Biodefense cocktail to be given to troops

Wisconsin researchers report developing a biodefense cocktail to boost a body's response against the common characteristics of viruses and bacteria.


The scientists at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee -- in collaboration with a national team -- say their biodefense cocktail is expected to be deployed to U.S. troops within the next five years.

Using a nasal spray, the cocktail of drugs will trigger immune activation in each person's respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, the most likely routes of attack.

Dr. Harry Whelan, professor of neurology and senior author, said, "This will revolutionize our defense against germ warfare, as well as the treatment of infectious diseases in our population, as a whole. It is possible to include agents which inhibit molecular events leading to septic shock, as well.

"This new technology confers broad spectrum, short term, immunity against unknown biothreat agents for war fighters sent into harm's way."

The study is published in the current issue of the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International






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http://tinyurl.com/3z255n
nasal spray quickest route to the brain/ therefore it must be able to break the Blood brain barrier quickly -

Public release date: 24-Oct-2007




North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System

Scientists discover a direct route from the brain to the immune system

– It used to be dogma that the brain was shut away from the actions of the immune system, shielded from the outside forces of nature. But that’s not how it is at all. In fact, thanks to the scientific detective work of Kevin Tracey, MD, it turns out that the brain talks directly to the immune system, sending commands that control the body’s inflammatory response to infection and autoimmune diseases. Understanding the intimate relationship is leading to a novel way to treat diseases triggered by a dangerous inflammatory response.

Dr. Tracey, director and chief executive of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, will be giving the 2007 Stetten Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. His talk – Physiology and Immunology of the Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway – will highlight the discoveries made in his laboratory and the clinical trials underway to test the theory that stimulation of the vagus nerve could block a rogue inflammatory response and treat a number of diseases, including life-threatening sepsis.

With this new understanding of the vagus nerve’s role in regulating inflammation, scientists believe that they can tap into the body’s natural healing defenses and calm the sepsis storm before it wipes out its victims. Each year, 750,000 people in the United States develop severe sepsis, and 215,000 will die no matter how hard doctors fight to save them. Sepsis is triggered by the body’s own overpowering immune response to a systemic infection, and hospitals are the battlegrounds for these potentially lethal conditions.

The vagus nerve is located in the brainstem and snakes down from the brain to the heart and on through to the abdomen. Dr. Tracey and others are now studying ways of altering the brain’s response or targeting the immune system itself as a way to control diseases.

Dr. Tracey is a neurosurgeon who came into research through the back door of the operating room. More than two decades ago, he was treating a young girl whose body had been accidentally scorched by boiling water and she was fighting for her life to overcome sepsis. She didn’t make it. Dr. Tracey headed into the laboratory to figure out why the body makes its own cells that can do fatal damage. Dr. Tracey discovered that the vagus nerve speaks directly to the immune system through a neurochemical called acetylcholine. And stimulating the vagus nerve sent commands to the immune system to stop pumping out toxic inflammatory markers. “This was so surprising to us,” said Dr. Tracey, who immediately saw the potential to use vagus stimulation as a way to shut off abnormal immune system responses. He calls this network “the inflammatory reflex.”

Research is now underway to see whether tweaking the brain's acetylcholine system could be a natural way to control the inflammatory response. Inflammation is key to many diseases - from autoimmune conditions like Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis to Alzheimer's, where scientists have identified a strong inflammatory component.

Dr. Tracey has presented his work to the Dalai Lama, who has shown a great interest in the neurosciences and the mind-body connection. He has also written a book called “Fatal Sequence,” about the double-edge sword of the immune system.


###
About The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

Headquartered in Manhasset, NY, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is home to international scientific leaders in Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer’s disease, psychiatric disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, sepsis, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, human genetics, leukemia, lymphoma, neuroimmunology, and medicinal chemistry. The Feinstein Institute, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, ranks in the top 6th percentile of all National Institutes of Health grants awarded to research centers. Feinstein researchers are developing new drugs and drug targets, and producing results where science meets the patient. For more information, please visit www.FeinsteinInstitute.org or http://feinsteininstitute.typepad.com/feinsteinweblog/

http://feinsteininstitute.typepad.com/feinsteinweblog/2007/10/dr-kevin-tracey.html

DR. KEVIN TRACEY SHARES HIS SCIENCE AT NIH

It used to be dogma that the brain was shut away from the actions of the immune system, shielded from the outside forces of nature. But that’s not how it is at all. In fact, thanks to the scientific detective work of Kevin Tracey, MD, it turns out that the brain talks directly to the immune system, sending commands that control the body’s inflammatory response to infection and autoimmune diseases. Understanding the intimate relationship is leading to a novel way to treat diseases triggered by a dangerous inflammatory response.

Dr. Tracey, director and chief executive of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, gave the 2007 Stetten Lecture at the National Institutes of Health on Wednesday, Oct. 24th. His talk – Physiology and Immunology of the Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Pathway – highlighted the discoveries made in his laboratory and the clinical trials underway to test the theory that stimulation of the vagus nerve could block a rogue inflammatory response and treat a number of diseases, including life-threatening sepsis.

http://tinyurl.com/4hjc3y

Thanks for this series Tena, although your link here did not work for me.
There is a passage in the nose which by passes the BBB and goes directly into the brain. It is the reason why drug addicts snort their drugs to get an instant high, and the reason why smokers get instant satiosfaction from inhaling nicotine in tobacco smoke. They don't have to wait an hour like us for their drugs to reach the brain via the bloodstream. I corresponded about 5 years ago with a British pharmaceutical company, who were working on a nasal spray as a means of instant drug delivery to the brain, and considered Parkinson's as one target. However, they ran into to many snags and dropped the work. Remember Juan from Chile with his memorable experiment sniffing mucuna pruriens.
I still feel it is another area which should be researched more as it promises a fast rescue from a freeze, much better than injecting apomorphine.
Ron