Expanding Free School-based Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccination Programs to Include School-aged Males in Nova Scotia, Canada

Bill 70 (HPV Vaccine Act) was presented to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly with the aim of expanding the current Nova Scotia school-based HPV vaccination program to include males. In recent years, increased awareness of HPV and HPV-caused cancers has led to the implementation of school-based female HPV vaccination programs across Canada. Changing guidelines, based on recent evidence, suggest that males should also be included in these programs. Program expansion to include males aims to reduce the prevalence of HPV-causing cancers and their ensuing costs, to promote equal access to healthcare services, and to make Nova Scotia a leader in HPV prevention. Support from the Canadian public and high profile political actors along with pressure from other provinces and interest groups, including the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, influenced the passing of the HPV Vaccine Act. In order to implement this reform, the provincial financial commitment to the previous HPV program was expanded to cover the cost of male vaccination. Le projet de loi 70 (Loi sur les vaccins contre le papillomavirus), dont l’objet est d’étendre aux garçons le programme de vaccination contre le papillomavirus humain (PVH) en vigueur actuellement dans les écoles de Nouvelle Écosse, a été présenté devant l’Assemblée parlementaire de la province. La prise de conscience récente du rôle du PVH comme facteur de risqué dans de nombreux cancers a conduit à la mise en place de programmes de vaccination scolaires pour les filles partout au Canada. Des données empiriques récentes ont conduit à modifier les recommandations de pratiques pour ouvrir ces programmes aux garçons. L’objectif d’une telle ouverture des programmes est de diminuer la prévalence (et les coûts) des cancers provoqués par le PVH, ainsi que de renforcer l’égalité d’accès aux soins et de placer la Nouvelle Écosse à la pointe de la prévention du PVH. Une opinion publique canadienne favorable, ainsi que le renfort d’acteurs politiques majeurs et la pression venue d’autres provinces et de groupes d’opinion, comme la Société des Obstétriciens et Gynécologues du Canada, ont contribué au vote de la loi sur la vaccination PVH. La province a augmenté son engagement financier dans le programme PVH afin de couvrir le coût des vaccins pour les garçons.

Expanding Free School-based Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccination Programs to Include School-aged Males in Nova Scotia, Canada

Bill 70 (HPV Vaccine Act) was presented to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly with the aim of expanding the current Nova Scotia school-based HPV vaccination program to include males. In recent years, increased awareness of HPV and HPV-caused cancers has led to the implementation of school-based female HPV vaccination programs across Canada. Changing guidelines, based on recent evidence, suggest that males should also be included in these programs. Program expansion to include males aims to reduce the prevalence of HPV-causing cancers and their ensuing costs, to promote equal access to healthcare services, and to make Nova Scotia a leader in HPV prevention. Support from the Canadian public and high profile political actors along with pressure from other provinces and interest groups, including the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, influenced the passing of the HPV Vaccine Act. In order to implement this reform, the provincial financial commitment to the previous HPV program was expanded to cover the cost of male vaccination.  Le projet de loi 70 (Loi sur les vaccins contre le papillomavirus), dont l’objet est d’étendre aux garçons le programme de vaccination contre le papillomavirus humain (PVH) en vigueur actuellement dans les écoles de Nouvelle Écosse, a été présenté devant l’Assemblée parlementaire de la province. La prise de conscience récente du rôle du PVH comme facteur de risqué dans de nombreux cancers a conduit à la mise en place de programmes de vaccination scolaires pour les filles partout au Canada. Des données empiriques récentes ont conduit à modifier les recommandations de pratiques pour ouvrir ces programmes aux garçons. L’objectif d’une telle ouverture des programmes est de diminuer la prévalence (et les coûts) des cancers provoqués par le PVH, ainsi que de renforcer l’égalité d’accès aux soins et de placer la Nouvelle Écosse à la pointe de la prévention du PVH. Une opinion publique canadienne favorable, ainsi que le renfort d’acteurs politiques majeurs et la pression venue d’autres provinces et de groupes d’opinion, comme la Société des Obstétriciens et Gynécologues du Canada, ont contribué au vote de la loi sur la vaccination PVH. La province a augmenté son engagement financier dans le programme PVH afin de couvrir le coût des vaccins pour les garçons.

Evidence for a novel intrapituitary autocrine/paracrine feedback loop regulating growth hormone synthesis and secretion in grass carp pituitary cells by functional interactions between gonadotrophs and somatotrophs

Gonadotropin (GTH) and GH released from the pituitary are known to interact at multiple levels to modulate the functions of the gonadotrophic and somatotrophic axes. However, their interactions at the pituitary level have not been fully characterized. In this study, autocrine/paracrine regulation of GH synthesis and secretion by local interactions between gonadotrophs and somatotrophs was examined using grass carp pituitary cells as a cell model. Exogenous GTH and GH induced GH release and GH mRNA expression in carp pituitary cells. Removal of endogenous GTH and GH by immunoneutralization with GTH and GH antisera, respectively, suppressed GH release, GH production, and GH mRNA levels. GH antiserum also blocked the stimulatory effects of exogenous GTH on GH release and GH mRNA levels. In reciprocal experiments, GH release and GH mRNA expression induced by exogenous GH was significantly reduced by GTH antiserum. In addition, exogenous GH was found to be inhibitory to basal GTH release and treatment with GH antiserum elevated GTH secretion at low doses but suppressed GTH production at high doses. These results suggest that local interactions between gonadotrophs and somatotrophs may form an intrapituitary feedback loop to regulate GH release and synthesis. In this model, GTH released from gonadotrophs induces GH release and GH production in neighboring somatotrophs. GH secreted maintains somatotroph sensitivity to GTH stimulation, and at the same time, inhibits basal GTH release in gonadotrophs. This feedback loop may represent a novel mechanism regulating GH release and synthesis in lower vertebrates.link_to_subscribed_fulltex