Appeal No. 2006-0148 Page 12
Application No. 09/933,309
Like the experiment described in the Fahy declaration, the experiment described
by Goff analyzes the effect of growth hormone (bGH) administration on the thymus.
Goff evaluates changes in both thymus morphology and function (specifically, thymulin
production). Goff concludes that in middle-aged but not old-age dogs, growth hormone
“treatment resulted in rejuvenation of thymic morphological features,” abstract, and
“bGH-treated dogs had significantly greater plasma thymulin concentrations than BSA-
[bovine serum albumin-]treated controls regardless of age.” Page 584.
Thus, both the Fahy declaration and Goff conclude that growth hormone
treatment produces an increase in thymus function. While the Fahy declaration bases
its conclusion on the results of MRI imaging, while Goff bases its conclusions on assays
for thymulin production, the fact that both experiments reached similar conclusions, by
different analytical methods, is more conclusive than either experiment alone.
The examiner cites McCormick7 as evidence that an increase in thymus mass
does not necessarily indicate an increase in thymus function. See the Examiner’s
Answer, page 19: “McCormick teaches that regeneration of an age-involuted thymus
can be accomplished in rats [sic, mice] using growth hormone, however, there was no
significant improvement of cellular immune function.”
We do not find that the evidence provided by McCormick outweighs the evidence
provided by Goff and the Fahy declaration. As the examiner noted, McCormick
concludes that growth hormone treatment of mice increased thymus mass and restored
morphological integrity of the thymus, although McCormick does not report any
7 Supra, note 2.
Page: Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007