The Ebola Vaccine Underdog

NewLink Genetics, an immunotherapy company based in Ames, Iowa, has reportedly developed an Ebola vaccine. On October 23rd, 2014, a high level meeting was held by the World Health Organization. Several NewLink representatives reported that their company might possibly have approximately 12 million vaccines by the beginning of April 2015.

Above: NewLink's CEO Charles Link

           NewLink is a privately traded company with a mere 120 employees. Their competition is GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), who also participating in the Ebola vaccine arms race. However, their initial estimates of Ebola vaccinations are at 230,000 doses by April 2015. From a capitalistic point of view, NLG, is positioning itself to profit significantly from the Ebola epidemic. NewLink's vaccine combines an Ebola gene with a weakened vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). Because this is a livestock pathogen, this medium of vaccination is particularly risky.
           Ultimately, the big question in regards to the effectiveness of the Ebola vaccine is the dose amount. Scientists collectively agree that high doses are required in order to make the vaccine effective. NewLink's CEO Charles Link says his employees are experimenting with doses ranging from 10^4 to 10^8 virus particles in one vaccination. If 10^4 or 10^5 is effective at initiating an immunologic effect, then the company will have enough vaccines for West Africa, thus jumpstarting the healing process of an area devastated by this terrible epidemic.

Main Article: http://news.sciencemag.org/health/2014/10/ebola-vaccine-underdog

More Information: http://newlinkgenetics.com/

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Epidemic

      

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

                 A.D.H.D. medications were in short supply from the fall of 2011 to the spring of 2012 throughout the United States. This shortage was due to the supply being outpaced by the request for the medication. Prior to the 1990’s, less than 5% of school-aged children were thought to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 11% of adolescences from the ages of 4 to 17 had received the news that they had A.D.H.D.; this 11% does not include the adult population. This shows that the number of children diagnosed with A.D.H.D has skyrocketed over the past 20 years.

A.D.H.D. Medications

                For many years people felt that A.D.H.D. was a made up disorder. Yet, facts have shown that A.D.H.D. is a genetic based disease. The way that scientist determine if specific behaviors and traits are genetically based are by comparing twins. Identical twins share almost 100% of the same genes, while fraternal twins share about half of their genes. This shows that if a disorder is genetically based, the identical twins have a higher chance of sharing it than the fraternal twins. Researchers at Michigan State University, in 2010, studied 22 different twins and established that the traits of hyperactivity and inattentiveness are greatly inheritable. Also, studies that use brain-imaging, display dissimilarities between people who were diagnosed with A.D.H.D. and people who were not. These images show that people with A.D.H.D. have less receptors for chemical messenger dopamine in specific regions. This would cause the brain to not function to its highest abilities.

Brain Imaging of Non-ADHD and ADHD patients.

 

            Since so many children and adults are diagnosed with A.D.H.D. the increase in medications has raised. New medications are being produced and more medications are being distributed. The genetic disorder A.D.H.D. affects the lives of many people, especially children. Now knowing about this disease had opened up the door to improvement for it. Children are now receiving the assistance that they need to become focused and do well in school. There are therapists for them to talk to, there is access to tutors, and time modifications for standardized testing. Also, there is a drug treatment for this disease. People are beginning to realize that this is not a disease that is just made up and people do suffer from this. It really makes a difference to do the studies and find out where this disease comes from and how you can resolve the problem.

             To me many children do have A.D.H.D. and they need for it to be taken care of. It distracts them from the things that they need to do and accomplish in life. It can be the difference if they do good in school and obtain and retain an education. Knowing the it is a genetic disease does help figure out how they can fix the problem and make medication to fix the problem. I do believe that people do abuse the used of A.D.H.D. medications and that does need to be looked into. Though many people are diagnosed with A.D.H.D. I do not feel that they all have the disease.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/magazine/the-not-so-hidden-cause-behind-the-adhd-epidemic.html?_r=0

http://psychcentral.com/lib/the-genetics-of-adhd/0003789