Abstract
Only a few years ago, the idea that transmissible spongiform encephalopathies could be treated pharmacologically would have met with considerable scepticism. Even now, there is no way to cure a patient or animal suffering from a manifest prion disease. But recent, exciting developments seem to indicate that immunological and pharmacological interventions could have some potential for the pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis of prion diseases. Although it is unlikely that we will be able to cure the clinically overt stages of prion diseases in the foreseeable future, palliative and even life-prolonging interventions might no longer be confined to the realm of science fiction.
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Acknowledgements
Supported by grants of the Bundesamt für Bildung und Wissenschaft, the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR-Neuro) and the Swiss National Foundation. We acknowledge technical help from P. Schwarz. F.L.H. is a Human Frontier Science Program and Stammbach Foundation fellow, and M.P. is a Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft fellow.
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Aguzzi, A., Glatzel, M., Montrasio, F. et al. Interventional strategies against prion diseases. Nat Rev Neurosci 2, 745–749 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35094590
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35094590
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