Arch Neurol Chicago
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Arch Neurol Chicago · Dec 2004
Comparative StudyGene vaccination to bias the immune response to amyloid-beta peptide as therapy for Alzheimer disease.
The amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptide has a central role in the neurodegeneration of Alzheimer disease (AD). Immunization of AD transgenic mice with Abeta(1-42) (Abeta(42)) peptide reduces both the spatial memory impairments and AD-like neuropathologic changes in these mice. Therapeutic immunization with Abeta in patients with AD was shown to be effective in reducing Abeta deposition, but studies were discontinued owing to the development of an autoimmune, cell-mediated meningoencephalitis. We hypothesized that gene vaccination could be used to generate an immune response to Abeta(42) that produced antibody response but avoided an adverse cell-mediated immune effect. ⋯ Gene-gun-administered genetic immunization with the Abeta(42) gene in wild-type BALB/c and AD transgenic mice can effectively elicit humoral immune responses without a significant T-cell-mediated immune response to the Abeta peptide. This immunotherapeutic approach could provide an alternative active immunization method for therapy and prevention of AD.
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Arch Neurol Chicago · Dec 2004
Comparative StudyMusculoskeletal pain in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 2.
Myotonic dystrophy type 2/proximal myotonic myopathy (DM2/PROMM) is an autosomal dominant multisystem disorder. Musculoskeletal pain is one of its frequent symptoms but also occurs in other chronic noninflammatory muscle disorders (OMD). ⋯ Besides many similarities, DM2/PROMM-associated musculoskeletal pain shows features distinct from OMD.