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Will Rehovot's Weizmann Vaccine Help Diseased Brains?
Not to miss: Recent clinical research Cases of a Vaccine against Alzheimer's type neurodegeneration indicate vaccination approach to cure nervous system diseases can harm patients rather then cure diseases. See article "Goodbuy came early" for a sad immunization problem of dementing senior and her family members.
Research being conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot may lead to a therapeutic vaccine to stop degeneration of aging or diseased brains, says Michal Schwartz, professor of neuroimmunology at the facility. Schwartz presented the results of her research to the national annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science, held last month at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Toronto. She said that when she began her study on slowing down the loss of cognition and memory that can occur in aging, “I was told to forget about it – that it would ruin my reputation.” Gradually, however, her work has become recognized as groundbreaking, she said.
The key lies in the functioning of the immune and auto-immune systems, Schwartz said. "The immune system, she explained, protects the body against potential dangers such as bacteria, viruses, and microorganisms, while the autoimmune system, if it’s working properly, recognizes the body’s own tissues and ensures that they are not compromised. If things are not working properly, the immune system will attack the body’s own elements, leading to such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes. The thinking used to be, Schwartz said, that autoimmune cells were part of the pathology of illness, and therefore must be destroyed wherever they were found. Through her research into spinal cord injury and brain trauma, however, she discovered that autoimmune cells are needed to fight injury.
For instance, there are 10 million nerves in the spine, and not all of them are usually injured at the same time. Without the appropriate measures, Schwartz said, the non-injured cells will degenerate along with the damaged ones. But if it’s made possible, healthy cells will attach themselves to neighbouring nerve fibres and, by doing so, stop the process of degeneration. It also used to be believed that there are a fixed number of nerve cells and that some are lost as a person ages. If some of the remaining cells are injured, it was thought, there was no way to make new ones.
Schwartz and her team at Weizmann have found, however, that by activating the autoimmune system, rather than destroying it, they can stop the progression of diseases. The idea, she said, is to enlist the aid of stem cells in the brain that can be utilized for this purpose. Researchers are still working on finding a drug that will help do this. and current studies are focusing on Copaxone, a drug usually used for multiple sclerosis, Schwartz said.
She stressed that the vaccine she is working on won’t prevent a disease from occurring, but will only prevent further damage. The annual meeting was dedicated to the memory of Arthur Konviser, a past president of the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute who died recently."(1)
In addition to her service as Weizmann Professor Dr. Schwartz leads Rehovot Science Park based Proneuron Biotechnologies, the company she helped to organize in 1996. According to the company web site, at present Michal Schwartz serves as Chairperson of the company's Scientific Advisory Board. She avoids mentioning her commercial affiliation in scientific publications, however. Medical ethicists would name this a major breach of academic integrity.
Source (1): Leila Spesman. Researcher works to slow cognition loss among seniors. Canadian Jewish News (1 December 2005) [FullText]
Research being conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot may lead to a therapeutic vaccine to stop degeneration of aging or diseased brains, says Michal Schwartz, professor of neuroimmunology at the facility. Schwartz presented the results of her research to the national annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science, held last month at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Toronto. She said that when she began her study on slowing down the loss of cognition and memory that can occur in aging, “I was told to forget about it – that it would ruin my reputation.” Gradually, however, her work has become recognized as groundbreaking, she said.
The key lies in the functioning of the immune and auto-immune systems, Schwartz said. "The immune system, she explained, protects the body against potential dangers such as bacteria, viruses, and microorganisms, while the autoimmune system, if it’s working properly, recognizes the body’s own tissues and ensures that they are not compromised. If things are not working properly, the immune system will attack the body’s own elements, leading to such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes. The thinking used to be, Schwartz said, that autoimmune cells were part of the pathology of illness, and therefore must be destroyed wherever they were found. Through her research into spinal cord injury and brain trauma, however, she discovered that autoimmune cells are needed to fight injury.
For instance, there are 10 million nerves in the spine, and not all of them are usually injured at the same time. Without the appropriate measures, Schwartz said, the non-injured cells will degenerate along with the damaged ones. But if it’s made possible, healthy cells will attach themselves to neighbouring nerve fibres and, by doing so, stop the process of degeneration. It also used to be believed that there are a fixed number of nerve cells and that some are lost as a person ages. If some of the remaining cells are injured, it was thought, there was no way to make new ones.
Schwartz and her team at Weizmann have found, however, that by activating the autoimmune system, rather than destroying it, they can stop the progression of diseases. The idea, she said, is to enlist the aid of stem cells in the brain that can be utilized for this purpose. Researchers are still working on finding a drug that will help do this. and current studies are focusing on Copaxone, a drug usually used for multiple sclerosis, Schwartz said.
She stressed that the vaccine she is working on won’t prevent a disease from occurring, but will only prevent further damage. The annual meeting was dedicated to the memory of Arthur Konviser, a past president of the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute who died recently."(1)
In addition to her service as Weizmann Professor Dr. Schwartz leads Rehovot Science Park based Proneuron Biotechnologies, the company she helped to organize in 1996. According to the company web site, at present Michal Schwartz serves as Chairperson of the company's Scientific Advisory Board. She avoids mentioning her commercial affiliation in scientific publications, however. Medical ethicists would name this a major breach of academic integrity.
Source (1): Leila Spesman. Researcher works to slow cognition loss among seniors. Canadian Jewish News (1 December 2005) [FullText]
Labels: Weizmann Institute
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