http://www.ivanhoe.com/stream/vaccinesofthefuture.shtml
Vaccines of the Future
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NEW ORLEANS (Ivanhoe
Newswire) — Scientists in previous years have developed ways to stop diseases
like tetanus and measles and are working quickly to develop more widely
available ones against biological weapons such as anthrax and smallpox. However,
what about diseases that afflict millions today? Last year, 3 million people
worldwide died from AIDS. Another 4 million Americans are living with
Alzheimer's disease. Here's an answer that may be closer than you think.
Kenneth Jestings says,
"I lost 65 friends in the course of one year."
Jestings is considered by
researchers as high risk for AIDS. He and 8,000 others are in a study to test a
vaccine that may one day save millions of lives.
"We know that people who get
the vaccine will develop antibodies. We know that it's safe. But we don't know
if it will work in real life human situations," says infectious disease
specialist Richard DiCarlo, M.D., of the Louisiana State University Medical
Center.
The goal of AIDSVax is to
prevent the virus from infecting healthy cells. Results will not be known for a
few years, but researchers and volunteers are hopeful.
Jestings says, "Maybe
this next go around we won't lose anybody at all if this vaccine works."
Tampa, Fla. resident
Cristina Vera says, "It would be a wonderful thing if they could come up
with something that would help this because it's such a devastating
disease."
Vera worries not about AIDS, but
about Alzheimer's disease. She says it has destroyed her mother. A vaccine
under development may keep other families from suffering like Vera's. These
mice are modified to develop Alzheimer's-causing plaque in their brains and are
put through this maze to test their memories. With the vaccine, they show no
signs of memory loss.
"It apparently
triggers the immune system to remove that material like it would bacteria and
an infection," says researcher Dave Morgan, Ph.D., of the University of
South Florida in Tampa.
Other vaccines under development are
for diabetes and addictions. Early studies are also underway for hepatitis c
and h-pylori, the bacteria thought to cause ulcers.
Clinical researcher Robert
Edelman, M.D., says with new delivery methods to improve the vaccines we have,
and research into new ones, scientists are gaining the upper hand on diseases.
"That's the 21st
century. A whole new area for the improvement of the welfare of mankind,"
says Dr. Edelman, of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
Dr. Edelman also says
delivery methods such as nasal drops may prove to be more effective because
they enter the body the same way as does the virus they are fighting. Other
methods under development include edible vaccines and skin patches.
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If you
would like more information, please contact: VaxGen Inc. 1000 Marina Blvd., Suite 200 Brisbane, CA 94005 (650) 624-1000 If you would like more
information on Alzheimer's research, please contact: Dept. of Pharmacology University of South Florida 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Tampa, FL 33612-4799 (813) 974-3949 Related
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