Friday, 9 September 2005

This presentation is part of: AMS in Low Dose Biosciences Posters

Long-term retention and elimination of aluminum from aluminum hydroxide adjuvant

Richard Flarend, Physics, Penn State Altoona, 3000 Ivyside Park, Altoona, PA 16601

Aluminum-containing adjuvants are added to many vaccines to increase the immune response. Although these adjuvants have been used for many years, the mechanism by which aluminum boosts the immune response of a vaccine is unknown, and very little is known about the fate of aluminum following its injection into the body as a vaccine adjuvant. Recently there has been a concern that a macrophagic myofasciitis may be related to vaccines containing aluminum hydroxide adjuvant. In this study, aluminum hydroxide adjuvant was labeled with aluminum-26 and injected into a human subject. Non-invasive low-level decay counting is used to measure the aluminum-26 remaining at the injection site and AMS is used to measure the amount of aluminum-26 which is mobilized in the blood and subsequently cleared from the body in urine. The injection site and urine will be monitored for a total of five years after the injection. Preliminary data will be presented.

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