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"This will change how we treat neurodegenerative diseases," said Harris > Gelbard, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology at the University of Rochester > Medical Center. "It's a groundbreaking advance." > > The CNND has based much of its research on the premise that activation of > two types of support cells in the brain - microglia and astrocytes - mediate > inflammatory events that contribute to the death of neurons, the nerve cells > in the nervous system that receive and send out electrical signals. The > destruction of neurons is well known to lead to the development of > neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease > and HIV-1-associated dementia. The vaccine approach can affect the > inflammatory brain response and at the same time increase the local > expression of neurotrophins or nerve cell growth promoting factors in the > brain. > > "What we have done is take an evil process (inflammation) and turned it on > its heels," Dr. Gendelman said. "We've taken a destructive process and > contained it." > Drs. Gendelman and Przedborski emphasized that although the vaccine > protects mice against the type of cell death observed in Parkinson's > disease, there is no guarantee it will act the same way in humans. Clinical > trials ultimately will determine if the observations seen in mice can be > translated and prove useful in humans with disease. > > In mice, however, the concept has shown great promise, preventing the > progression of the disease. In their research, CNND scientists injected a > brain protein into mice with an experimental form of Parkinson's disease. > "The mice mounted an immune response to the brain protein that turned off > inflammation," Dr. Gendelman said. > > The immune cells can go into brain regions that are affected during > disease and reduce the inflammation in the area of injury, as it would > elsewhere in the body following local infections and trauma. This may be a > way to use the body's own defense to work towards its own repair, Dr. > Gendelman said. > > Importantly such protective strategies eliminate the need to use more > controversial approaches for brain repair including the use of embryonic > stem cells and fetal cells, he said. Unlike fetal or stem cells, this > vaccine therapy relies on harnessing the body's own immune system. "It's a > very novel means for combating neurological diseases," Dr. Gendelman said. > > Parkinson's disease is a chronic, debilitating disease without a cure. > There also is no preventive or restorative treatment available. In the > United States, at least 500,000 people are believed to suffer from > Parkinson's disease, and about 50,000 new cases are reported annually. The > incidence is expected to increase as the average age of the population > increases. The disorder appears to be slightly more common in men than > women. > > The vaccine approach utilizes a compound called Copaxone or Cop-1, a Food > and Drug Administration-approved and well-tolerated drug. Cop-1 has been > used effectively in patients with chronic neuroinflammatory disease such as > relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis for more than a decade. Given the > safety record for Cop-1 and that current treatments for Parkinson's disease > remain palliative, such a vaccination strategy represents a promising > therapeutic avenue that can readily be used in human clinical trials, said > Drs. Gendelman and Przedborski. > > The work was supported in part, by the National Institutes of Neurological > Disorders and Stroke, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Alan and Marcia > Baer Foundation, the Francis and Louis Blumkin Foundation, Inc., the Terry > K. Watanabe Charitable Trust, the Seline Family Foundation, the Lowenstein > Foundation, the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, the Parkinson's Disease > Foundation and the MDA/Wings-Over-Wall Street. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn