A revolution is now afoot, as researchers are developing a new approach that targets only the specific part of the immune system that’s gone rogue. These treatments are known as “inverse vaccines” because they suppress a particular part of the immune system, rather than amplifying it, as existing vaccines do.
…The basic idea of inverse vaccines rests on using certain synthetic nanoparticles attached to particular disease-related proteins – called antigens – as targeted messengers to retrain the immune system. The nanoparticles mimic dying human cells, a normal ongoing process. Although these dying cells are “foreign”, the immune system knows not to attack them. The immune system learns to ignore both the nanoparticles and the attached proteins, and stops attacking the body.
“What this does is, it re-educates the immune system,” says NYU bioengineer Jeffrey Hubbell. “So then it says: ‘OK, I’m good, I don’t need to attack this, because I see that it’s not a threat.’”
‘Inverse vaccines’: the promise of a ‘holy grail’ treatment for autoimmune diseases
American Buddhist Net 