NYU School of Medicine scientists have created the first active vaccine that can significantly delay and possibly prevent the onset of a brain disease in mice that is similar to mad cow disease. The new findings, published online this week in the journal Neuroscience, could provide a platform for the development of a vaccine to prevent a group of fatal brain diseases caused by unusual infectious particles called prions.

-------------------------------------------
First mucosal prion vaccine
-------------------------------------------

The NYU study is also the first to use a mucosal prion vaccine, given by mouth rather than through the skin, which localizes the initial immune response to the gut and mainly stimulates an antibody response, says Dr. Wisniewski. "By giving our vaccine orally, we're stimulating an immune response mainly in the digestive tract," he explains. "Thus, harmful prions in contaminated food will be destroyed in the gut and will not reach other organs in the body." Because the research was conducted in normal mice, the NYU researchers say it will be easier to apply in animals in the wild, which are at risk for developing prion disease.

For the entire story, click here.

Source: New York University Medical Center and School of Medicine
May 13, 2005

Back to Hot Topics