NEW YORK -- Scientists may have found a simple way to take the "ouch" out of getting vaccinated.
Needle-free vaccines that would simply be spread on the skin might do the trick. research in mice suggests. Someday, that could take the tears out of the ever-growing list of childhood vaccines, as well as reduce the risk of spreading disease through contaminated needles in Third World countries."It's conceivable one could just wear a Band Aid of a patch overnight said Gregory Glenn scientific director of Iomai Corp. of Washington, and an author of a
report in today's issue of the journal Nature.
Scientists have long sought needle-free ways to inoculate. A nasal spray looks promising in human studies for delivering a flu vaccine, for example. And scientists hope to convert other vaccines to oral doses, like the oral polio vaccine.
Last August. De-chu Tang and colleagues at the University of Alaand applying a solution of genetically modified viruses. The viruses shuttled particular genes into skin cells, making them produce proteins that provoked the body's defenses.
Glenn and colleagues used a different approach. They also shaved a patch of hair off mice. Then they applied a solution containing proteins that are ingredients of vaccines against either diphtheria or tetanus,mixed with a dose of the toxin produced by cholera bacteria. This toxin revs up the immune response, boosting the response whatever accompanies it.
The mice built up antibodies in their blood against diphtheria and tetanus, as they would with injected vaccines. The toxin did not give them cholera.
Apparently, the skin vaccine is taken up by immune system cells in the skin, which then alert the rest of the immune system.
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