Vaccines Show Promise Fighting Parkinson's, Other Brain Diseases
Wall Street Journal
 Eastern edition
New York, N.Y.
Jun 15, 2004
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Authors:                  Amir Efrati
Pagination:               D.1

"TO TREAT SOME of the most debilitating and feared illnesses of the
brain,
researchers are turning to some of the oldest weapons in medicine:
vaccines.

Vaccines typically use the body's natural defenses to prevent diseases
such as smallpox and polio. Now, a vaccine approach that may be able to
slow the progression of diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and
Huntington's
has shown promising results.

In a four-year study published yesterday in the journal Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences, a vaccine given to mice with
Parkinson's
protected about half of the nerve cells that would normally be killed by
the disease.

The experimental vaccine marks an "exciting conceptual advance" for
Parkinson's
and other brain disease therapy, says Howard Gendelman, director of the
Center for Neurovirology and Neurodegenerative Disorders at Nebraska,
where
the research was conducted. But he cautioned that until human studies of
the vaccine are completed, "we won't know if what works in mice will work
in humans."

Other vaccines that could be used to treat brain diseases have also shown
promising results in animals, and some are now being tested in humans.
These vaccines, unlike those used to keep children safe from infections,
wouldn't be preventative but rather would slow the diseases' advance.

The experiments are risky, and success is uncertain. One trial of a
vaccine
for treating Alzheimer's was cut short two years ago because it caused
brain inflammation in about a dozen of the 300-plus patients receiving
the drug.

But if researchers can find a way around the obstacles, the new approach
could open a whole menu of treatments for some of humankind's most
dreaded
diseases, which rob people of the ability to function in society, move
and even think. Researchers are also studying their effectiveness against
addictions to nicotine and cocaine.

Such drugs could "significantly increase quality time" in patients
suffering
from these diseases, says Harris Gelbard, professor of neurology at the
University of Rochester in upstate New York, and a specialist in
neurodegenerative
diseases. He isn't affiliated with any of the trials of brain vaccines.

The trials are still small in size and often have strict criteria for
inclusion.
But people who are interested in taking part can call the companies or
institutions leading the studies. They will likely stand a better chance
of taking part in the next, larger stage of testing, known as Phrase 3
trials. (For a look at some of the vaccines being used in trials, see
page
D4.)

In one of the trials, Wyeth, a large U.S. drug maker, has teamed up with
Irish pharmaceuticals company Elan Corp. to test vaccines against
Alzheimer's
in humans. The companies hope their vaccine will induce the body to
produce
antibodies to winnow clumps of proteins in the brain that may be
responsible
for the symptoms of the mind-robbing dementia. Their vaccine is an
improved
version of the one discontinued for harming patients two years ago.

In the latest effort at developing brain vaccines, researchers at the
University
of Nebraska and Columbia University in New York reported success in
protecting
mice from much of the devastation of Parkinson's, which leads patients
to lose control of their muscles.

The same vaccine is also part of a six-month study on 30 patients with
Lou Gehrig's, or amyotropic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative nerve
disease,
that is under way at Columbia. Results are expected a year from now.
Larger-scale
studies of the vaccine on both Lou Gehrig's and Parkinson's patients are
planned for next year.

Between 500,000 and 1.5 million Americans have Parkinson's disease and
50,000 new cases are reported each year. The disease attacks the nerve
cells in the brain that produce dopamine. The death of those cells
results
in uncontrollable shaking, slow movement, rigid limbs and a stooped
posture.

Current treatments for Parkinson's seek to relieve its chief symptom --
the decline in muscle control. The new vaccine uses a drug called
Copaxone
or Cop-1, which is similar to a protein found in the brain. The drug,
approved
by the Food and Drug Administration, is used to treat multiple sclerosis.

The vaccine essentially helps complete the immune process that brain
diseases
cut short. After most injuries, the body's immune cells go to protect the
affected area, causing inflammation. Soon after, the body dispatches
other
immune cells to reduce the inflammation and heal the wound.

But with Parkinson's disease and other brain-related disorders,
researchers
believe, cells that turn off the inflammation are impeded from entering
the brain by its blood barrier. This puts more stress on the surviving
nerve cells, which accelerates the disease, Dr. Gendelman says.

The vaccine helped turn off the inflammation in mice and also
strengthened
the natural repair of damaged cells, he says.

The study was funded in part by foundations and the National Institutes
of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the U.S. Department of Defense.

  A New Approach: The following vaccines for treating brain ailments are
being studied in humans. Some of the treatments could still be years
away.

  AILMENT: Alzheimer's
VACCINE: ACC-001
 SPONSOR: Wyeth; Elan


  AILMENT: Cocaine addiction

  VACCINE: TA-CD

 SPONSOR: Xenova Group


  AILMENT: Nicotine addiction

  VACCINE: NicVax

  SPONSOR: Nabi Biopharmaceuticals

  AILMENT: Nicotine addiction
  VACCINE: TA-NIC
  SPONSOR: Xenova Group


  AILMENT: Parkinson's, Lou Gehrig's, other brain diseases
  VACCINE: Copaxone

  SPONSOR: National Institutes of Health (study done at Columbia Univ.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask]
In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn