A single dose of unadjuvanted novel 2009 H1N1 vaccine is immunogenic and well tolerated in young and elderly adults.

Background: When the novel H1N1 influenza A strain appeared in April of 2009, development of novel H1N1 vaccines became a public health priority.

Methods: We conducted a phase‐2, multicenter, randomized, placebo‐controlled, observer‐blind clinical trial of a 2009 H1N1 vaccine in 1313 young (age, 18-64 years) and older (age, >or=65 years) adults. Participants were randomized 1:4:4:4 to receive 2 doses of placebo or 7.

Response to a monovalent 2009 influenza A (H1N1) vaccine.

Background: A novel 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus is responsible for the first influenza pandemic in 41 years. A safe and effective vaccine is needed. A randomized, observer-blind, parallel-group trial evaluating two doses of an inactivated, split-virus 2009 H1N1 vaccine in healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 64 years is ongoing at a single site in Australia.

Cognitive response to memantine in moderate to severe Alzheimer disease patients already receiving donepezil: an exploratory reanalysis.

Objective: To investigate the cognitive effects of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, memantine, with a post-hoc exploratory reanalysis of a 24-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group clinical trial comparing memantine (20 mg per day) to placebo in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer disease (AD) receiving treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor, donepezil.

Methods: The effects of memantine on individual items of the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB), subscale performance, and 3 post-hoc-derived aggregate subscales were investigated. Analyses were based on the intention-to-treat population using last observation carried forward and observed cases approaches.

A systematic review of assessment and treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: The systematic, large-scale study of therapies for moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a relatively recent advancement in the field. This review describes for the general practitioner the characterization of moderate to severe AD, discusses the development of metrics sensitive to the constellation of symptoms in these patients, and critically evaluates the use of those measures in moderate to severe AD clinical trials.

Data Sources: Published clinical trials obtained by MEDLINE searches used the following key words: moderate AD, severe AD, donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine, memantine, and anti-dementia agents.

Altered serotonin synthesis, turnover and dynamic regulation in multiple brain regions of mice lacking the serotonin transporter.

To evaluate the consequences of inactivation of the serotonin transporter (SERT) gene on 5-HT homeostasis and function, 5-HT synthesis and turnover rates were measured using the decarboxylase inhibition method in multiple brain regions (frontal cortex, striatum, brainstem, hippocampus and hypothalamus) from mice with a genetic disruption of SERT. 5-HT synthesis rates were increased 30-60% in the different brain regions of SERT -/- mice compared to littermate +/+ control mice despite 55-70% reductions in tissue 5-HT concentrations. Brain regions that possessed a greater capacity to increase synthesis and turnover (frontal cortex, striatum) demonstrated lesser reductions in tissue 5-HT.