I like helping people. That's why I belong to a volunteer service club within my community. I also give my money to worthy organizations every year. So imagine what I could do if I had billions of dollars!
Last week, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that they would be committing $10 billion to provide vaccines against a wide range of diseases. That is an incredible amount of money, and could greatly reduce the occurrence of many preventable diseases, possibly saving an estimated 8.7 million lives—7.6 million of them children under the age of 5. Not to mention the number of people whose lives would simply be better.
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy—which covers non-profit organizations—this is the largest single amount ever committed for a specific cause. It's also an incredible gesture, and I applaud Bill and Melinda Gates for taking this step.
Showing posts with label vaccine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vaccine. Show all posts
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Can Gardasil Cause Medical Problems?
Could the HPV vaccine GardasilTM be causing medical problems ranging from nausea to death? Maybe, says the CDC, which is investigating. Over the past two years, 7,802 "adverse event reports" have been filed related to Gardasil. Fifteen of them claimed that the vaccine caused the death of the patient. Only ten of those cases were confirmed, and none of them were actually linked to the vaccine.
But what about the other symptoms? In one case, a girl developed fever and pain shortly after receiving the Gardasil injection. She was admitted to the hospital where she underwent two surgeries for pancreatitis and spent weeks recovering. But were her symptoms related to the vaccine or not? Could it be a coincidence? Did she just happen to get the shot as she was developing pancreatitis?
It's hard to say. Scientists and doctors are looking into it now to try to make a determination.
In the meantime, though, I feel I should point out that more than 8 million women and girls in the U.S. alone have received the injection over the past two years, which puts that 7,802 "adverse event reports" at a frequence below 0.1 percent. So even if they all do turn out to be related to the vaccine—which is highly unlikely—the likelihood of a negative reaction is extremely low, and must be weighed against the risk of HPV and cervical cancer. In some cases, the treatment can be worse than the condition it's meant to treat, but I don't believe this is one of those cases.
But what about the other symptoms? In one case, a girl developed fever and pain shortly after receiving the Gardasil injection. She was admitted to the hospital where she underwent two surgeries for pancreatitis and spent weeks recovering. But were her symptoms related to the vaccine or not? Could it be a coincidence? Did she just happen to get the shot as she was developing pancreatitis?
It's hard to say. Scientists and doctors are looking into it now to try to make a determination.
In the meantime, though, I feel I should point out that more than 8 million women and girls in the U.S. alone have received the injection over the past two years, which puts that 7,802 "adverse event reports" at a frequence below 0.1 percent. So even if they all do turn out to be related to the vaccine—which is highly unlikely—the likelihood of a negative reaction is extremely low, and must be weighed against the risk of HPV and cervical cancer. In some cases, the treatment can be worse than the condition it's meant to treat, but I don't believe this is one of those cases.
Monday, July 14, 2008
New Potential for Alzheimer's Vaccine
According to an article published Friday on the Scientific American website, a new Alzheimer's vaccine shows promise for preventing or restricting progress of the disease in a mouse model.
The research builds on an attempt several years ago by Elan Pharmaceuticals to create an Alzheimer's vaccine. That attempt failed after several of the subjects developed brain inflammations and two suffered strokes. The new attempt involves taking an inactivated Herpes virus to transplant a small amount of amyloid beta and a protein called interleukin-4 into subjects (in this case, mice).
By adding the amyloid beta to the virus, the immune system can begin to recognize the amyloid beta as a potential threat. The presence of interleukin-4, it is hoped, will prevent the brain inflammation that plagued the previous attempt at a virus.
While this research shows promise, it will be several years before a treatments is available. And there are several stumbling blocks to overcome yet. The original trials also showed great promise in mouse models, but unexpected results in human trials. And not all forms of amyloid beta are dangerous... indeed, some may be necessary for brain function, and if the vaccine causes the body to attack all forms, it may have unintended—and potentially dangerous—side effects.
The research builds on an attempt several years ago by Elan Pharmaceuticals to create an Alzheimer's vaccine. That attempt failed after several of the subjects developed brain inflammations and two suffered strokes. The new attempt involves taking an inactivated Herpes virus to transplant a small amount of amyloid beta and a protein called interleukin-4 into subjects (in this case, mice).
By adding the amyloid beta to the virus, the immune system can begin to recognize the amyloid beta as a potential threat. The presence of interleukin-4, it is hoped, will prevent the brain inflammation that plagued the previous attempt at a virus.
While this research shows promise, it will be several years before a treatments is available. And there are several stumbling blocks to overcome yet. The original trials also showed great promise in mouse models, but unexpected results in human trials. And not all forms of amyloid beta are dangerous... indeed, some may be necessary for brain function, and if the vaccine causes the body to attack all forms, it may have unintended—and potentially dangerous—side effects.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
RotaTeq Very Effective Against Rotavirus
The Los Angeles Times reports that RotaTeq vaccine for rotavirus has been very successful. The most recent onset of the rotavirus season was delayed by three months and reduced in severity by about half thanks to the virus, according to the CDC.
Rotavirus is the leading cause of vomiting and diarrhea in children in the U.S. and globally. In the U.S., it leads to more than 400,000 visits to doctors' offices, 272,000 emergency room trips, up to 70,000 hospitalizations, and 20 to 60 deaths. Globally, more than 500,000 children die from rotavirus each year.
Rotateq, on the other hand, can prevent rotavirus infections in 74 percent of cases. It also eliminates 98 percent of severe infections and 96 percent of hospitalizations. For these reasons, the CDC recommends that infants receive their first vaccination at 12 weeks and two more by 32 weeks of age. RotaTeq is made by Merck.
Rotavirus is the leading cause of vomiting and diarrhea in children in the U.S. and globally. In the U.S., it leads to more than 400,000 visits to doctors' offices, 272,000 emergency room trips, up to 70,000 hospitalizations, and 20 to 60 deaths. Globally, more than 500,000 children die from rotavirus each year.
Rotateq, on the other hand, can prevent rotavirus infections in 74 percent of cases. It also eliminates 98 percent of severe infections and 96 percent of hospitalizations. For these reasons, the CDC recommends that infants receive their first vaccination at 12 weeks and two more by 32 weeks of age. RotaTeq is made by Merck.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Colon Cancer Vaccine May Be Possible
A protein found in the intestines may lead the way to a vaccine that can treat colon cancers, and perhaps other tumors, too, according to researchers at Thomas Jefferson University. The protein, called Guanylyl cyclase C protein, or GCC protein, is normally only expressed in the intestinal lining and in colorectal cancer cells when they are spreading.
The researchers injected mice with colorectal cancer cells, some before immunization with GCC and some after. Unvaccinated animals had an average of 30 new tumors in the lungs and liver. Vaccinated animals had an average of three—not total immunity, but a considerably lower rate. The vaccinated mice also lived longer.
These results will need to be duplicated before human trials can begin, but this could be good news for the 1.2 million patients a year diagnosed with colon cancer globally.
The researchers injected mice with colorectal cancer cells, some before immunization with GCC and some after. Unvaccinated animals had an average of 30 new tumors in the lungs and liver. Vaccinated animals had an average of three—not total immunity, but a considerably lower rate. The vaccinated mice also lived longer.
These results will need to be duplicated before human trials can begin, but this could be good news for the 1.2 million patients a year diagnosed with colon cancer globally.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
The Debate on the HPV Vaccine
A lot of fuss has been made recently about Merck's new vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), GARDASIL®. Legislation has been proposed in several states mandating the HPV vaccine, which has caused an uproar for various reasons.
One of the concerns is that making a vaccine mandatory is a big decision that the government would be making for people, leaving them no choice. I can't, personally, think of any reason why a woman might decide that she'd rather just take her chances with cancer, but I suppose there are people who would make that decision. The question becomes, should we let them? Or should we put together a program where the vaccine is freely available, but make it an opt-in situation?
Another major reason people have objected is because, it turns out, the main group pushing these legislative actions has been a lobbying firm employed by Merck, who stands to make a sizeable profit off this vaccine, even if it doesn't become mandatory... but an even bigger profit if it does.
My feeling on this latter reason--Merck making huge profits--is this: good for them. Why should we care if somebody makes a profit? They put a lot of time and resources into developing this vaccine. And let's keep something else in mind here: they developed a vaccine that can prevent cervical cancer in many cases. According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, in 2002 nearly 4,000 women died from cervical cancer and more than 12,000 others were diagnosed with the disease. Merck has invented a product with the ability to save thousands of lives every year, with three separate shots costing about $120 each.
So think about any girl or young woman you know between the ages of 9 and 26 and ask yourself this... is $360 a fair price to pay for a 70% chance of preventing HPV and reducing the risk of cervical cancer?
One of the concerns is that making a vaccine mandatory is a big decision that the government would be making for people, leaving them no choice. I can't, personally, think of any reason why a woman might decide that she'd rather just take her chances with cancer, but I suppose there are people who would make that decision. The question becomes, should we let them? Or should we put together a program where the vaccine is freely available, but make it an opt-in situation?
Another major reason people have objected is because, it turns out, the main group pushing these legislative actions has been a lobbying firm employed by Merck, who stands to make a sizeable profit off this vaccine, even if it doesn't become mandatory... but an even bigger profit if it does.
My feeling on this latter reason--Merck making huge profits--is this: good for them. Why should we care if somebody makes a profit? They put a lot of time and resources into developing this vaccine. And let's keep something else in mind here: they developed a vaccine that can prevent cervical cancer in many cases. According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, in 2002 nearly 4,000 women died from cervical cancer and more than 12,000 others were diagnosed with the disease. Merck has invented a product with the ability to save thousands of lives every year, with three separate shots costing about $120 each.
So think about any girl or young woman you know between the ages of 9 and 26 and ask yourself this... is $360 a fair price to pay for a 70% chance of preventing HPV and reducing the risk of cervical cancer?
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