The prevalence of neuropsychiatric disorders is increasing. constituting 28% of the global burden of non-communicable disease. A major cause of these disorders is that of aberrant fetal brain development. and there is growing evidence implicating prenatal exposures as a driving factor. A common exposure that has undergone an exponential increase in incidence during recent years is that of viral infections. due in part to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Up to 80% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients have manifested neurological complications.

Basic Research

In deployment, the military personnel often encounter infectious disease agents that range from the common (e.g., rhinoviruses) to highly virulent emerging pathogens (e.g., SARS virus, MERS Coronavirus), and potentially even the proven biological warfare agents (e.g., anthrax, plague). Naturally occurring genetic variations and experimentally induced mutations in mammalian genes that confer varying degrees of resistance to infectious diseases are known. However, the military lacks any usable database on such variations.

Applied Research

Primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness using ritonavirin in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of repurposed medications in reducing symptoms of non-hospitalized participants with mild to moderate COVID-19.

The goals of this project are to conduct vector and human surveillance of Chagas disease, and to propose policies for improved surveillance of this emerging infectious threat to our Service member population who reside and conduct training in potentially high risk areas.

In the diabetic retina disruption of fractalkine (FKN) signaling induces fibrin(ogen) deposition. increased production of IL-1??? by microglia. vascular and neuronal damage.But. how FKN and its receptor. CX3CR1. regulate microglia activation and retinal pathology is unknown.In humans. two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the CX3CR1 locus (hCX3CR1-I249/M280) that show defective binding to FKN. play a key role in inflammation during diabetes.Induction of diabetes in a mouse model expressing the human CX3CR1-I249/M280 revealed accelerated neuronal loss in the retina.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most common cause of cognitive and behavioral deficits in the U.S and worldwide. Most TBIs are classified as mild-TBI and concussion (C) that are associated with minor symptoms and microscopic damage with no observable pathology on imaging scans, and thus are challenging to be diagnosed. Equally important are asymptomatic sub-concussive (SC) head exposures that when left undiagnosed put the subjects at higher risk of repeated exposures, resulting in cognitive declines and initiation of chronic neurodegenerative disease.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of two (2) strengths of LUT0 14 Gel [0.3 mg/g (0.03% weight/weight, w/w) and 1.0 mg/g (0.10% w/w)] topically applied once a day (qd) for four (4) weeks in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with epidennal growth factor receptor inhibitor (EGFRI) induced Grade 2 acneifonn lesions compared to placebo.