Antisense technologies have a future fighting neurodegenerative diseases

Our growing understanding of the role that unfavorable patterns of gene exp ression play in the etiology of neurodegenerative disease emphasizes the ne ed for strategies to selectively block the biosynthesis of harmful proteins in the brain. Antisense technologies are ideally suited to this purpose. T ailor-designed to target specific RNA, antisense oligonucleotides and riboz ymes offer tools to suppress the production of proteins mediating neurodege neration. Although technical limitations must still be overcome, the antise nse approach represents a novel and exciting strategy for intervention in d iseases of the central nervous system.