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DOD, VA, Congress Should Take Stronger Steps Toward Eliminating Tobacco Use In Military Populations, VA Medical Centers
Because tobacco use impairs military readiness, harms the health of soldiers and veterans, and imposes a substantial financial burden on the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, these agencies should implement a comprehensive strategy to achieve the Defense Department"s stated goal of a tobacco-free military, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. DOD should gradually phase in a ban on tobacco use in the military, starting at military academies and officer training programs and among new recruits, the report says. DOD should also stop selling tobacco products in Army and Air Force commissaries -- Navy and Marine Corps commissaries already do not sell them -- and should stop selling them at a discount in military exchanges and other stores. In addition, Congress should allow VA to establish tobacco-free medical centers.

Farmed Fish May Pose Risk For Mad Cow Disease
University of Louisville neurologist Robert P. Friedland, M.D., questions the safety of eating farmed fish in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer"s Disease, adding a new worry to concerns about the nation"s food supply.
News of the day
Impact Of Medicare Part D On Medical Spending Addressed By NEJM Study
After enrolling in Medicare Part D, seniors who previously had limited or no drug coverage spent more on prescriptions and less on other medical care services such as hospitalizations and visits to the doctor"s office, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study. Published in the July 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the study also found that seniors who had relatively good drug benefits prior to enrolling in Medicare Part D spent somewhat more on prescriptions and, at the same time, increased their spending on other medical care services.
Diagnostics

Inovio Biomedical Universal Dengue DNA Vaccine Demonstrates Strong Immune Responses Against All Four Serotypes

Inovio Biomedical Corporation (NYSE Amex: INO), a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced that the company"s first SynCon™ dengue virus DNA vaccine induced neutralizing antibody responses against all four distinct serotypes of dengue viruses that are transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. Currently there is no commercially available vaccine or antiviral drug against dengue virus infections. The results were published in Vaccine, July 3, 2009, in a paper entitled, "Development of a novel DNA SynCon tetravalent dengue vaccine that elicits immune responses against four serotypes" (Ramanathan MP, Kuo YC, Selling BH, Li Q, Sardesai NY, Kim JJ, Weiner DB). Dengue fever is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease affecting humans. Its global distribution is comparable to that of malaria and an estimated 2.5 billion people (WHO) live in areas at risk for epidemic transmission, with 50 million cases of dengue infection worldwide every year. The disease is now epidemic in more than 100 countries and has become a focus of vaccine development as an underserved disease. Previous vaccine studies have demonstrated that partial or incomplete protection against only one or more of the four subtypes contributes to increased severity of disease if infected with the other subtypes. Therefore, a major challenge in dengue vaccine development is to protect against all four dengue subtypes simultaneously. Inovio scientists used the SynCon™ approach to develop a universal dengue vaccine. The candidate vaccine is delivered as a single DNA plasmid construct containing sequences of a key surface antigen (domain III) from the E protein of all four subtypes of the dengue virus. In mice studies, the scientists found that this universal vaccine was able to induce cross-protective neutralizing antibody responses against all four dengue subtypes. Dr. J. Joseph Kim, Inovio"s CEO, said, "Dengue fever represents a clear unmet need because it is endemic in many regions of the world and has pandemic potential. Yet it has been a difficult target for vaccine development because the conventional sub-type-specific vaccine approach only exasperates the problem. We are pleased to see the promising results of our experimental universal vaccine candidate against all four subtypes. These studies further underscore the potential and wide applicability of our SynConTM approach for vaccine development." Inovio"s novel SynCon™ technology enables the company to design DNA-based vaccines with the potential to protect against unmatched sub-types and strains of pathogens. Inovio"s design process synthetically defines antigens and gene sequences common across different viral sub-types or taxonomic groups (families) of diseases such as HIV, HCV, human papillomavirus (HPV), and influenza. Inovio Biomedical Corporation


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