Depression Recovery

Question:

>Several people contacted me about the Malaria Vaccine.  This is what >I have so far.

What you have so far has nothing to do with a malaria vaccine; it simply was an article about an antimalarial drug (not a vaccine) that may have bad neurological side-effects.   — David Wright :: wright at ibnets.com :: Not a Spokesman for Anyone      These are my opinions only, but they’re almost always correct.      "Obviously, subtlety is not in our vocabulary." — Gene Simmons

Response:

Several people contacted me about the Malaria Vaccine.  This is what I have so far.  Also, you can search further by going to the following website. http://www.access1.net/via Robin BMJ Vol 313 No 7508 Saturday 14 September 1996 Legal aid won for malaria drug case A firm of solicitors has won legal aid to research a possible claim against Hoffmann-La Roche, makers of the antimalarial drug mefloquine (Lariam), by more than 500 people who claim to have suffered side effects, including panic attacks, depression, and fits.   Lawrence Tucketts of Bristol has won the contract to investigate the strength of the case, a process which usually takes at least a year. The Legal Aid Board will then decide whether the chances of success and the likely compensation warrant the cost of full funding. Most potential litigants have come forward since fears about the drug were first aired last year on BBC TV’s Watchdog programme. Lawyers estimate that the numbers joining the action, if it goes ahead, could be as high as 750. Mefloquine, the newest and strongest antimalarial, has been increasingly prescribed by general practitioners since it was licensed in Britain, in 1990, because it was believed to offer the greatest protection against malaria, which kills some 20 British travellers a year. The drug is even more widely used in the US and some European countries.    But a new joint study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Medical Advisory Services for Travellers Abroad (the MASTA study) has found a significantly higher rate of neuropsychiatric side effects from mefloquine than from chloroquine plus proguanil. The research, published in the BMJ on 31 August, found that 0.7% of travellers taking mefloquine suffered temporarily disabling neuropsychiatric effects compared with 0.09% of those taking the alternative combination. Gordon Cook, consultant physician at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and University College Hospital, London, first raised concerns about the drug in a letter to the BMJ. (Click here to view) He said: "I have never prescribed it for prophylaxis, though my colleagues are still prescribing it. There is no doubt that it is a bit more effective, but if people won’t take it, it makes it counterproductive. There’s no doubt that the majority of people can tolerate it, but there is a subset of Homo sapiens who can’t tolerate it."    Dr Stuart Dollow, senior medical adviser to Roche Products Ltd, Hoffmann-La Roche’s UK arm, said the findings of the MASTA study were comparable to the results of earlier studies. He said the authors acknowledged that their study was too small to detect rare side effects such as the 1:10,000 risk of adverse effects serious enough to warrant admission to hospital found by a much larger study. "Disabling" side effects – defined as those bad enough to prevent a traveller temporarily carrying out day to day activities – was a new classification, he added. We agree with the authors’ conclusion that mefloquine is appropriate only where the risk both of malaria and of chloroquine resistance is high. This study does not change the overall risk-benefit profile of Lariam."   CLARE DYER, legal correspondent, BMJ — Vaccination Awareness Network, NSW              (066) 871-699 phone P.O. Box 177                                    (066) 872-032 fax AUSTRALIA                                       PRO INFORMATION/PRO CHOICE  "All truth goes through three stages.  First it is ridiculed.  Then it is violently  opposed.  Finally, it is accepted as self-evident." (Schoepenhouer) Navy Researchers Test Anti-Malaria Vaccine By Douglas J. Gillert American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON — Malaria felled more combatants during the Vietnam War than bullets, and the disease has since reached global epidemic proportions. Health organizations estimate up to 5 million people have died of AIDS in the past 15 years — but malaria killed nearly 50 million. Aside from Bosnia, the majority of U.S. troop deployments are to malarial regions. In Somalia, for example, malaria was the top cause of troop casualties. Under the most heavily enforced discipline for taking medications, one Marine unit suffered a 10 percent attack rate in a single month. These are the kinds of statistics that have driven Navy Dr. (Capt.) Stephen Hoffman’s career. As director of the malaria program at the Naval Research Institute, Rockville, Md., he is perhaps DoD’s single most expert malaria researcher. His highest priority has been to develop an effective vaccine that prevents malaria. In October, he moved a step closer to realizing his goal. Hoffman’s team of military and civilian researchers successfully tested a DNA vaccine on healthy humans that potentially could be used to battle a host of infectious diseases, including malaria, AIDS, dengue fever and tuberculosis. It may also be effective against highly fatal diseases such as Ebola and against cancer and biological warfare agents. Science magazine reported on the research Oct. 16, a day after Hoffman discussed the findings in a Pentagon press conference. "The purpose of this study was to determine if DNA immunization is safe, well tolerated and generates an immune response in normal humans," Hoffman said. "We established this, so our next step is to develop a vaccine that will provide protection." The research team immunized 20 healthy volunteers with malaria DNA vaccine. The majority developed potent "killer" T-cells, which defend the body against the disease. "We used malaria as a model system to test this exciting new technology, because it is the most important infectious disease threat to our operating forces," Hoffman said. "The significance of this demonstration, however, is in the proof of principle that allows us to advance toward a new era of vaccines." Licensing of a DNA vaccine is still years away, Hoffman said. Because the U.S. military has often deployed to malarial areas this century, DoD has been at the forefront in advancing malaria care. "All malarial drugs licensed and used in the United States and much of the world were developed by DoD," Hoffman said. Currently, service members deployed to malarial areas take either Mefloquine or Doxycycline. These drugs don’t always work, however, researchers are discovering more and more drug-resistant strains. DNA vaccine would be far more effective, Hoffman said. The malaria parasite is a microorganism w/multiple life stages. In humans, it lives near a blood stream in the liver, as well as inside and outside cells in the blood stream. T-cells generated by the DNA vaccine would attack and kill infected cells. The parasite enters the body through mosquito bites. Uncomplicated malaria causes high fevers, chills, headaches and muscle pain. Treated properly, victims are laid up anywhere from a few days to several weeks. If malaria isn’t treated properly — or if medication fails — victims may develop kidney, liver and lung problems. The most serious complication affects the brain, and victims at this advanced stage become disoriented, delirious and often comatose. Hoffman said it’s not unusual, however, for malaria victims to hallucinate within a week of becoming ill, but then fully recover. He foresees a vaccine that would last at least a year and, ultimately, one that would last a lifetime.   Giving service members shots before they enter a malarial zone would eliminate the problem of unused or underused medications and help combat units sustain higher operational capability, he said. The Navy has collaborated for five years with Vical Inc., a San Diego biotechnology company that discovered and patented the new vaccine technology. Support for the project came from DoD’s Military Infectious Disease Research Program, the Office of Naval Research’s Advanced Technology Demonstration Program and the pharmaceutical company Pasteur Merieux Connaught. Hoffman’s team includes Drs. Ruobing Wang, Denise L. Doolan, Jennifer Ng, Martha Sedegah and Yupin Charoenvit; Navy Cmdrs. Richard Hedstrom, Thong P. Le, Walter Weiss and Trevor Jones; Drs. Jon Norman, Peter Hobart and Michal Margalith of Vical, Inc.; Army Capt. Kevin Coonan of the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases; and Charles De Taisne of Pasteur Merieux Connaught. — Signature: >    REFERENCES: (Hyperlinks below) >    Veterans Day 1998 Resource Guide >    http://members.aol.com/veterans/warlib69.htm >    U.S. Naval Resource Guide >    http://members.aol.com/veterans/warlib6s.htm >    The G.I. Photograph Museum and Registry >    http://members.aol.com/veterans/warlib3.htm >    Personnel Registry Application >    http://members.aol.com/veterans/registry.htm

http://members.aol.com/veterans/warlib6s.htm http://members.aol.com/veterans/warlib3.htm http://members.aol.com/veterans/registry.htm http://members.aol.com/veterans/warlib46.htm > Kelly Larsen > Adverse Vaccine Information Network of Arizona > Rose Of Sharon Childbirth Supplies > http://www.workingonline.com/birthkits/BirthHome.html

Robin To live, to learn, to love, to leave a legacy.

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