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.