Faculty Bibliography

The American nasal vaccine was sprayed once each into four African green monkeys that, four weeks later, were deliberately exposed to the coronavirus that causes SARS. The monkeys showed no sign of the disease in their respiratory tracts, and blood tests showed that the animals had developed a type of protein known as neutralizing antibodies that best correlate with protection from disease. The vaccine was made by inserting the S, or spike, protein that protrudes from the SARS virus into a modified parainfluenza virus. The S protein helps the virus attach and enter human cells. Peter Collins, one of the American scientists, said that immunization with the protein alone stimulated a very strong immune response among the monkeys

In the same issue, European scientists reported using a different strategy that involved injections of a human monoclonal antibody, a type of genetically engineered protein. The antibody prevented the development of lung damage caused by SARS, reduced the amount of virus growth in the lungs and prevented spread of the virus in secretions from the nose and mouth. Dr. Jan ter Meulen of Leiden, the Netherlands, led the team that included scientists from Rotterdam and Germany. The vaccine was made by inserting the S, or spike, protein that protrudes from the SARS virus into a modified parainfluenza virus. The S protein helps the virus attach and enter human cells

U.S. and European scientists have independently reported that they had protected animals from the SARS virus with two different types of experimental immunizations, raising hopes that they could ultimately be used among humans. The U.S. nasal vaccine was sprayed once each into four African green monkeys that, four weeks later, were deliberately exposed to the coronavirus that causes SARS. The monkeys showed no sign of the disease in their respiratory tracts, and blood tests showed that the animals had developed a type of protein known as neutralizing antibodies that best correlate with protection from disease. The vaccine was made by inserting the S, or spike, protein that protrudes from the SARS virus into a modified parainfluenza virus. The S protein helps the virus attach and enter human cells

As polio cases surge in Nigeria and the virus spreads to other countries, West and Central Africa are on the brink of the largest polio epidemic in recent years, alarmed officials of the World Health Organization and Unicef said. That signals the potential for a large epidemic as polio enters the season when transmission is highest, the officials say. The polio virus spreads through feces, and contamination occurs more often when sewage backs up during the rainy season in Africa and Asia. Allegations about impurities in the vaccine have caused alarm and confusion among many people in Nigeria and elsewhere. Tests of the vaccine have refuted such claims, said Dr. David Heymann, the director of the World Health Organization's polio eradication program. The vaccine purchased by Unicef meets the organization's standards and has been used safely to eliminate the disease from many countries

As polio cases surge in Nigeria and the virus spreads to other countries, western and central Africa are on the brink of the largest polio epidemic in recent years, officials of the World Health Organization and Unicef said Tuesday. Equally alarming, health officials said, is that the surge in polio cases in Nigeria and its spread to other countries is occurring during a season when transmission of the polio virus is usually at its lowest. That signals the potential for a large epidemic as polio enters the season when transmission is highest, they said. Tests of the vaccine have refuted such claims, said Dr. David Heymann, director of the World Health Organization's polio eradication program. The vaccine as purchased by Unicef meets the health organization's standards and has been used safely to eliminate the disease from many other countries

Allegations about impurities in the vaccine have caused alarm and confusion among many people in Nigeria and elsewhere. Tests of the vaccine have refuted such claims, said Dr. David L. Heymann, the director of the World Health Organization's polio eradication program. The vaccine purchased by Unicef meets the organization's standards and has been used safely to eliminate the disease from many other countries. In May, Kano's governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, pledged to resume vaccinations. But that has not happened, Dr. Heymann said. Meanwhile, polio has spread not only in Kano but from that state to other parts of Nigeria. In addition to Sudan, the virus has spread from Nigeria to the following nine countries since last August: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo

As polio cases surge in Nigeria and the virus spreads to other countries, West and Central Africa are on the brink of the largest polio epidemic in recent years, alarmed officials of the World Health Organization and UNICEF said yesterday. Allegations about impurities in the vaccine have caused alarm and confusion among many people in Nigeria and elsewhere. Tests of the vaccine have refuted such claims, said Dr. David L. Heymann, the director of the World Health Organization's polio eradication program. The vaccine purchased by UNICEF meets the organization's standards and has been used safely to eliminate the disease in many other countries. In addition to Sudan, the virus has spread from Nigeria to the following nine countries since last August: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo

Cipla, an Indian company that has been in the forefront of getting generic drugs approved for use in poor countries, made the two generic drugs, lamivudine, which is also known as 3TC, and zidovudine, which is also known as AZT. The action followed the Bush administration's recent announcement of a significant shift in its AIDS policy to allow the purchase of cheaper generic drugs for Africa and the Caribbean. Cipla said the situation was 'on the mend' and that it expected its drugs to be back on the list within weeks. Reached by telephone in London, [Yusuf Hamied] said that lamivudine had been tested for bioequivalency in a laboratory in the United States and approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and that he would submit that data to the WHO. He said that the testing had been done for the U.S. drug agency because Cipla hoped to sell generic lamivudine when the U.S. patent expired in 2006

In 1980, despite his mother's history of senility, it was only a hypothetical possibility that Reagan would develop Alzheimer's. The disease's hereditary pattern was, and is, not precisely known. As it turned out, the disease is believed to have afflicted Reagan's brother, Neil, too. Whether their mother's dementia was from strokes or Alzheimer's, or both, is not known. No one can be absolutely certain when Reagan's Alzheimer's began. Then, as now, blood and other practical laboratory tests did not exist to detect the initial stages of Alzheimer's, which takes years to damage the brain, or to distinguish it from other forms of dementia. Lacking a test, Alzheimer's is estimated to account for half of all dementia cases. Strokes and other diseases cause the remainder. Doctors did not start giving Reagan psychological tests that can point to Alzheimer's until after he was thrown from a horse in Mexico in 1989, and suffered a subdural hematoma that was removed surgically. Initial tests did not show evidence of Alzheimer's, but subsequent ones, performed around 1993, did, his doctors have said