Accutane is undeniably a great medication for severe acne, working in many cases were antibiotics and creams have failed. But, with several high profile cases surfacing, among many others, it has been suspected of causing depression. From September 1982, when the drug was first marketed, until October 31, 2002, accutane has been mentioned in 3096 reports involving psychiatric disorders of all kinds. That includes 548 reports of depression, death, and hospitalization. There have been 167 cases of suicide involving patients using accutane or at one time using accutane. The purpose of our experiment will be to prove if accutane does in fact cause depression. There would be three groups of 1000 participants each, with ages ranging from 15-25. The first group of patients will receive doses of accutane, the second group will receive other acne medication, including antibiotics and creams, and the third will be the control group of acne-free participants not receiving any type of medication. Each participant will take the Montgomery and Asberg Depression Test before, during, and after the experiment to show any sign of an increase in depression. The participants' serotonin levels will also be measured before, during, and after treatment by performing an amino acid analysis, since low levels have been linked to impulsivity, depression, and suicide. The data gathered in this experiment will show if there is any significant evidence to link accutane to depression. We will see if there is any difference in data between the group taking accutane and the other two groups. We will also see if there is a link between dosage levels given to accutane patients and depression. So, our results will give us a combination of both psychological and biological evaluations of our subjects, surely enough evidence to confirm if accutane causes depression or not. If it is found that accutane does indeed cause depression, then research must be done to find out the mechanism in which it does.

Organ transplantation is theoretically an excellent method to curing many life-threatening diseases. Allografts have been performed quite often with relatively successful results in the transplantation of many organs, such as hearts, kidneys, and livers. Despite allogeneic success, allogeneic organ transplantations are not a convenient means for human organ transplantation. Nearly 3400 Americans die annually awaiting an appropriate organ for transplantation. In addition to this, long-term organ rejection in allogeneic transplantation has proven to be inevitable. Does this mean that all organ transplantations are destined for failure? It is our contention that xenografts are the key to successful long-term organ transplantations. Certainly, xenografts have had an extensive history of unsuccessful transplantations in human patients. Some of the most profound cases of organ rejection were evident in xenograft transplantations. In order to prevent all forms of organ rejection in recipients, we are proposing an experiment to genetically alter donor organs to prevent an immunological response. The key in achieving this task is to remove class 1 MHC proteins (tissue identification proteins) from donor organs so that components of the human immune system are unable to detect such organs as non-self. If the immune system is unsuccessful in detecting foreign organs, it cannot mount an immune response to these organs. Xenografts will provide us with the ability to genetically alter animals to express no class 1 MHC on their organ tissues, ultimately ruling out possible chances of rejection. In performing this experiment we can produce generic organs for xenotransplantation by raising an abundance of animals as possible organ donors.

We intend to present a controversial and ongoing study, as to whether or not non-habitual caffeine ingestion enhances or hinders athletic performance. Our presentation will include background information, such as the chemical makeup, as well as studies that support caffeine as an enhancer, as a hindrance, and our rebuttal and the evidence behind it. Our research proposal will be single blind test, consisting of 20 athletes, half receiving caffeine, and half receiving placebo. We will have two timed running events of intermediate duration. The first running experiment will be a "dry run," where no caffeine or placebo will be administered. Each athlete's time will be recorded, and compared to their "wet run," where half of the athletes will receive caffeine dissolved in a sports drink, and the other half will receive just the sports drink. We hypothesize that the times of the athletes not receiving caffeine will remain relatively constant, and that the athletes that do receive caffeine will have significant drops in their times. By running this experiment, we are trying to prove that caffeine, when taken at 6mg/kg of body weight, will have positive effects on an athlete's performance at an intermediate level (6km or less). We will need to have prior approval from Seton Hall's Institute Review Board because we are using human subjects. This experiment should not exceed two hundred and fifty dollars in expenses; therefore funding is not an issue.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the persistent inability to achieve and/or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual activity. Commonly, patients who suffer from sexual dysfunction are also suffering with cardiovascular disease. Based upon a review of previous studies and the works of established research professionals, it has been determined that a study focusing on the safety of this lethal combination, as opposed to the isolated testing of efficacy, is necessary. Viagra or Sildenafil Citrate has been cited as a safe means of treating erectile dysfunction for patients with a cardiac history. This study will determine if Viagra will safely enhance dysfunctional sexual activity in a random double-blind placebo experiment, where the average participant is a healthy 60 year old male, with ED coupled with cardiac history, currently not taking oral nitrates. A supply of 500 participants, where half will be receiving a weekly 100mg dose of Sildenafil Citrate, will be observed and monitored for cardiac activity in response to clinical treatment. The experiment will continue for a six month period of time with urological and cardiac consultations and surveys with each visit. This will be a comprehensive study of the experimental sample (backed by previous research) along with current FDA findings. It is expected that this study will prove Sildenafil citrate to be a safe means of treating erectile dysfunction for patients with cardiovascular problems.

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome, OHSS, is a common syndrome associated with treatment of infertility in women, where fluid leaks into the abdomen from the blood stream and can cause serious medical problems, namely renal failure. One treatment for infertility is in vitro fertilization, IVF, which involves hormone therapy to induce maturation of follicles, and fertilization of egg and sperm in a laboratory setting. The hormonal regulation is a common cause for OHSS. Based on previous studies, in a randomized, double blind, double placebo experiment, we will test the effectiveness of human chorionic gonadotropin, hCG, versus recombinant human luteinizing hormone, rhLH, in the treatment of infertility and safety in preventing OHSS. 80 women, aged 25-40 years, will be tested for follicular maturation and OHSS symptoms. 20 women in the experimental hCG group will receive injections of 450µg/day of FSH for 5 days, and a one time dose of 5000IU of hCG with a GnRH agonist (200µg/day) for 15 days, and 20 women will receive the same doses of a saline solution. 20 women will also be treated in an experimental group to receive injections of 450µg/day of FSH for 5 days and GnRH (200µg/day) for 15 days, with a single 15000IU injection of rhLH, and 20 women will receive a saline regimen. The follicles will then be harvested and run through an IVF procedure and placed in the uterus for implantation. We expect that the rhLH women will have a lower incidence of OHSS symptoms, whereas a percentage of the hCG group will experience at least mild symptoms of the syndrome.

Cerebral Palsy is one of the most common motor disorders originated in childhood. It affects body movement and muscle Co-ordination. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the process in which 100% oxygen is used to treat many conditions such as those hard-to-heal wounds, migraines, and brain injuries. Cerebral Palsy is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain, which causes part of the brain to be non-functional. Throughout this experiment, we will test through whether hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the dormant or non-functional cell in the brain can be reawakened and become functional. We will randomly choose 100 children diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Each patient must be 4 years old of younger to avoid any abnormality in the myelination process, which takes place around the earlier stage of a child development. Each patient will receive 1.5 ata of 100% hyperbaric oxygen once a day, for 5 days a week for six weeks each patient will serve as his or her control group. Tests will be given before treatment, which will serve as the control group, and same tests will be given after treatment has ended which will serve as the experimental group. Three tests will be used to gather results they are Spect Scans, Peabody Developmental motor scales and Ashworth Spasticity test. In order to evaluate the results, the Wilcoxon signed ranked test was used to compare the control and experimental groups (pre-treatment and post-treatment) based on statistical differences. It is administered by taking the absolute difference of before and after the absolute value of Xa_Xb for each subject. Finally, we hope statistic from the use of hyperbaric oxygenation will show tremendous improvements in cerebral palsy conditions.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of creatine supplementation (CrS) on exercise and performance and muscle metabolism during and after spring exercise in untrained and trained men. This will tell us which group of people creatine works better for. This double-blind study will be conducted for a period of 5 weeks. Before the experiment, all participants will go through a washout phase. At 0 week, the participants will be familiarized with the tests and baseline values will be taken. Then CrS will be administered and the same testing will take place at 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks post-supplementation. This study will use two groups of 40 people. Forty active, well-trained men will perform 3 bouts of 20 seconds of isokinetic cycling on a cycle ergometer. Twenty of which will receive 5 days of 25g creatine (Cr) + 5 g dextrose per day and a placebo group will receive 30 g of dextrose per day. Forty sedentary, untrained men will also perform the same routine, where twenty will receive 25 g of Cr with 5 g of dextrose per day and the other twenty will receive 30 g of dextrose. Muscle biopsies will be taken before and after each bout of exercise. Spectrophotometric analysis will be used to measure levels of TCr, Cr and PCr. We expect to see an increase in creatine levels in all four groups. Total work production, however, we expect to see a greater increase in the well-trained men than the untrained men receiving the creatine. We also expect to see a much greater cumulative loss of ATP in the well-trained men.

The main neurotransmitters involved with and affecting depression, mood, and behavior are Serotonin (5-HT) and Norepinephrine (NE). Two classes of therapeutic drugs are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin reuptake enhancers (SREs). SSRIs cause an increase of neurotransmitters in the synaptic field and SREs cause a decrease of neurotransmitters in the synaptic field. The drug mechanisms involved with these medications are totally opposite, while eliciting the same positive response to depression. The goal of this research is to determine why SSRIs and SREs elicit the same response, where the positive stimulation occurs (pre or post-synaptic), and if the amount of neurotransmitters in the synapse is relevant to relieving depression. The experimental design uses ninety human patients of an equal ratio of male to female, ages 20-35, and minimum of 16 on the Hamilton depression rating scale. There will be three groups, 1SSRI (20mg/day fluoxetine), 1SRE (37.5mg/day tianeptine), and 1Placebo, with 30 patients of equal distribution in each in a double blind experiment setting for a duration of 6 weeks. After administration, quantitative results will be analyzed and compared statistically. Patients will rescore on the Hamilton depression rating scale and blood serum neurotransmitter levels will be analyzed via chemiluminescence imaging. This study is followed by an animal model to identify and measure serotonin in specific brain regions. Fifteen Norway rats with no sex difference, all introduced to the Learned Helplessness Model, will be used for this experiment. There will be three groups, 1SSRI (0.1mg/day fluoxetine), 1SRE (0.25mg/day tianeptine), and 1Placebo, with 15 patients of equal distribution in each in a double blind experiment setting for a duration of 4 weeks. After this experiment, the rat brains will be removed to be both analyzed via an electron micrograph and other sections used for measuring the amounts of 5-HT I brain areas via chemiluminescence imaging. There is evidence that SSRIs and SREs both alleviate depression with a differing mechanism. The results will help determine if 5-HT is the end all in depression, if there are receptors on both pre and post-synaptic membranes, and if possibly any stimulation of the serotonergic system provides therapeutic effects.

p53 was first discovered in 1979 as a tumor suppressor protein. In an unstressed environment resides in the cytoplasm of a cell. When nuclear DNA is damaged by various types of cellular stress, the p53 is transported into the nucleus where it then functions to yield the division of damaged DNA. When p53 is no longer needed it was proven that another cellular protein known as MDM2 plays an important role in its nuclear export. Both MDM2 and p53 carry a patch of amino acids better known as nuclear export signals (NES). The controversy that arises is whether the NES of MDM2 or p53 itself is responsible for the p53's exodus out of the nucleus. To settle this controversy, our proposed experiment is to induce cells of varying p53 and MDM2 combinations (wild-type and NES mutated) with several types of cellular stress. This will damage the DNA and subsequently activate p53 in the respective cells. Analysis will be performed to account for p53 levels both inside and outside the nucleus of the cell. Using these results we will be able to determine which combination of cells (wild-type and maimed p53/MDM2) show the highest levels of cytoplasmic p53. This quantified data will allow us to prove which NES is ultimately responsible for p53's export. Our experimental findings should show p53's NES is responsible for it's own export, providing MDM2 is present to aid in the exportation process. Such findings would open up new doorways in the treatment and suppression of cancer.

In our experiment we hope to see which vector, the Alvac n1 or the Cationic polymer is better at transporting genetic materials in gene therapy of prostate cancer. We hypothesize that at the current time the Alvac n1 virus will be a superior vector compared to the cationic polymer made by Supatrick Pharmaceuticals. We plan on performing the experiment in male rats over a three-week period. During this period the rats will be either injected with the Alvac n1 virus vector, cationic polymer vector, or a saline solution. We then hope to study the volume of delivered genetic material by measuring the weight of the dry media vs. the weight of the wet media. Once that data has been collected statistical analysis will be performed. The Mann-Whitney rank sum test will provide us with a way of ranking the ability of the vector to transcribe the new genetic information to the problem cells. Also in this experiment there will be careful observation of the rats for possible side effects caused by the vectors.

Our proposal is to ensure that two doses of 100 mg of Doxycycline, an antibiotic, is good enough to prevent the onset of Lyme Disease. We are going to study a population of about 1000 people. To half we will give the antibiotic, to the other a placebo. The follow up care is going to be for at least 2 years. This research should either prove that the antibiotic is a good form of prophylaxis or that we should develop a new method for treating lyme disease. We plan on using state of the art equipment to identify the tics and the bacteria in the host. The money needed for the research is going to be well worth the benefits. The medical community must have a clear picture on how to deal with this devastating illness.

Depression is an emotional state in which there are extreme feelings of sadness and lack of self-esteem and energy. It has been linked to neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an electric shock used to induce a controlled seizure intended as a treatment for chemical imbalances in the brain. It is used as a treatment for severe depression, acute mania, catatonia, and for types of schizophrenia. In two studies, ECT proved to be clinically effective. However, in one study it was seen that norepinephrine levels increased after ECT, while in the second study norepinephrine levels decreased. Depression is not accounted for solely by norepinephrine changes and is increasingly linked to other neurotransmitters such as serotonin. Because of this, the proposal is to measure both norepinephrine and serotonin levels in the blood. The experiment is designed for three groups each with 30 people. Two groups will be diagnosed as clinically depressed (HAM-DS of greater then 17) and the control group will have a score of less then 10 on the same test. The groups will include a control (non-depressed), a placebo (not receiving ECT), and the experimental group (receiving ECT). The experiment will last for 32 days and the patients will receive ECT once every three days. The patient's blood will be tested before and after treatments as well as the next day for norepinephrine and serotonin levels. We hypothesize that there will be an increase in both these levels as treatments progress. We also expect that the HAM-DS scores will decrease as well as signs of depression.

The purpose of our study is to examine the long-term sustainability of high-fat, high-protein diets as compared to traditional high carbohydrate diets. Our aim is also to test the effect of a low-carbohydrate/high fat and protein diet on losing as well as maintaining weight loss by measuring the following endpoints: body weight, body mass index (BMI). Other endpoints that will be tested are: percentage of body fat, serum bicarbonate, cholesterol levels (HDL, LDL, and triglycerides) and blood nitrogen (BUN) levels in order to test whether a low-carbohydrate/high fat and protein diet offers an overall healthy nutritional approach by examining the human metabolism. In order to see the long-term sustainability and efficacy of such diets we will be conducting a one year study consisting of 50 men and 50 women who will be divided equally into two respective groups based on different diets. In the first group will be testing a high fat-high protein diet and high-carbohydrate/low fat diet where we will use healthy individuals with BMI of 33.8 ± 3.4kg/m^2, restricted to 1600-2800 caloric diet with less than 25 grams of carbohydrate consumption daily. The second group will be on the high-carbohydrate/low fat diet with the same BMI standards as the first group but the diet will be restricted to 1600-2800 caloric diet with approximately 45 grams of carbohydrate daily consumption. Through blood work and urine samples we will measure the above- mentioned endpoints every three months. We anticipate that our results will prove that long-term high-fat/high protein diets are beneficial, both in weight loss and overall health thus decreasing risk of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus.