbicides (b12 monoclonal antibody and cyanovirin-N) into a single "fusion" molecule and showed that this molecule is more active against HIV than either of its individual components. They designed synthetic DNA for producing this molecule and introduced this DNA into plant cells. After regenerating transgenic plants that produce the fusion molecule, they prepared the microbicide from a plant extract made by grinding the leaves. "This study is nothing short of a breakthrough - not only does it yield a new drug to fight the spread of HIV, but it also shows us how we can produce it on the scale necessary to get it into the hands of those who need it most," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "Unlike their unregulated counterparts in the dietary supplement industry, these scientists are using the engines of nature to manufacture pharmaceuticals that must undergo extensive safety and efficacy testing long before the first gel or cream is administered." Details: Amy Sexton, Sarah Harman, Robin J. Shattock, and Julian K.-C. Ma Design, expression, and characterization of a multivalent, combination HIV microbicide. doi:10.1096/fj.09-131995. Cody Mooneyhan Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology


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