Appeal 2007-1820
Application 10/659,408
DISCUSSION
Moilanen in view of Kharitonov
Claims 18-27 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) over Moilanen
in view of Kharitonov.
Findings of Fact
Moilanen
1. Moilanen teaches a method for measuring NO in exhaled air (Moilanen,
at [0001]).
2. Moilanen reports that levels of exhaled NO are higher in patients with
asthma and alveolitis as compared to healthy persons (Moilanen, at [0026]
and Fig. 2).
3. Moilanen “also studied the effect of anti-inflammatory drug treatment on
. . . NO output in patients with asthma . . . 16 patients with asthma started 8
weeks of treatment with inhaled glucocorticoids to suppress their asthmatic
airway inflammation. . . . [T]here was a significant decrease in bronchial NO
flux already after one week of anti-inflammatory treatment, and after 8
weeks the bronchial NO flux of these 16 asthmatics was similar to healthy
controls. The decrease in bronchial NO flux during the drug treatment took
place simultaneously with decrease in asthmatic symptoms and
improvement of lung function of these subjects” (Moilanen, at [0030]).
4. “The results . . . suggest that the present method can be used to follow-up
drug treatment of inflammatory lung diseases and provide means to assess
the efficacy of such treatment” (Moilanen, at [0031]).
Kharitonov
5. Kharitonov teaches that exhaled nitric oxide (NO) is a marker of airway
inflammation (Kharitonov, at 533 (“Nitric oxide in exhaled air is a new
4
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