MHS Vital Signs MILITARY HE ALTH SYS TEM E-BULLE TIN
S u b s c r ib e
ISSUE 17 AUGUST 2010
IN THIS ISSUE
MHS Vital Signs is distributed
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and view the full version, visit us on
the web at www.health.mil/vitalsigns.
August 2010 Online Edition:
• August Is Immunization
Awareness Month
• Mullen: Military Needs Leaders to
Address Suicide Issue
• Like “Running on the Moon”:
Brigade Uses New Technology to
Advance Soldiers’ Rehab
• New Policies Protect Troops From
Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries
• MHS Profiles: Cracking the Code –
DoD’s Quest for a Malaria Vaccine
• Research Roundup: USU
Researchers Break New Ground in
Prostate Cancer Battlees
• Did You Know?
UPCOMING EVENTS
USU-Henry Jackson Foundation
Military Medicine Symposium:
Advancing Public-Private
Partnerships
Sept. 23, Washington, D.C.
4th Military Vision Symposium on
Ocular and Brain Injury
Sept. 26-30, Boston
to MHS
V it a l S ig n s
at
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h .m il /
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Welcome
Every August, the Department of Defense
and the Military Vaccine Agency partner
with the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention to support National
Immunization Awareness Month. This
year’s theme, “Immunization Health
and the DoD Family,” was adopted to
help educate beneficiaries and heighten
awareness of the importance and benefit
of maintaining up-to-date vaccinations.
DoD will continue to emphasize immunization health and other long-held
principles in August, as well as during the 2010-2011 seasonal influenza
vaccination campaign. Vaccinations and other preventive health measures such
as frequent hand washing, sneezing into one’s sleeve and avoiding close contact
with sick people continue to provide the best protection against influenza and
other communicable diseases. Simply put, these efforts are force multipliers.
MILVAX promotes excellence in immunization delivery and offers many training
opportunities for health care providers, commanders and service members to
keep them current on changes in policy and new initiatives. MILVAX’s website,
www.vaccines.mil is a comprehensive access point for this information.
The top priority is to ensure the health and well-being of the DoD family, and
quality immunization programs are key to fulfilling that priority.
Col. Michael Krukar
Director, Military Vaccine Agency
August Is Immunization Awareness Month
Proper immunization is an essential
component of good, preventive
health care because it can provide
continuous protection against
vaccine-preventable diseases.
These diseases include, but are not
limited to, hepatitis, tetanus, typhoid,
measles, mumps and rubella.
Vaccinations are particularly
important for at-risk populations,
including service members, new mothers, infants, school-aged children
and senior citizens. The priority vaccinations for each group are different
and depend on age, lifestyle, and occupational factors, among other things.
Regardless, everyone can benefit from keeping their vaccinations current
and their immunization records up to date. Read more at http://bit.ly/aTWicJ.

RESEARCH ROUND UP
Research Roundup:
USU Researchers Break
New Ground in Prostate
Cancer Battle
A recent medical breakthrough has opened
new opportunities in clinical evaluation
of prostate cancer worldwide, as military
researchers have developed a new process
that may lead to earlier detection of the
disease, according to officials.
Dr. Shiv Srivastava, co-director of the
Uniformed Services University’s Center
for Prostate Disease Research and CPDR
Director Col. (Dr.) David G. McLeod
recently collaborated with a team of
researchers and investigators from the
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and
Walter Reed Army Medical Center to
develop a highly specific assay, or analysis,
for the detection of the ERG oncoprotein,
which is regulated by prevalent gene
fusions present in more than half of all
prostate cancers.
More in-depth research is a work in
progress says Srivastava, however CPDR
researchers have actively studied biology,
biomarker and therapeutic utility of ERG
alterations in prostate cancer since their
original discovery of the frequent ERG
over-expression in nearly two-thirds of all
prostate cancer patients more than five
years ago. Read more at
http://bit.ly/bF0O5b.
CONTACT US
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future issues of MHS Vital Signs.
Please contact
mhs_vitalsigns@tma.osd.mil.
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Warrior Care Spotlight: Double Amputee Takes
Charge of Army Wounded Warrior Program
The U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program
gained a new director July 13 – one who has
a lot in common with those he’ll be leading.
Lt. Col. Gregory D. Gadson, a West Point
graduate, lost both of his legs to a roadside
bomb in Iraq in 2007. Despite nearly losing
his life, Gadson went on to complete two
graduate degrees and recovered with
assistance from the Wounded Warrior
Program, which he now leads.
Read more at http://bit.ly/8YOdIe.
Like “Running on the Moon”: Brigade Uses New
Technology to Advance Soldiers’ Rehab
Fort Jackson soldiers who are injured during basic combat training have a new
weapon at their disposal to get up and running again.
The 171st Infantry Brigade recently
purchased three anti-gravity treadmills,
which are designed to rehabilitate runners
who have injuries to the lower back, legs
or feet.
The machines allow injured soldiers to train
while putting less weight on the injured area
by creating negative air pressure. The negative air pressure is adjustable and
simulates the effect of walking or running in an environment with as little as 20
percent of the Earth’s gravity. Read more at http://bit.ly/9ABwDP.
MHS Profiles: Cracking the Code – DoD’s Quest
for a Malaria Vaccine
This month we profile the United States
Military Malaria Vaccine Program, which
hopes to unravel the major complexities of
the malaria parasite to develop a vaccine
that will control and someday eradicate the
disease. Read more at http://bit.ly/diXiZ5.
What is a bit.ly?
A bit.ly i s a short URL that eliminates the need to type out long Web
addresses. Just type in the bit.ly address into your Web browser and you will
be taken to the correct page at health.mil. Enjoy!