Promising Findings with Parkinson's Vaccines

Researchers all over the world have been working hard on immunotherapy approaches for treating Parkinson's disease.  

The Irish biotech company Prothena announced that its vaccine to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease was safe and tolerable in a Phase I study.  That marks a second vaccine milestone within the past year.  Last July, an Austrian biotech company, AFFiRiS, funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation reported similarly promising results.  

According to a the Michael J. Fox Foundation blog, both vaccines take a similar approach, introducing an antibody against the protein alpha-synuclein.  That protein clumps in the brain cells of people with Parkinson's Disease, leading researchers to believe that clearing out the clumps of alpha-synuclein will protect the brain cells from further degradation caused by Parkinson’s.

While each of these therapies have only completed the first phase, further testing with Parkinson's patients is planned for early 2016.   If you would like to read more articles like this, follow us on Facebook , on Twitter, or on LinkedIn

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