and just so we're clear, all immune ablation therapies are based on the EAE theory of Dr. Rivers from the 1930s. He created demyelinating lesions in rhesus monkey brains by injecting them with brain cells from rabbits. The original name was experimental allergic encephalomyelitis--now the A is for auto-immune.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2212888/
Quote:
Critics of the EAE model question whether this animal model is truly reflective of human MS, as many EAE models trigger a specific acute syndrome, whereas most human disease involves cycles of relapse and remission. Vijay Kuchroo (Harvard University) defends the EAE model, pointing out that “each model recapitulates a small piece of the human disease,” and has provided valuable insights into the human disease. Lawrence Steinman (Stanford University) seconds Kuchroo's sentiments, adding, “To say that EAE has little to do with MS would be to ignore that two approved treatments for MS [Copaxone and Tysabri] were developed as a result of experiments in the EAE model.”
The best defense of this theory is that the drugs created to stop EAE in mice work in mice and it seems to be "a small piece of the human disease"... and death (from PML, liver and heart failure) is an acceptable risk based on this theory. What is so wrong with studying a new mechanism? WHOA!!!
cheer
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Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
dual stents placed 5/09
CCSVI in MS