Encore Research

I have a close friend who has served as an expert witness in federal court. Apparently the process of being an “expert” involves more than what the re-runs of Law & Order would have us know. In the real world, any person that is submitted to the court as an expert is examined thoroughly to establish the qualifications (such as education, training, knowledge, skill, etc.) that are sufficient to accept them as an expert in their particular field. Once these qualifications have been established, the witness will be proffered to the court as an expert.

This got me to thinking about the really expert work that we do in research every day. I’m talking about research in many clinical areas in several sites here in Florida and in Central America. Some of the work that we do is pretty complex and takes experts from more than one scientific discipline.

The education, training, knowledge and skill that we bring to the research process has been demonstrated repeatedly for over two decades. It is this expert status that attracts the most innovative, dynamic and potentially valuable research to our communities. We are sought out by leaders in the pharmaceutical industry to conduct their trials because we know what we’re doing and we get results! From leg pain to migraines, and just about everything in between, we’ve got research covered. And we do it with skillful style. Ask anyone who has participated in a trial with us. Ask us about our qualifications. We are happy to talk about the exciting process that is available to more and more individuals every year. As the late Marvin Gaye would say in the Motown hit from 1964, Can I Get a Witness?........

Meningitis represents an inflammatory response of the linings of the brain and spinal cord – usually due to infection in the fluid that surrounds these areas. If one has viral meningitis, then most if not all symptoms resolve within a few weeks without further treatment. If bacterial in origin, hearing loss, memory and personality changes and death can occur – even with early and aggressive treatment.

Neisseria meningitidis  is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in infants, adolescents, and young adults in the U.S. There are currently two types of vaccines on the market that protect against  neisseria meningitidis . These vaccines cover four of the major strains of  neisseria  and are thought to be about 85% protective. However, there is currently no vaccine that prevents the “B” strain or serogroup B which is responsible for approximately 1/3 of meningococcal cases seen in North America.

There is great interest in protecting adolescents and young adults because they tend to be the main source for transmission to infants. It is thought that more cases of bacterial meningitis are seen in adolescents and young adults because of social behavior and crowding of susceptible individuals in classrooms, dormitories, and military institutions. In Florida in 2009, there were 52 cases of bacterial meningitis – 7 resulting in death and 13 of the 52 cases were serogroup B.