A New Step Toward Preventing HIV Transmission

Stephen is on loan to us from George Mason University's MPH program. We're pleased to have his perspective on health sciences news.

The Food and Drug Administration approved a pill used to combat HIV transmission. This is especially suited for men who have sex with men (MSM). A series of panels have examined the benefits and barriers to use. The pill, Truvada, can be taken once daily as a pre-exposure prophalaxis. Truvada, which is manufactured by Gilead Sciences, is a combination of two previous medications, Emtriva and Viread.

Several considerations must be made when evaluating the PrEP, including costs, effectiveness, adherence, financing, resistance, and “behavioral compensation” (NASTAD, 2010). It is important for persons for taking Truvada to continue using condoms.  FDA emphasizes Truvada use is only for those who are HIV-negative to hinder drug resistance. Four major studies -- CAPRISA (Center for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa), iPrEx (Chemoprophylaxis for HIV Prevention in Men), Partners PrEP, and TDF2 – have assessed effectiveness (Celum, 2011) of Truvada. (Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty)

HIV/AIDS, once known as GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency), is still largely affecting Men Who Have Sex with Men (amfAR, 2012). Nationally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention estimates 53 percent of new HIV cases as MSM. Furthermore, 53 percent of all persons living with HIV/AIDS are MSM. An additional 4 percent were categorized as MSM-IDU (CDC, 2010). Sexual risk accounts for most HIV infections in MSM due to unprotected anal sex with someone other than a primary, HIV-negative partner. Unprotected anal sex poses a serious threat to the health of MSM (CDC, 2010).

 

 

 

 

Understanding Dual Use Research: Part 1

Dual use research has become a hot topic recently in government-funded research. This post, Part 1 of a two-part series on Understanding Dual Use Research, will provide you with the foundation for interpreting and understanding the policies and discussions going on this Spring about dual use research. 

Definitions

Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC): "DURC is life sciences research that, based on current understanding, can be reasonably anticipated to provide knowledge, information, products, or technologies that could be directly misapplied to pose a significant threat with broad potential consequences to public health and safety, agricultural crops and other plants, animals, the environment, materiel, or national security" (NIH, 2012).

Life sciences: This term "pertains to living organisms (e.g., microbes, human beings, animals, and plants) and their products, including all disciplines and methodologies of biology such as aerobiology, agricultural science, plant science, animal science, bioinformatics, genomics, proteomics, synthetic biology, environmental science, public health, modeling, engineering of living systems, and all applications of the biological sciences. The term is meant to encompass the diverse approaches for understanding life at the level of ecosystems, organisms, organs, tissues, cells, and molecules" (NIH, 2012).

Extramural research: Research "which is funded by a department or agency under a grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or other agreement and not conducted directly by the department or agency" (NIH, 2012).

Intramural research: Research "which is directly conducted by a department or agency" (NIH, 2012).

Dual Use Tracking

In our PI-Dashboard research registration product, we track dual use with the following questions:

Filling out this part of the research registration provides all information necessary for research approval and oversight in one place.  Our PI-Dashboard was designed to promote biosafety and researcher well-being by collecting and connecting any information that may affect the research itself or the implications of the research.

Part 2 of our Understanding Dual Use series will explain recent concerns and policies developing around dual use research of concern.

 

 

 

USDA Responders Faster to E.Coli

Stephen is on loan to us from George Mason University's MPH program. We're pleased to have his perspective on health sciences news.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has some good news for us before cookout season is upon us.  The USDA announced a quicker response procedure to alerting the public of E. coli in the food supply. This new procedure can trim off 24 to 48 hours for the agency to trace the original source. (Image Credit)

If a batch of meat receives a “presumptively positive” test result for E. coli, the USDA can immediately begin efforts to link products, companies, and the pathogen to the source supplier and processors that received the contaminated meat, according to The Associated Press.  E. coli, a foodborne bacteria, can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infection, respiratory illness, and pneumonia (CDC, 2011). Oftentimes, symptoms are minor, but a specific strain of E. coli known as O157:H7 is considerably damaging, possibly leading to kidney failure (CDC, 2011).

Additional regulations announced require meat and poultry companies to prepare recall procedures and notify USDA within 24 hours that a potentially contaminated product has been shipped, AP reports.  Between 13,000 and 15,000 samples of ground beef and beef trimmings are tested for E. coli contamination (AP, 2012).

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention recommends four tips in avoiding E. coli sickness:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before preparing or eating food. Wash your hands after contact with animals or their environments (at farms, petting zoos, fairs, even your own backyard).

2. Cook meats thoroughly. Ground beef and meat that has been needle-tenderized should be cooked to a temperature of at least 160°F/70˚C. It’s best to use a thermometer, as color is not a very reliable indicator of “doneness.”

3. Avoid raw milk, unpasteurized dairy products, and unpasteurized juices (like fresh apple cider).

4. Avoid swallowing water when swimming or playing in lakes, ponds, streams, swimming pools, and backyard “kiddie” pools.

5. Prevent cross contamination in food preparation areas by thoroughly washing hands, counters, cutting boards, and utensils after they touch raw meat.

 

 

Caging Bird Flu Research

Stephen is on loan to us from George Mason University's MPH program. We're pleased to have his perspective on health sciences news.

Earlier, we reported the 60-day moratorium on publishing H5N1 articles, which started late January. The moratorium should be extended, say Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). During a U.S. Senate Panel hearing on April 26, Fauci expressed support for the extension.

The moratorium involves two controversial articles based on H5N1 avian influenza virus. The publication of these two articles is seen as disseminating information to potential bioterrorists. Still, some researchers, notably Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities feel the findings too imperative to halt and question the motives.

H5N1, commonly known as avian influenza or bird flu, causes infection in birds but a mutation can possibly affect humans, triggering a global pandemic.

Two studies describe how H5N1 was made more transmissible between mammals by research teams. This is seen as potentially providing a blueprint for bioterrorists intent upon using a flu scare. The U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) asked flu researchers to strike key details from the papers, which are in press at Science and Nature (Malakoff & Enserink, 2012). The researchers and the journals agreed on a voluntary basis, with the caveat stating the U.S. government provide a method for sharing those details with researchers and public health experts on an international level (Malakoff & Enserink, 2012). (Image Credit)

Is this a case of protecting national security or protecting public health? Does one trump the other, or are the two one in the same?

 

 

 

In Memoriam, F. Sherwood Rowland

Stephen is on loan to us from George Mason University's MPH program. We're pleased to have his perspective on health sciences news.

Dr. F. Sherwood Rowland passed in March without much fanfare. Rowland is the American chemist credited with telling the world of the dangers of chlorofluorocarbons and its impact upon the ozone layer. CFCs, a common ingredient found in air conditioners, aerosol cans, and refrigerators, were prevalent in the 1970s.  CFCs destroy the upper atmospheric levels, which protect us mortals from the sun’s ultraviolent radiation. (Image Credit)

This particular finding was not widely known until Dr. Rowland presented his research. Rowland became a controversial rabble-rouser when he started a campaign to ban the industrial production of CFCs in 1974 (Cookson, 2012). Dr. Rowland and his research assistant, Mario Molina, discovered that the CFCs could be trapped in the atmosphere for decades, wrecking havoc on the atmospheric chemistry (Cookson, 2012). He received heavy skepticism from colleagues and industry management, but Rowland’s efforts eventually took hold. Fifteen years after his findings were published, many of the industrialized nations began phasing out CFCs. Rowland won the Nobel Peace Prize for his research.

Without his research, try to imagine how far behind our current understanding of greenhouse gases and climate change would be. We are in debt to Dr. Rowland. It’s one thing to conduct studies in a laboratory and publish journal articles aimlessly. It’s another to jeopardize one’s reputation and credibility to follow those convictions and discoveries in a quiet lab. Plants, animals, and humans owe Dr. Rowland a standing ovation. This is just a token of appreciation for his ground-breaking work.

 

Building the NBAF: Surrender, Washington!

Stephen is on loan to us from George Mason University's MPH program. We're pleased to have his perspective on health sciences news.

The opening of a proposed biosafety laboratory in Kansas is being delayed within the Washington Beltway due to budget cuts, political power plays, and heartfelt concerns. The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility will house biosafety research focusing on hazardous agricultural pathogens. The facility’s estimated cost is $650 million (Associated Press, 2012).

U.S. Agriculture Director Tim Vilsack is pushing for the opening. Kansas Congressman Tim Huelskamp, R-Ka and Speaker of the House John Boehner appear split on the location due to redistricting (The Republic, 2012). Funding is also complicated. The Associated Press reports, the 2013 federal budget does not contain funding for construction of the NBAF but instead calls for the Department of Homeland Security to reassess the project (Associated Press, 2012).

The Kansas research building will replace the aging USDA’s research lab on Plum Island, NY (Associated Press, 2012). The proposed budget includes $10 million to begin the transfer of research from Plum Island to Kansas State's Biosecurity Research Institute examining various swine diseases (The Republic, 2012).  The location shift causes concern in some opponents due to the close proximity to America’s Heartland, which supplies food not only for the U.S. but also for much of the world. The unintentional release of a deadly pathogen from the Kansas lab could possibly harm agriculture and endanger public health. Though intentions are good, this is case of NIMBY, a.k.a. Not In My Backyard.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines “bioterrorism” as “the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants” (CDC, 2011).

U.S. Agriculture Director Tom Vilsack says his agency conducted risk assessments. The most recent assessment reported 1/10th of 1 percent chance of contracting a debilitating foot-and-mouth disease (Associated Press, 2012). More options will be discussed in the coming weeks on Capitol Hill (Associated Press, 2012).

This is biosafety’s conundrum. Research is conducted to combat bioterrorist plots and protect the public. Simultaneously, those same laboratories are nerve-racking because of they may be targeted by terrorist organizations to harm the public and food supply. 

Where do you stand on the location and existance of the NBAF?

 

 

Technique Lessens Prostate Cancer Side Effects

Stephen is on loan to us from George Mason University's MPH program. We're pleased to have his perspective on health sciences news.

A new technique used to treat prostate cancer may reduce accompanying side effects, according to a recent BBC article. The study conducted by the United Kingdom’s Medical Research Council used 41 subjects, which was aimed at reducing impotence and urinary incontinence among prostate cancer patients (Brimelow, 2012).  The study was a success with the small sample; it was even hailed as “proof of concept” (Brimelow, 2012). More research will be conducted to fully assess the findings.

Typical treatment usually involves surgery or radiation therapy, targeting the prostate gland. That often leads to disruptive and long-term side effects, such as "a slight darkening of the skin, enlarged pores, increased or decreased sensitivity of the skin, and a thickening of tissue or skin...erectile dysfunction, and urinary symptoms such as frequency, bleeding, or, rarely, incontinence" (WebMD, 2012). The new technique, described in The Lancet Oncology, places a probe close to the prostate, emitting sound waves that heat the targeted cells while causing minimal damage to surrounding nerves and muscles. (Image Credit)

This news comes the same week investment billionaire Warren Buffett announced that he is in the early stages of prostate cancer. Buffett’s announcement has re-sparked a debate about treatment  -- who needs treatment and is treatment necessary?

In the U.S., in 2012, an estimated 241,740 new cases of prostate cancer will be reported and approximately 28,000 deaths will result, according to the National Cancer Institute. Further, NCI states that from 2005-2009, the median age at diagnosis for prostate cancer was 67 years old, and the highest instances were in black men, with 236.0 cases per 100,000 men.  Nonetheless, reducing the severity and inconvenience of side effects just might take the sting out prostate treatment for many men.

 

 

2-4-6-10, We Don’t Want Your Tri-clo-san!

Stephen is on loan to us from George Mason University's MPH program. We're pleased to have his perspective on health sciences news.

I was not a germaphobe until I became ill twice within a three-month period, which is a rarity. My immune system has been stellar until recently. Before my extended bouts with influenza, I was carefree. Now, I’m ducking every neighbor’s sneeze and inserting paper towels between my hands and every doorknob. Maybe, I’m even washing my hands too often. You see, I view bacteria as my mother does my friends: She loves most of them and gives the evil eye to a few, but no matter what she does, those friends are staying around.

Honestly, I do not know what is in my soap that boasted my unshaken confidence but I was all in. That was until I read about triclosan. Triclosan is “an ingredient added to many consumer products to reduce or prevent bacterial contamination” often found in clothing, kitchenware, furniture, toys, and most importantly, soap and cleaning products (FDA, 2010). Further, students at the University of Texas were protesting products containing triclosan. The Food and Drug Administration’s website did not signal red flags, so what’s all the fuss about, Longhorns? (Image Credit) 

The UT students wanted more than a soap ban, not for human harm but for the environment. They wanted all triclosan-containing products off the campus. Their reasoning: widespread use of antibacterial compounds promotes the emergence of bacterial resistance, which may actually contribute to greater vulnerability to bacteria (ESPNW, 2012). 

The Canadian government evaluated products containing triclosan and the possible human and environmental harms, and Canada declared triclosan as non-harmful to humans but unhealthy for the environment (Health Canada). Studies are still assessing the possible dangers of triclosan. It'll be interesting to see where this goes.

On that note, Happy Earth Day, and I’m off to wash my hands once more.

 

 

Sensing Diseases and Medical Conditions with Less Blood

Stephen is on loan to us from George Mason University's MPH program. We're pleased to have his perspective on health sciences news.

Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine pinpointed technologies aimed at severely immunocompromised individuals. Weeks ago, they debuted a device called a integrated microfluidics-waveguide sensor meant to separate white blood cells to better scope out diseases and medical conditions (Atlantic, 2012). Essentially, improved white blood cell detection = improved diagnoses and better monitoring.  The Stanford researchers predict immune disorders, HIV/AIDS, and cancer treatment patients will greatly benefit from the integrated microfluidics-waveguide sensor. With HIV/AIDS and cancer, large quantities of blood are required for assessment (Garcia, Ghansah, LeBlanc & Butte, 2012). The sensor is small and does not require cups of blood – more like teaspoons of blood. (Image Credit)

Manish Butte, who led the team of Stanford researchers, describes the sensor:

"The new sensor consists of a small, rectangular piece of glass impregnated with a strip of potassium ions. The potassium-impregnated glass acts as a 'waveguide' -- laser light shone into the strip of glass is transmitted down it in a specific way, and the light emitted from the far end of the waveguide can be measured with a light sensor.

To operate the detector, a patient's fluid sample is mixed with antibodies specific for the particular type of white blood cell to be measured. Each antibody is attached to a tiny bead of magnetic iron. Then, the sample is injected in a small channel on top of the glass waveguide. A magnet under the glass traps the labeled cells in the channel. The iron beads block a bit of the laser light that would otherwise pass through the waveguide, and this reduced transmission is measured by the light sensor at the far side of the glass (Digitale, 2012)."

Incredibly, the sensor is not only suited for HIV/AIDS, immunocompromised, and cancer patients. Try a runny nose! Sensor innovators predict doctors will discover the origins of most allergic-related symptoms. Highly experienced laboratory technicians can operate the sensor with ease. So can the less-experienced medical professionals. This device potentially lowers price and expands access (Atlantic, 2012). Now that's something to get excited about.

 

 

 

Who Are We, Part 4: Kelly Morgan

This is the fourth post in our multi-part series that will help you get to know us better. Our previous posts gave you an idea of where we're all sitting and who Lauren Spengler and Eric Morgan are. Now, meet Kelly Morgan, our Director of Marketing in the Fairfax office.

What would you do if you had a free evening?

Karaoke! I love to embarrass my friends and family at karaoke bars, but we've recently taken to going to Korean-style karaoke where they give you a private room to do all of your singing (or rapping) in. If not karaoke, then let's be honest, I'd be sitting around watching Dance Moms and eating popsicles.

What’s your favorite holiday?

I'm partial to all of the candy holidays, but Halloween is my favorite because of the costumes. I get excited each fall to pick out my costume for that year. I've been everything from a yellow crayon to a bumblebee.

What song is always in your head?

Whoomp! (There It Is) by Tag Team has been in my head since the mid-90s. Not that I'm complaining.

If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?

When I turn 60, I plan to switch over to "Peaches" Morgan. It seems that entering my elder years, I should have a fabulous grandma name.

What is your hidden talent?

I can convincingly imitate any Disney princess' singing voice, from Belle on back. I can also recite every bit of Snoop Dogg's first album. I'm really underutilized here at HealthRx.

What is your favorite book?

I could never pick just one. But, I can narrow this list down to a few (in no particular order):

• The Monster at the End of this Book
• 1984
• The entire Sweet Valley High series
• Lady Audley's Secret
• Wintergirls