NIH to do study on post katrina victoms (WOW) a must read

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NIH Seeks Post-Katrina Human Test Subjects for Genetic Study The

National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found a bright spot in the

post-Hurricane Katrina environment around New Orleans: now that so

many citizens suffer from chronic airway problems, NIH says it's

prime time to assess the role of genetics in human resistance -- or

susceptibility -- to lung disease. Determining that potential

connection will require the extraction of genetic information from a

diverse study group, NIH said in a March 13

http://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NIEHS/NIH-ES-06-07/SynopsisP.html

planning document. It specifically listed women, persons from lower

socioeconomic backgrounds of particular ethnic or racial groups,

[and] older and hard-to-reach groups. The Gulf Coast is in a unique

condition resulting from Katrina, most notably from the high risk of

exposure to mold and microbial toxins among the clean-up and

construction workers and residents, it said. Since scientists do not

fully understand the effect of mold toxins and mold concentrations on

a person's health, the condition of the New Orleans region

consequently presents an unprecedented opportunity to further explore

these issues. The environmental health sciences division of NIH

envisions conducting a 30-month study of about 1,000 volunteer

patients, a task it will coordinate and fund via Tulane University.

Dr. Joan , a cell and molecular biology professor at Tulane,

is considered a world-renowned expert in the area of mold and

microbial toxins, thereby justifying the awarding of a sole-source

contract to Tulane, the document says. also is a member of

the National Academy of Sciences, the official scientific advisory

body to the U.S. government since the Lincoln Administration. Tulane

investigators have extensive experience conducting both occupational

and community-based health studies in this region, NIH says,and have

first-hand knowledge of the medical management infrastructure and

level of operation of individual hospitals and clinics in the region.

Tulane under the contract also would be responsible for maintaining a

high level of community involvement and outreach to keep the study

going -- no small wonder, in light of its need to collect blood,

urine and expired-air samples from the same participants across a two-

and-a-half year period. The sampling of air in the study

participants' resident and/or workplace also must be conducted, it

said.March 17, 2006 Listed below are links to weblogs that reference

http://tpr.typepad.com/thepeacockreport/2006/03/nih_seeks_postk.html " >

NIH Seeks Post-Katrina Human Test Subjects for Genetic

Study