Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Thank Mice For Vaccines, Therapies, Drugs That Work

Aired February 01, 2002 - 05:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We often read or hear about mice being treated or cured of horrific diseases, but when there's no payoff in humans, the news means little.

That's the case with the new Alzheimer's vaccine that showed amazing results in mice but may have caused problems in human testing.

Our Medical Correspondent Rhonda Rowland has more on the rodent research.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's good to be a mouse. Gene therapy made brain tumors disappear in this one in just five days. And gene therapy will ensure this rat and two future generations will never suffer from high blood pressure. This paralyzed mouse was able to walk again just days after being given an experimental drug.

And in mice, an Alzheimer's vaccine halted and, in some cases, reversed the disease. In fact, the vaccine was so promising, in a matter of months it was tried in people. Scientists declared it the most promising area of Alzheimer's research.

DR. LEON THAL, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO: I think there will be a great sense of disappointment if these drugs do not work.

ROWLAND (on camera): Scientists are betting on it?

THAL: Yes.

ROWLAND: Now the Alzheimer's vaccine has hit a snag. Four of the study volunteers in France developed inflammation of the central nervous system. To be on the safe side, the drug maker suspended the study to figure out what went wrong. An independent monitoring group will decide if the study should move forward.

(voice-over): A disappointment for those hanging their hopes on the vaccine?

FRANKIE TRULL, FDN. FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH: I don't think even with the disappointments in this Alzheimer's vaccine that you've heard anybody say, "Well that's it for Alzheimer's." ROWLAND: It may simply mean scientists have to go back to the bench for a few adjustments. In reality, though, 80 percent of potential medicines tried in animals never work out in humans. The reason? While there are some similarities between mice and men, rodents are not mini humans.

So, this medical ethicist says, "While the public has the right to be informed of research progress, early findings should not be hyped."

ART CAPLAN, CENTER FOR BIOETHICS, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: It has to be presented -- if I could put it this way, it's a back page story.

ROWLAND: Caplan advises the public to be weary of promising animal findings.

CAPLAN: There's almost an Enron syndrome in some areas of biomedical research. They're pumping out press releases because they want investors.

ROWLAND: But Trull disagrees. She has no problem with mouse cures making front page news.

TRULL: I think that medical research is probably one of the most important aspects of what this society undergoes. So do I think it should be buried on the back page? No.

ROWLAND: Remember, almost every vaccine, therapy used at the patient's bedside, and drug on the pharmacy shelf, had the mouse as the first beneficiary.

Rhonda Rowland, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com