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Date Submitted:
12/12/07
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Experimental MS Vaccine Proves Safe in Early Test
Description:
An experimental DNA vaccine to fight multiple sclerosis is safe and may also be effective, results of a small Canadian trial suggest.
The vaccine, called BHT-3009, works by preventing the immune system from attacking the myelin sheaths that protect nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The destruction of myelin eventually destroys a nerve cell's axon, which prevents cells from transmitting messages and is one of the hallmarks of MS. "This was an early trial of a new class of drugs for autoimmune disease in general and for MS in particular," said lead researcher Dr. Amit Bar-Or, of McGill University's Montreal Neurological Institute. The idea of the vaccine is to change the immune cells that target the nervous system, Bar-Or said. "What we want to do is focus on just those cells that are involved in the disease process," he said. "So antigen-specific therapies are designed to try to modify or eliminate only those bad-guy cells that are in Read the Complete Article Similar content: Experimental MS Vaccine Proves Safe in Early Test, in Multiple Sclerosis Blood Test Might Spot Alzheimer's Early, in Alzheimers Test Brings Early Pancreatic Cancer to Light, in Prostate Cancer Antibody Test Could Spot Rheumatoid Arthritis Early, in Arthritis Lamotrigine Proves To Be Effective Add-On Therapy, in Epilepsy |
