On August 6th, 2019, a two-day trans-agency scientific meeting was convened by the United States (U.S.) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID/NIH) on the research and development of medical countermeasures (MCMs) and treatment strategies to mitigate synthetic opioid-induced toxicities. This trans-agency meeting was an initiative of the Chemical Countermeasures Research Program (CCRP) and organized by the NIAID in collaboration with the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The CCRP is part of the larger NIH biodefense research program coordinated by NIAID, which also includes MCM research and development programs against biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. Its overarching goal is to integrate cutting-edge research and technological advances in science and medicine to enhance the nation's medical response capabilities during and after a public health emergency involving the deliberate or accidental release of toxic chemicals. The potential of a mass casualty public health event involving synthetic opioids is a rapidly growing concern. As such, the overall goals of this trans-agency meeting are to better understand opioidinduced toxicities and advance the development of MCMs to mitigate and reverse opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) to prevent consequential mortality. The primary objectives of the meeting were (1) highlight the latest research on mechanisms of OIRD and related toxicities, animal models, diagnostics, delivery technologies, and emerging new treatment options to prevent lethality; (2) identify current knowledge gaps to advance medical countermeasure development; (3) hear from the U.S. FDA on regulatory considerations to support new technology and treatment approaches; and (4) provide a forum for networking and collaborative partnerships. To accomplish this, a diverse group of almost 200 US domestic and international subject matter experts spanning fundamental and translational research from academia, industry, and government came together in-person to share their collective expertise and experience in this important field. This report briefly summarizes the information presented throughout the meeting, which was also webcast live in its entirety to registered remote attendees.Keywords Opioids . Medical countermeasures . Respiratory depression . NIAID Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, carfentanil, and their congeners are currently of the utmost public health concern to the US government. This concern stems from multiple factors to include their extremely high potency, wide pharmaceutical and illicit availability, and the potential of large-scale intentional as well as accidental release that could result in mass poisonings and casualties. Consequently, these compounds are not only considered public health risks under the ongoing "opioid epidemic," but also chemical threats by both civilian and militar...
Although pure word deafness (p.w.d.) is a well-defined clinical picture it usually occurs as part of a more complex syndrome. Almost invariably there is some degree of aphasia and as a rule other auditory disturbances, such as imperception of specific sounds including musical tones, also occur. These associated symptoms tend to diminish or even disappear in time while the deafness for word sounds usually persists in its initial intensity. In the case we describe most of the associated symptoms, especially the aphasia, soon abated leaving an almost pure word deafness. Subsequently this too improved slowly and because of the partial recovery we were able to obtain data which are rarely available in these cases.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) leads the nation in preventing, preparing for, and responding to the adverse health effects of public health emergencies and disasters. In addition to biological, radiological and nuclear agents, the risk of a high consequence public health emergency due to the intentional and/or accidental release of chemical agents is a major growing concern of the US government. As such, the federal government is fully committed to address public health security threats posed by chemicals. To enhance chemical emergency preparedness and response, HHS oversees the interdepartmental research, advanced development, regulatory review and approval, procurement, and stockpiling of medical countermeasures (MCMs).
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