Whether or not
it will work in humans will require further study, but researchers have
managed to develop a vaccine that protects neurons in the brain from a
variety of injuries caused by strokes and epileptic seizures.

    The vaccine works by neutralizing
a protein called the NMDA receptor. The NMDA receptor has been shown to
increase brain damage after a stroke and appears to play a role in epileptic
seizures.

    In a study conducted at Thomas
Jefferson University in Philadelphia, a group of rats were vaccinated
with an anti-NMDA antibody. Both they and a control group of rats were
then exposed tot the neurotoxin, kainate, which causes epileptic-like
seizures. In the control group, 70 percent of the rats experienced seizures,
while in the vaccinated group only 20 percent suffered from any seizures.

    Additional toxicology studies
will have to be done on the anti-NMDA antibody used to better understand
any possible side effects before any human testing of the technique could
begin.

Reference:

Researchers
find promising brain injury vaccine in rat study. The Associated Press,
February 24, 2000.