M.G. Vaccines “Work” in Dogs!!
Circle News November Issue 1999
Dr. Blalock’s work on M.G. Vaccine has success in Canines.
Human Trials next.
Background:
Myasthenia Gravis is an autoimmune disease in which the body produces an antibody which blocks the message from the brain which makes the voluntary muscles contract. Myasthenia Gravis can be acquired in humans and canines (dogs) Mice and rats can be caused to develop a model of M.G. (A model is a condition which closely resembles a disease without being exactly alike.) Therefore most treatments for M.G. are first tried on mice (with model M.G.) then dogs (with M.G.) before being tried on humans.
Vaccine defined:
A vaccine is a substance which when introduced into the body, will cause the body to produce an antibody to the introduced substance. Flu shots introduce a “safe” form of the flu virus into the system so that the body will produce an antibody to the actual virus. In this way the body is prepared to attack the virus as soon as it hits. A vaccine for M.G. would introduce a “safe” form of the cell which creates the M.G. antibody. In this way the body would produce an antibody to attack these cells before the antibody could be produced.
Summary of M.G. Vaccine in Dogs!
Dr. J. Edwin Blalock, Professor and Co-Director of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics Center for Neuroimmunology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been researching the creation of vaccines to the M.G. related T-Cells and the M.G. related B-Cells. (Note: the body has the ability to produce antibodies in any type of protein...including other antibody creating cells.)
In M.G. the body produces an antibody to the receptor selfs (part of the self). Antibody producing cells are just part of the Self. If the Body can produce antibodies to receptor sites it has potential of producing antibodies to that part of the self which produces these negative antibodies. It is a harnessing of the Autoimmune response to good instead of damage.
Dr. Blalock has succeeded in producing substances that when introduced into the body of a dog, causes the dog to produce antibodies to the T and B cells which are involved in M.G. These antibodies effectively deactivate the M.G. T and B Cells in the body. The dogs create a policeman (the antibody to MG related T and C Cells) which arrest the MG. T and B cells before they can cause damage.
Dr. Blalock is reporting that of 11 dogs given his treatment, all 11 show decreased levels of the M.G. antibody all six of the dogs which have completed the prescribed course of vaccinations are now in medication free, symptom free remissions.
The treatments consist of a number of injections over a period of a few months. The injections are broken down into two parts: T-Cells vaccine, which injects a substance to force the body to create an antibody to the MG T cell and a B-Cell vaccine which does the same job on M.G. B-Cells.
Please note: Dr. Blalock is currently preparing for the next step.
Human Clinical
Trials. These trials are
designed to make sue that the treatments are both safe and effective.
Most treatments like this take many years before they can come to
market. In fact most research
does not pass Human Trials. While
Dr. Blalock’s research is enormously promising and we hope for success,
it cannot be taken for granted.
While Dr. Blalock has not finalized his budget at this point, we would be pleased to accept donations dedicated to his research. Such funds would be forwarded to him.
Circle News is a
special means of communication between the Myasthenia Alliance for Health
and wellness, formally known as the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of
Greater New York. Inc. and those who financially support it’s crucial
services.