Is vaccine the magic bullet for malaria elimination? A reality check

Malaria remains a major health burden especially for the developing countries. Despite concerted efforts at using the current control tools, such as bed nets, anti malarial drugs and vector control measures, the disease is accountable for close to a million deaths annually. Vaccines have been proposed as a necessary addition to the armamentarium that could work towards elimination and eventual eradication of malaria in view of their historical significance in combating infectious diseases. However, because malaria vaccines would work differently depending on the targeted parasite stage, this review addresses the potential impact various malaria vaccine types could have on transmission. Further, because of the wide variation in the epidemiology of malaria across the endemic regions, this paper proposes that the ideal approach to malaria control ought to be tailor-made depending on the specific context. Finally, it suggests that although it is highly desirable to anticipate and aim for malaria elimination and eventual eradication, many affected regions should prioritize reduction of mortality and morbidity before aspiring for elimination

Internet Access and Empowerment: A Community-based Health Initiative

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether access to health information via in-home Internet technology can positively influence empowerment among residents of a low-income urban community. DESIGN: In-home Internet access and training were provided to volunteers, who, along with a comparison group, were interviewed prior to and 1 year after initiation of the program. Community-based participatory research methods were used to design and implement the intervention. SETTING: A 57-block area on the West Side of Chicago. PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-five community residents completed all phases of the technology intervention. Thirty-five randomly selected neighbors of these residents served as the comparison group. INTERVENTIONS: Members of the intervention group received Internet access via WebTV, training, technical support, and access to a community specific health-oriented web page during the course of the study. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Intervention group members were similar to comparison group members in terms of empowerment at baseline. After receiving Internet access and training, empowerment related to health decision-making improved significantly in the intervention group. Similar changes did not occur in the comparison group. Affinity for and appreciation of information technology also increased in the intervention group but not in the comparison group. As a result, differences in attitudes toward technology increased between the 2 groups over time. CONCLUSIONS: Using community-based participatory research methods, we found that Internet access to community-specific and general health information can lead to increased empowerment and appreciation of information technology. These benefits accrued among the intervention group but not among a random group of their neighbors

Equivalent Gene Expression Profiles between Glatopa™ and Copaxone®

Glatopa™ is a generic glatiramer acetate recently approved for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. Gene expression profiling was performed as a means to evaluate equivalence of Glatopa and Copaxone®. Microarray analysis containing 39,429 unique probes across the entire genome was performed in murine glatiramer acetate--responsive Th2-polarized T cells, a test system highly relevant to the biology of glatiramer acetate. A closely related but nonequivalent glatiramoid molecule was used as a control to establish assay sensitivity. Multiple probe-level (Student's t-test) and sample-level (principal component analysis, multidimensional scaling, and hierarchical clustering) statistical analyses were utilized to look for differences in gene expression induced by the test articles. The analyses were conducted across all genes measured, as well as across a subset of genes that were shown to be modulated by Copaxone. The following observations were made across multiple statistical analyses: the expression of numerous genes was significantly changed by treatment with Copaxone when compared against media-only control; gene expression profiles induced by Copaxone and Glatopa were not significantly different; and gene expression profiles induced by Copaxone and the nonequivalent glatiramoid were significantly different, underscoring the sensitivity of the test system and the multiple analysis methods. Comparative analysis was also performed on sets of transcripts relevant to T-cell biology and antigen presentation, among others that are known to be modulated by glatiramer acetate. No statistically significant differences were observed between Copaxone and Glatopa in the expression levels (magnitude and direction) of these glatiramer acetate-regulated genes. In conclusion, multiple methods consistently supported equivalent gene expression profiles between Copaxone and Glatopa