Prion diseases--close to effective therapy?
The transmissible spongiform encephalopathies could represent a new mode of transmission for infectious diseases--a process more akin to crystallization than to microbial replication. The prion hypothesis proposes that the normal isoform of the prion protein is converted to a disease-specific species by template-directed misfolding. Therapeutic and prophylactic strategies to combat these diseases have emerged from immunological and chemotherapeutic approaches. The lessons learned in treating prion disease will almost certainly have an impact on other diseases that are characterized by the pathological accumulation of misfolded proteins.
Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, 6 Queen's Park Crescent West, Toronto, Ontario M553H2, Canada. neil.cashman@utoronto.ca
Neil R
NR
Cashman
Byron
B
Caughey
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D006801:Humans; D016233:Immunotherapy, Active / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology