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THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS
AT:
www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly
IN THIS ISSUE:
1) Secretary Thompson attends BioIreland Conference
2) New HIV vaccine holds promise of global effectiveness
3) Secretary Thompson encourages adoption
4) New CDC Report Proposes Strategies to Help Schools Manage Asthma
5) Great American Smokeout
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Secretary Thompson attends BioIreland Conference
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that he is joining Irish Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Mary Harney in calling for a mentoring program to match CEOs of Irish biotech start-up firms with experienced American biotech CEOs.
"We are initiating an advisory group of technology transfer specialists from the United States to help Irish university scientists make use of existing knowledge and apply it to biotech research. Tech transfer is important because it enables cross-disciplinary integration of all fields of knowledge," Secretary Thompson said.
Secretary Thompson traveled to Ireland last week to speak to the Irish BioIndustry Association's "BioIreland 2002" Conference and meet with Irish leaders in the biotech field. Also speaking to the conference was Dr. Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health.
There is a strong American biotechnology presence in Ireland, which has developed a strong biotech industry in recent years.
"The biotechnology era presents us with enormous challenges and tremendous opportunities. As we unlock the secrets of the genetic code and develop new therapies rooted in the very essence of human life, we must be very careful to maintain a profound sense of the ethical and moral boundaries of biomedical research," Secretary Thompson said.
He discussed recent breakthroughs in biotechnology, including testing for prostate cancer; non-invasive testing of unborn children for nervous system disorders that can be corrected through prenatal surgery; recent FDA approval of new medications to treat patients with diseases like Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, acute organ dysfunction and rheumatoid arthritis; and the FDA's approval of the new rapid HIV test, which uses only one drop of blood, and in just 20 minutes it can detect HIV antibodies with 99.6 percent accuracy.
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New HIV vaccine holds promise of global effectiveness
Clinical tests began Nov. 13 for a vaccine directed at the three most globally important HIV subtypes, or clades. This trial begins a process that scientists hope will culminate in a globally effective HIV vaccine.
Developed by scientists at the Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center (VRC), part of the HHS' National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the vaccine incorporates HIV genetic material from clades that cause about 90 percent of all HIV infections around the world.
"This is the first multigene, multiclade HIV vaccine to enter human trials," said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "It marks an important milestone in our search for a single vaccine that targets U.S. subtypes of HIV as well as clades causing the global epidemic," he adds.
The trial vaccine is a DNA vaccine, a kind shown to be very safe in previous clinical trials. It incorporates parts of four HIV genes. While these gene fragments can stimulate an immune response, they cannot reconstitute themselves into an infectious virus, and therefore a person cannot become infected with HIV.
The first phase of the trial, which is being conducted at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, is meant to determine the vaccine's safety and will enroll 50 healthy, HIV-negative volunteers. Volunteers will be vaccinated with either the test vaccine or an inactive saline solution in a series of increasing doses. Neither the participants nor the researchers will know which group a participant is in.
During the yearlong trial, scientists will assess the vaccine's safety and note if it induces any immune response in the vaccines.
For more information about the trial, including ways to volunteer, please toll-free 1-866-833- LIFE (5433) (TTY, toll-free, 1-866-411-1010). Potential volunteers may also e-mail vrcforlife@mail.nih.gov or visit<www.clinicaltrials.gov> or <www.niaid.nih.gov/vrc>.
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Secretary Thompson encourages adoption
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson will reaffirm HHS' commitment to encouraging foster care adoptions on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Los Angeles. The event marks the annual National Adoption Day, and will include an appearance by actor Bruce Willis, who was appointed in July by President Bush as a National Spokesman for Children in Foster Care.
There are more than 565,000 children in foster care in the United States. Of these, more than 131,000 children are still waiting to be adopted and have yet to find a permanent home.
"There are thousands of children in foster care in America - toddlers, teens, brothers and sisters, children from every background. Good foster care is essential; yet these children urgently need the love and the stability of a permanent home," Secretary Thompson said.
"Every child deserves to be a part of a loving family, and finding that home will help determine a more hopeful course for their entire life. For those of us who support the dignity and moral significance of every human life, we have a solemn responsibility to encourage hopeful lives for all children."
HHS is working to encourage adoption on several fronts. Secretary Thompson recently announced nearly $4 million in awards to 13 organizations to help eliminate barriers to adoption for children with special needs as part of the Adoption Opportunities Program. In July, President Bush launched a new Web site, www.adoptuskids.org, which features photographs and biographies of more than 6,500 children in foster care. Developed as a public-private partnership, the site is designed to raise public awareness, recruit adoptive families for waiting children and supply information and referral services to prospective adoptive families. And in September, HHS' Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced a $22 million, five-year cooperative agreement with the Adoption Exchange Association in Denver to run the Web site.
On National Adoption Day 2002, an unprecedented number of children's courts will officially finalize the adoptions of more than 1,100 children from foster care and celebrate with the adopting families. Events like the one in Los Angeles will be held in 34 different jurisdictions across the country.
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SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
New CDC Report Proposes Strategies to Help Schools Manage Asthma
A report from HHS' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outlines six strategies to help the nation's schools manage the problems of students with asthma. The guide, Strategies for Addressing Asthma Within a Coordinated School Health Program, gives concrete suggestions for schools coping with the increasing numbers of children with asthma.
The prevalence of asthma increased 74 percent among children 5 to 14 years old between 1980 and 1994. Asthma accounts for 14 million lost days of school each year and affects nearly five million children and adolescents.
"Schools have an important role in helping students with asthma by adopting 'asthma-friendly' policies and procedures," said Lloyd Kolbe, Ph.D., director of CDC's adolescent and school health program. "Schools can also coordinate their services for students with asthma and provide asthma education for students and staff."
The six strategies described in the report for promoting asthma-friendly schools are:
· Establish appropriate management and support systems
· Provide appropriate health and mental health services for students
with asthma
· Offer a safe and healthy school environment to reduce asthma "triggers"
· Provide asthma education and awareness programs for students and staff
· Establish safe, enjoyable physical education and activity opportunities
for students with asthma
· Coordinate school, family and community efforts to manage asthma symptoms
and reduce absences.
"Although asthma cannot be cured, it can be controlled," said Sarah Merkle, M.P.H., a health scientist specializing in adolescent and school health concerns. "This report offers suggested actions that schools can take to provide more support to students and staff with asthma. Each school should decide which strategies have the highest priority."
The report, which also lists resources available to schools, can be viewed
or downloaded at www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/healthtopics/asthma. Copies can also
be obtained by calling CDC at 888-231-6405 or sending an e-mail to HealthYouth@cdc.gov.
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HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson will mark the Great American Smokeout on Thursday, Nov. 21 by urging all Americans to kick the smoking habit in the interests of their health and the health of those they love. The Great American Smokeout, a project of the American Cancer Society, consists of one day reserved each year to challenge tobacco users to stop smoking or smoke less to help prevent tobacco-related death and disease.
"There's no question that tobacco usage claims the lives of far too many Americans. With the harmful effects of smoking so well-known, isn't it time to make the effort to quit? That's what the Great American Smokeout is all about," Secretary Thompson said.
Now in its 26th year, the Smokeout helps call attention to some startling facts. An estimated 46 million adults in the United States smoke cigarettes, and cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 400,000 deaths each year. Smoking is known to cause chronic lung disease, heart disease and stroke, as well as cancer of the lungs, larynx, esophagus, mouth and bladder. Added to the enormous health toll is the economic burden caused by tobacco use. Smoking-related illnesses cost the nation more than $150 billion each year.
The harmful effects of smoking do not end with the smoker. Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have babies with low birth weight, which is linked to an increase of infant death and infant health disorders. Furthermore, every year an estimated 3,000 nonsmoking Americans die of lung cancer and up to 300,000 children suffer from respiratory tract infections because of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. According to the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 67 percent of those age 12 and older in the U.S. - more than 148 million people - reported smoking cigarettes during their lifetime. In order to curb overall tobacco use, we must reduce the initial use of tobacco and tobacco-related products among children and youth, and encourage healthy lifestyle habits for those already smoking.
For smokers and tobacco users, every day without tobacco can be a struggle.
HHS and Secretary Thompson are diligently working to help Americans find solutions
to this widespread public health problem.
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Last updated 15 November 2002
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