Johns Hopkins Gazette: July 25, 1994


HOPKINS BEGINS TESTS OF FIRST ORAL VACCINE AGAINST SEXUAL
TRANSMISSION OF HIV

Researchers at the Medical Institutions and the University of
Rochester Medical Center are currently testing a new orally
administered vaccine that is expected to block HIV transmission
locally through the mucous membranes.
     Mucous membranes are the moist linings of body cavities
and canals of body orifices.
     The single-dose vaccine is designed to protect against
infection by stimulating production of the antibody IgA, a key
component of the immune system. The vaccine is expected to
block HIV transmission through membranes lining the
respiratory, digestive and reproductive tracts. Other vaccines
go directly to the bloodstream.
     "The best protection against infection of mucosal
membranes is mucosal immunity, because IgA antibodies located
there attack organisms before they can penetrate the body,"
said the study's chairman Jack Lambert, clinical director of
AIDS vaccine research in Hopkins' Center for Immunization
Research at the School of Public Health.
     The study is supported by the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases.


BAYVIEW AWARD WILL FUND STUDY ON BETTER WAYS TO CARE FOR
ELDERLY IN THEIR HOMES

The Bayview Medical Center has been awarded $531,000 to study
the feasibility of providing acute care to the elderly in their
homes as an alternative to hospitalization. The funds, from the
New York-based John A. Hartford Foundation, will aid
investigators trying to determine if being treated at home
would benefit seniors.
     "Ultimately, this study will help us to identify better
ways to care for the elderly in their homes," said principal
investigator John Burton, director of geriatric medicine at
Hopkins Bayview.

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