Arab adolescents comprised 55% (1117) of the analyzed sample SCH727965 cell line and Jews 45% (902), 56% of participants were girls. Of the Arab participants, 18.6% reported having frequent headaches (girls 25.3%, boys 9.1%, P<0.0001) much less than their Jewish peers (P<0.0001) among whom 27.9% reported having frequent headaches (girls 35.6%, boys 19% P<0.0001). Other somatic complaints such as abdominal pain, palpitations, disordered sleep and fatigue were more frequent in adolescents (Jews and Arabs, girls and boys) who suffered from headaches than in their peers who did

not report having headaches (P<0.0001), the same pattern observed in the Jewish and the Arab group.

Conclusions: Headache is a frequent complaint among adolescents in Northern Israel. Jewish adolescents reported find more having headaches more frequently than their Arab peers.

Those who suffered from frequent headaches also reported having significantly more other somatic complaints than adolescents without headaches. Girls had more somatic complaints then boys in the two ethnic groups.”
“Background: Clinical profiling of two components for a synthetic peptide-based virosomal malaria vaccine has yielded promising results, encouraging the search for additional components for inclusion in a final multi-valent vaccine formulation. This report describes the immunological characterization of linear and cyclized synthetic peptides comprising amino acids 211-237 of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein (MSP-3).

Methods: These peptides were coupled to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE); the conjugates were intercalated into immunopotentiating

reconstituted influenza virosomes (IRIVs) and then used for immunizations in mice to evaluate their capacity to elicit P. falciparum cross-reactive antibodies.

Results: While all MSP-3-derived peptides were able to elicit parasite-binding antibodies, stabilization of turn structures by cyclization had no immune-enhancing effect. Therefore, further pre-clinical profiling was focused on FB-12, a PE conjugate of the linear peptide. Consistent Selleckchem NVP-LDE225 with the immunological results obtained in mice, all FB-12 immunized rabbits tested seroconverted and consistently elicited antibodies that interacted with blood stage parasites. It was observed that a dose of 50 mu g was superior to a dose of 10 mu g and that influenza pre-existing immunity improved the immunogenicity of FB-12 in rabbits. FB-12 production was successfully up-scaled and the immunogenicity of a vaccine formulation, produced according to the rules of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), was tested in mice and rabbits. All animals tested developed parasite-binding antibodies. Comparison of ELISA and IFA titers as well as the characterization of a panel of anti-FB-12 monoclonal antibodies indicated that at least the majority of antibodies specific for the virosomally formulated synthetic peptide were parasite cross-reactive.