DNA Vaccine for Multiple Sclerosis
13 Aug 2007
Scientists have reported that a newly developed DNA vaccine appears safe and may produce beneficial changes in the brains and immune systems of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS).
MS is caused when the immune system, which is supposed to protect the body from invading bacteria and viruses, begins to recognise some parts of itself as foreign and mounts an immune response. In MS it is myelin, the protective insulating sheath around our nerve fibres, which the immune system attacks.
This study aims to assess the safety and effectiveness of a DNA vaccine, BHT-3009, (encoding genes which make up part of myelin), on the immune system.
A DNA vaccination is a proposed experimental technique for protecting against a condition by injecting people with DNA to produce an immune response. Thus far, few experimental trials have evoked a response sufficiently strong enough to protect against disease, and the usefulness of the technique remains to be conclusively proven in human trials.
Some research has shown that DNA vaccines can be used to down-regulate or alter an ongoing immune response to the injected DNA encoding myelin proteins in various animal models tested, rather than promoting an immune response against them.
In this study a total of 30 people with relapsing remitting or secondary progressive MS took part in the placebo controlled study. This is the first human trial of a DNA vaccine for an autoimmune disease.
In this small study, BHT-3009 was found to be safe and well tolerated. It also produced some beneficial changes in the immune system and some reduction of inflammatory lesions as measured by MRI.
This study aims to assess the safety and effectiveness of a DNA vaccine, BHT-3009, (encoding genes which make up part of myelin), on the immune system.
A DNA vaccination is a proposed experimental technique for protecting against a condition by injecting people with DNA to produce an immune response. Thus far, few experimental trials have evoked a response sufficiently strong enough to protect against disease, and the usefulness of the technique remains to be conclusively proven in human trials.
Some research has shown that DNA vaccines can be used to down-regulate or alter an ongoing immune response to the injected DNA encoding myelin proteins in various animal models tested, rather than promoting an immune response against them.
In this study a total of 30 people with relapsing remitting or secondary progressive MS took part in the placebo controlled study. This is the first human trial of a DNA vaccine for an autoimmune disease.
In this small study, BHT-3009 was found to be safe and well tolerated. It also produced some beneficial changes in the immune system and some reduction of inflammatory lesions as measured by MRI.
