Researchers have managed to partially prevent chronic wasting disease in deer with a new vaccine, which holds the potential to help humans avoid the brain infection as well.
The CWD study, which was started in 2010 at Colorado State University, marks the first time a treatment has been able to prevent the fatal brain disorder, which is caused by infectious proteins called prions that misfold in the brain, according to the Journal Sentinel. There is currently no cure for CWD and similar diseases.
Thomas Winsiewski, a professor at New York University's Langone Medical Center, said the treatment has the potential to be used in humans and livestock.
"Now that we have found that preventing prion infection is possible in animals, it's likely feasible in humans as well," Winsiewski said.
Researchers gave five deer the vaccine and gave another six a placebo, Zee News reported. The vaccine was made with Salmonella bacteria to mirror the ingestion of food contaminated with prion, which is the most common way that animals get naturally infected with CWD.
The deer that received the vaccine then received eight boosters over 11 months until the team could identify important immune antibodies in the animals' blood, saliva and feces. The deer that got the placebo developed CWD within two years, while four of the deer that had the real vaccine took much longer to develop infection. The fifth one is still healthy.
CWD has resulted in restrictions being placed on transferring farmed deer and elk, as well as restrictions on deer baiting and feeding, the Journal Sentinel reported. Concerns have been raised about the vaccine regarding the length of which immunity would last and if adults can pass it down to their offspring.
Wiensiewski stressed that the treatment was "partially successful," as more work needs to be done to improve its effectiveness.
"We have a ways to go, certainly," Winsiewski said. "We're hopeful we will be able to follow this work with another study, and that others will pursue the similar treatments. It represents a new era in the study and potential treatments of prion diseases."
The study was published Sunday in the medical journal Vaccine.
