Time to consider a targeted HPV vaccination programme for male military recruits.

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the most common type of sexually transmitted infection in men but also related to high-risk cancers. This article considers the epidemiology of HPV in the male military population, the UK vaccination programme and the current UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommendations. Military men may not benefit from HPV herd immunity and may have a different risk profile; vaccination may in turn reduce the operational burden of HPV-related disease within this population. Military men may benefit from a targeted vaccination programme, and the paper calls for urgent consideration of approaches that could protect them from acquiring HPV

The future of blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease

Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is significantly hampered by the lack of easily accessible biomarkers that can detect disease presence and predict disease risk reliably. Fluid biomarkers of AD currently provide indications of disease stage; however, they are not robust predictors of disease progression or treatment response, and most are measured in cerebrospinal fluid, which limits their applicability. With these aspects in mind, the aim of this article is to underscore the concerted efforts of the Blood-Based Biomarker Interest Group, an international working group of experts in the field. The points addressed include: (1) the major challenges in the development of blood-based biomarkers of AD, including patient heterogeneity, inclusion of the “right” control population, and the blood– brain barrier; (2) the need for a clear definition of the purpose of the individual markers (e.g., prognostic, diagnostic, or monitoring therapeutic efficacy); (3) a critical evaluation of the ongoing biomarker approaches; and (4) highlighting the need for standardization of preanalytical variables and analytical methodologies used by the field