Access

Published online 30 January 2004 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news040126-16

News

Caution over prion therapy

Study reveals antibodies can kill brain cells.

Antibody therapies designed to treat the human form of mad cow disease could backfire, warn US scientists.

The group investigated the proteins called prions that cause the rare brain disorder variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD) and its farmyard equivalent, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Comments

Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email redesign@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.