RedCross Request Jerome H. Holland Laboratory is collecting small volumes
of blood from patients afflicted with various forms of transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies (TSE)/prion diseases and their blood-related family members 2012
UPDATED INFORMATION AUGUST 2012
REDCROSS REQUEST
The American National Red Cross (Red Cross) Jerome H. Holland Laboratory
for Biomedical Research in Rockville, Maryland is collecting small volumes of
blood from patients afflicted with various forms of transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies (TSE)/prion diseases and their blood-related family members.
The purpose of the research is to build a blood sample repository for studies on
ways to detect the presence of prion protein or other markers of the disease in
human blood.
Recent epidemiological evidence indicates that blood of patients with
variant form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), that is prevalent in the
United Kingdom, is infectious.
The questions about the possibility that blood from patients with the
sporadic and familial forms of TSE might also be infectious is still not
resolved even though 10 years of searching has not revealed any examples of
blood-related transmission from patients with these non-variant forms of
disease.
The development of a blood test to identify affected people in the
pre-clinical stage of disease could eliminate the uncertainty about TSE-related
blood safety. Some tests have been successful for testing animals infected with
TSEs, but in order to know if any test will be reliable in humans, we need to
test human blood.
CJD patients and their families are the only source of blood specimens that
can answer this question, and we therefore ask you to support our effort.
If you or an affected relative is interested in participating, please
contact the name listed below. No more than 50 ml of blood should be collected
at a location convenient to you through your own arrangements with your
physician and the blood sample should be sent to the Holland Laboratory at no
cost to you. The samples will be processed and stored, frozen indefinitely, at
the Holland Laboratory in Rockville, Maryland. The Red Cross will provide access
to only designated research staff at the Red Cross or other research groups that
have provided convincing evidence for a test to detect TSE in animals.
Participating individuals will NOT be notified about test results because
the tests that will be performed on blood are experimental and their
significance is not known and will remain uncertain for some years to come. The
CJD foundation will be notified of any publications coming from our research.
Contact information:
Dr. Larisa Cervenakova; Phone: 301-738-0765; e-mail:
cervenakl@usa.redcross.org
Dr. Larisa Cervenakova
Senior Scientist, Biomedical Services
American Red Cross
15601 Crabbs Branch Way
Rockville, MD 20855
(240) 314-3536 (p)
(240) 888-3615 (c)
(301) 610-4120 (f)
Coordinator for the CJD Lookback Study. The study is ongoing and we are
looking for blood donors who subsequently develop CJD.
Below is my contact information, please feel free to pass on my information
to those family members who want to participate in the Lookback Study.
Kerri Dorsey, MPH
Project Manager 1
American Red Cross
Holland Laboratory
Transmissible Disease Department
15601 Crabbs Branch Way
Rockville, MD 20855
Ph: 240-314-3523
Fax: 301-610-4121
END...TSS
CJD LOOKBACK STUDY
TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHIES ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
Thursday, June 2, 1999
CHAIRMAN BROWN: My name is Dr. Paul Brown. Welcome to the FDA traveling
road show. We are asked yet once more by the FDA to consider a question of
theoretical risk in the absence of sufficient knowledge on which to base any
firm conclusion. The issue before us today is that of excluding categories of
American blood donors who have either visited or resided for longer periods of
time in Great Britain. The issue is sufficiently delicate, as you see that we
have been moved outside the Beltway. (Laughter.)snip... "Dr. Alan Williams is
employed by the American Red Cross, Holland Labs,and is Scientific Adviser for
the Florida Blood Services and Canadian Blood Services. In addition, he has
financial interests in firms that could be affected by the general discussions.
"Dr. Richard Race has financial interests in firms that could be affected by the
general discussions and is a public health science researcher. "In the event
that the discussions involve specific products or specific firms for which FDA
participants have a financial interest, the participants are aware of the need
to exclude themselves from such involvement. And their exclusion will be noted
for the public record. A copy of the waivers is available by written request
under the Freedom of Information Act. "With respect to all other meeting
participants, we ask in the interest of fairness that they address any current
or previous financial involvement with any firm whose product they may wish to
comment upon." So ends the reading of the conflict of interest statement. Dr.
Brown, I turn the meeting over to you.snip...
Sunday, June 3, 2012
A new neurological disease in primates inoculated with prion-infected blood
or blood components
Friday, June 29, 2012
Highly Efficient Prion Transmission by Blood Transfusion
price of prion poker goes up again $$$
Monday, June 11, 2012
Guidance for Industry Draft Guidance for Industry: Amendment to “Guidance
for Industry: Revised Preventive Measures to Reduce the Possible Risk of
Transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
by Blood and Blood Products”
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Blood products, collected from a donor who was at risk for variant
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease ( vCJD) USA JUNE, JULY, AUGUST 2012
kind regards, terry