Medical Follow-up Agency – författare

Congress has become concerned about funding increases for these programsgiven current demands on the military budget. At the request of Congress, theInstitute of Medicine (IOM) examined possibilities of augmenting program fundingfrom alternative sources. The resulting IOM book, Strategies to Leverage ResearchFunding: Guiding DOD''s Peer Reviewed Medical Research Programs, focuses on nonfederaland private sector contributions that could extend the appropriated funds withoutbiasing the peer review project selection process.

In recent years, substantial efforts have been initiated to develop new drugs, vaccines,and other medical interventions against biological agents that could be usedin bioterrorist attacks against civilian populations. According to a new congressionallymandated report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council ofthe National Academies, to successfully develop these drugs, vaccines, and othermedical interventions against biowarfare agents, Congress should authorize the creationof a new agency within the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department ofDefense. The committee recommended that Congress should improve liability protectionsfor those who develop and manufacture these products, to stimulate willingnessto invest in new research and development for biowarfare protection. GivingFull Measure to Countermeasures also identifies other challenges—such as the needfor appropriate animal models and laboratories equipped with high-level biosafetyprotections—that will require attention if DoD efforts to develop new medical countermeasuresare to be successful.

In Advancing Prion Science, the Institute of Medicine''s Committee on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Assessment of Relevant Science recommends priorities for research and investment to the Department of Defense''s National Prion Research Program (NPRP). Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), also called prion diseases, are invariably fatal neurodegenerative infectious diseases that include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly called mad cow disease), chronic wasting disease, scrapie, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. To develop antemortem diagnostics or therapies for TSEs, the committee concludes that NPRP should invest in basic research specifically to elucidate the structural features of prions, the molecular mechanisms of prion replication, the mechanisms of TSE pathogenesis, and the physiological function of prions'' normal cellular isoform. Advancing Prion Science provides the first comprehensive reference on present knowledge about all aspects of TSEs'' from basic science to the U.S. research infrastructure, from diagnostics to surveillance, and from prevention to treatment. This report summarizes the progress thus far.

Perspectives on the Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System: A Program Review describes the capacity, quality, and effectiveness of the international and domestic facilities and programs that are a part of a DoD system to monitor and address emerging infectious diseases globally. The committee concludes that the goals of the system are in U.S. military, U.S. civilian, and global public health interests and that substantial progress has been made toward achieving system goals.

Nine years after Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (the Gulf War) ended in June 1991, uncertainty and questions remain about illnesses reported in a substantial percentage of the 697,000 service members who were deployed. Even though it was a short conflict with very few battle casualties or immediately recognized disease or non-battle injuries, the events of the Gulf War and the experiences of the ensuing years have made clear many potentially instructive aspects of the deployment and its hazards. Since the Gulf War, several other large deployments have also occurred, including deployments to Haiti and Somalia. Major deployments to Bosnia, Southwest Asia, and, most recently, Kosovo are ongoing as this report is written. This report draws on lessons learned from some of these deployments to consider strategies to protect the health of troops in future deployments. In the spring of 1996, Deputy Secretary of Defense John White met with leadership of the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine to explore the prospect of an independent, proactive effort to learn from lessons of the Gulf War and to develop a strategy to better protect the health of troops in future deployments.

More than 200,000 U.S. military personnel participated in atmospheric nuclear weapons tests between 1945 and the 1963 Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Questions persist, such as whether that test participation is associated with the timing and causes of death among those individuals. This is the report of a mortality study of the approximately 70,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen who participated in at least one of five selected U.S. nuclear weapons test series1 in the 1950s and nearly 65,000 comparable nonparticipants, the referents. The investigation described in this report, based on more than 5 million person-years of mortality follow-up, represents one of the largest cohort studies of military veterans ever conducted.

In January 1995 the Institute of Medicine released a preliminary report containing initial findings and recommendations on the federal government''s response to reports by some veterans and their families that they were suffering from illnesses related to military service in the Persian Gulf War.

The committee was asked to review the government''s means of collecting and maintaining information for assessing the health consequences of military service and to recommend improvements and epidemiological studies if warranted. This new volume reflects an additional year of study by the committee and the full results of its three-year effort.

Malaria is an infectious disease common to several parts of the world, including Africa, northern South America, and Asia. During their service in the military, U.S. active members may be sent to any part of the world, including parts of the world where Malaria is an issue. In Liberia in 2003, for example, there was a 28 percent attack rate in Marines who spent a short time ashore, and half of the 80 Marines affected needed to be evacuated to Germany. This was not only costly to the U.S. military but dangerous as well. To fight against this disease, there exists a Malaria Vaccine program in the U.S. military. However, there exists a variety of potential vaccine targets for the most severe and important form of malaria; malaria from the species Plasmodium falciparum. Issues also arise with the fact that there are three possible stages to create vaccines against—preerythrocytic, blood, or transmission.

The Department of Defense (DoD), through the commanding general of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) conduct a programmatic review of the military Plasmodium falciparum malaria vaccine research and development program. There was to be a focus on vaccine against the preerythrocytic and blood stages. The IOM formed a committee of 11 experts with collective expertise in malaria vaccine research, parasite immunology, malarial biology, clinical trials and regulatory affairs, industrial and public-sector vaccine development, biologic products research and development (vaccinology), military research and development programs, tropical medicine, and public health.

The committee focused different tasks including determining whether the DoD malaria vaccine research and development program is scientifically sound and able to achieve the vaccine program objectives within specified timelines, recommending how to overcome significant, identified barriers, and identifying major strategic goals and timelines based on the material received and presentations made by the DoD''s program representatives. Battling Malaria: Strengthening the U.S. Military Malaria Vaccine Program presents the committee''s findings, current malaria vaccines, and recommendations for the development of the U.S. Military vaccine research.

In Advancing Prion Science, the Institute of Medicine''s Committee on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Assessment of Relevant Science recommends priorities for research and investment to the Department of Defense''s National Prion Research Program (NPRP). Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), also called prion diseases, are invariably fatal neurodegenerative infectious diseases that include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly called mad cow disease), chronic wasting disease, scrapie, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. To develop antemortem diagnostics or therapies for TSEs, the committee concludes that NPRP should invest in basic research specifically to elucidate the structural features of prions, the molecular mechanisms of prion replication, the mechanisms of TSE pathogenesis, and the physiological function of prions'' normal cellular isoform. Advancing Prion Science provides the first comprehensive reference on present knowledge about all aspects of TSEs'' from basic science to the U.S. research infrastructure, from diagnostics to surveillance, and from prevention to treatment. This report summarizes the progress thus far.

Perspectives on the Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System: A Program Review describes the capacity, quality, and effectiveness of the international and domestic facilities and programs that are a part of a DoD system to monitor and address emerging infectious diseases globally. The committee concludes that the goals of the system are in U.S. military, U.S. civilian, and global public health interests and that substantial progress has been made toward achieving system goals.

In recent years, substantial efforts have been initiated to develop new drugs, vaccines,and other medical interventions against biological agents that could be usedin bioterrorist attacks against civilian populations. According to a new congressionallymandated report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council ofthe National Academies, to successfully develop these drugs, vaccines, and othermedical interventions against biowarfare agents, Congress should authorize the creationof a new agency within the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department ofDefense. The committee recommended that Congress should improve liability protectionsfor those who develop and manufacture these products, to stimulate willingnessto invest in new research and development for biowarfare protection. GivingFull Measure to Countermeasures also identifies other challenges—such as the needfor appropriate animal models and laboratories equipped with high-level biosafetyprotections—that will require attention if DoD efforts to develop new medical countermeasuresare to be successful.

Using the results from comprehensive medical examinations, this volume explores the prevalence of disease among former prisoners of war of World War II and the Korean conflict and the relationship between that prevalence and their decades-earlier treatment while in captivity.

Congress has become concerned about funding increases for these programsgiven current demands on the military budget. At the request of Congress, theInstitute of Medicine (IOM) examined possibilities of augmenting program fundingfrom alternative sources. The resulting IOM book, Strategies to Leverage ResearchFunding: Guiding DOD''s Peer Reviewed Medical Research Programs, focuses on nonfederaland private sector contributions that could extend the appropriated funds withoutbiasing the peer review project selection process.

More than 200,000 U.S. military personnel participated in atmospheric nuclear weapons tests between 1945 and the 1963 Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Questions persist, such as whether that test participation is associated with the timing and causes of death among those individuals. This is the report of a mortality study of the approximately 70,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen who participated in at least one of five selected U.S. nuclear weapons test series1 in the 1950s and nearly 65,000 comparable nonparticipants, the referents. The investigation described in this report, based on more than 5 million person-years of mortality follow-up, represents one of the largest cohort studies of military veterans ever conducted.

Nine years after Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (the Gulf War) ended in June 1991, uncertainty and questions remain about illnesses reported in a substantial percentage of the 697,000 service members who were deployed. Even though it was a short conflict with very few battle casualties or immediately recognized disease or non-battle injuries, the events of the Gulf War and the experiences of the ensuing years have made clear many potentially instructive aspects of the deployment and its hazards. Since the Gulf War, several other large deployments have also occurred, including deployments to Haiti and Somalia. Major deployments to Bosnia, Southwest Asia, and, most recently, Kosovo are ongoing as this report is written. This report draws on lessons learned from some of these deployments to consider strategies to protect the health of troops in future deployments. In the spring of 1996, Deputy Secretary of Defense John White met with leadership of the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine to explore the prospect of an independent, proactive effort to learn from lessons of the Gulf War and to develop a strategy to better protect the health of troops in future deployments.

This book contains papers presented at a conference which describe studies of a World War II hepatitis epidemic, a genetic analysis of substance use in veteran twins, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, the psychological effects of military captivity, and dioxin in adipose tissue.

Other papers discuss radiation risk studies in military populations and resources for epidemiologic research in Vietnam-era veterans. This volume should be of interest to epidemiologists, medical researchers, and others interested in public health.

In January 1995 the Institute of Medicine released a preliminary report containing initial findings and recommendations on the federal government''s response to reports by some veterans and their families that they were suffering from illnesses related to military service in the Persian Gulf War.

The committee was asked to review the government''s means of collecting and maintaining information for assessing the health consequences of military service and to recommend improvements and epidemiological studies if warranted. This new volume reflects an additional year of study by the committee and the full results of its three-year effort.