Viral vectors for gene transfer travel longer distances in the brain than thought

Gene transfer with laboratory-produced viruses is seen as a hopeful therapy for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s patients. A team or researchers investigated how far these viruses spread in the brain and which cells they infect. Some of these viruses traveled from injection site as far as the olfactory bulb or the cerebellum and infected neurons and other cells. This could improve selection of viral vectors for custom therapies using gene transfer.