NAVY STUDY LOOKS TO FIND NEW MALARIA VACCINE

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Navy Study May Lead to Malaria Vaccine
Dana Crudo  |  Health.mil
August 29, 2013

The Navy made medical history with its release of promising research results that may lead the way to a much-needed malaria vaccine.

The breakthrough research published in the journal Science on Aug. 8 includes results of a human clinical trial of a malaria vaccine developed by the Navy Medical Research Center and federal and industry collaborators. The trial showed 100 percent protection against the disease.

“This is a historical moment in malaria vaccine research development,” said Capt. Judith Epstein, lead investigator of the trial at the Navy Medical Research Center. “For the first time, we and our collaborators have a malaria vaccine approach which has demonstrated the high-level vaccine efficacy required to protect our troops.”

This is no easy feat. The malaria parasite is incredibly complex, making it particularly difficult to develop a vaccine, researchers say.

The Defense Department has been dedicated to solving the malaria riddle since World War II because of its significant impact on U.S. military operations throughout history. Malaria continues to present major challenges to troops in tropical and subtropical regions of the world where it is rampant.

However, malaria is not a problem unique to the military. It is a major global health concern, with the World Health Organization reporting 216 million cases of malaria and an estimated 655,000 deaths in 2010.

Despite the significant need, there currently is no approved vaccine against malaria.

The latest research by the Navy provides hope that a vaccine soon will be available to effectively combat malaria within the military and beyond.

“I see the Navy paving the way to a vaccine which can be used within the next three- to four years for military personnel and for the millions of individuals suffering and dying from malaria worldwide,” Epstein said.

The vaccine used in the clinical trial was given at varied doses by intravenous injection to 40 volunteers from October 2011 to October 2012. Navy researchers played a key role in the design of the study, particularly the assessment of vaccine efficacy and volunteer follow up.

HHS STATEMENT ON GOOD HEALTH FOR THOSE OVER 65

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 
Long healthy life?
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A study indicates that how many of your remaining years will be healthy as a senior citizen varies according to who you are and where you live.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at national health data on the number of years after age 65 that people had good health. The CDC’s Man-Huei Chang:

“Across all of the states, healthy life expectancy was about 14 years, on the average.”

Mississippians averaged the fewest healthy years after they turned 65, and Hawaiians averaged the most. State by state, men consistently averaged fewer years than women. Blacks fairly consistently had fewer healthy years than whites.

Healthy living habits, such as not smoking, reduce the odds that people die early.

The study was in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

FDA ANALYSIS OF ARSENIC FOUND IN RICE

 

Photo:  Rice.  Credit:  FDA

FROM: U.S FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) monitors hundreds of foods and beverages that make up the average American diet. The agency looks for substances that could be harmful to consumers, including industrial chemicals, heavy metals, pesticide residues and radiation contamination.

Those dietary staples include rice and rice products, foods that FDA has specifically tested for the presence of inorganic arsenic, a chemical that under some circumstances has been associated with long-term health effects.

The agency has analyzed nearly 200 samples of rice and rice products and is collecting about 1,000 more. Since rice is processed into many products, these samples include rice products such as cereals, rice beverages and rice cakes.

Arsenic levels can vary greatly from sample to sample, even within the same product. FDA’s testing of the initial samples found these average levels of inorganic arsenic in micrograms (one millionth of a gram):
Rice (other than Basmati rice): 6.7 per 1 cup (cooked)
Rice cakes: 5.4 per 2 cakes
Rice beverages: 3.8 per 240 ml (some samples not tested for inorganic arsenic)
Rice cereals: 3.5 per 1 cup
Basmati rice: 3.5 per 1 cup cooked
Based on data and scientific literature available now, FDA is not recommending that consumers change their consumption of rice and rice products at this time, but that people eat a balanced diet containing a wide variety of grains.

Data collection is the critical first step in assessing long-term health risks and minimizing those risks.

"We understand that consumers are concerned about this matter. FDA is committed to ensuring that we understand the extent to which substances such as arsenic are present in our foods, what risks they may pose, whether these risks can be minimized, and to sharing what we know," says FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D.

Once FDA has completed its analysis of about 1,200 rice products, the agency will analyze these results and determine whether or not to issue additional recommendations.

Arsenic is Found in the Environment

Arsenic is a chemical element distributed in the Earth’s crust. It is released from volcanoes and from the erosion of mineral deposits. It is found throughout the environment—in water, air and soil. For that reason, it is inevitably found in some foods and beverages.

Human activities also add arsenic to the environment. They include burning coal, oil, gasoline and wood, mining, and the use of arsenic compounds as pesticides, herbicides and wood preservatives.

FDA has been monitoring arsenic levels in rice for more than 20 years. Its analysis thus far does not show any evidence of a change in total arsenic levels. The change is that researchers are better able to measure whether those levels represent more or less toxic forms of arsenic.

Rice comes from all over the world and is grown very differently from region to region, which may greatly vary the levels of arsenic within the same kind of product. The larger sample that FDA is taking will cover the wide variety of rice types, geographical regions where rice is grown, and the wide range of foods that contain rice as an ingredient.

FDA expects to complete the additional collection and analysis of samples by the end of the year. The agency is paying particular attention to rice and rice products consumed by children, as well as consumers like Asian-Americans and those with celiac disease who may consumer higher levels of rice.