tailieunhanh - Báo cáo khoa học: Therapeutic approaches for prion and Alzheimer’s diseases

Alzheimer’s and prion diseases belong to a category of conformational neu-rodegenerative disorders [Prusiner SB (2001)N Eng J Med344, 1516–1526; Sadowski M & Wisniewski T (2007) Curr Pharm Des13, 1943–1954; Beekes M (2007)FEBS J274, 575]. Treatments capable of arresting or at least effectively modifying the course of disease do not yet exist for either one of these diseases. | MINIREVIEW Therapeutic approaches for prion and Alzheimer s diseases Thomas Wisniewski1 2 3 and Einar M. Sigurdsson2 3 1 Department of Neurology New York University Schoolof Medicine NY USA 2 Department of Pathology New York University Schoolof Medicine NY USA 3 Department of Psychiatry New York University Schoolof Medicine NY USA Keywords Alzheimer s disease metals mucosal vaccination prion vaccine Correspondence T. Wisniewski New York University School of Medicine Departments of Neurology Psychiatry and Pathology Millhauser Laboratories Room HN419 560 First Avenue New York NY 10016 USA Fax 1 212 263 7528 Tel 1 212 263 7993 E-mail Received 9 March 2007 revised 3 May 2007 accepted 4 May 2007 doi Alzheimer s and prion diseases belong to a category of conformational neu-rodegenerative disorders Prusiner SB 2001 N Eng J Med 344 1516-1526 Sadowski M Wisniewski T 2007 Curr Pharm Des 13 1943-1954 Beekes M 2007 FEBS J 274 575 . Treatments capable of arresting or at least effectively modifying the course of disease do not yet exist for either one of these diseases. Alzheimer s disease is the major cause of dementia in the elderly and has become an ever greater problem with the aging of Western societies. Unlike Alzheimer s disease prion diseases are relatively rare. Each year only approximately 300 people in the USA and approximately 100 people in the UK succumb to various forms of prion diseases Beekes M 2007 FEBS J 274 575 Sigurdsson EM Wisniewski T 2005 Exp Rev Vaccines 4 607-610 . Nevertheless these disorders have received great scientific and public interest due to the fact that they can be transmissible among humans and in certain conditions from animals to humans. The emergence of variant Creutzfeld-Jakob disease demonstrated the transmissibility of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans Beekes M 2007 FEBS J 274 575 . Therefore the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy across Europe and the