A promising new vaccine could one day cause fears of the human version of mad cow disease to melt away like the fat on a well-marbled T-bone steak broiling on a hot grill. That is, of course, if scientists can find a way to develop a vaccine for humans that works as well as one made for mice.

In a new study, researchers at New York University found mice that were given an oral vaccine developed high antibody titers to the prion proteins similar to that in cattle with BSE. The mice had no symptoms more than 400 days after being exposed to the infectious prion disease scrapie.

Thomas Wisniewski, M.D., of New York University gave the details of the research at a recent American Academy of Neurology meeting.

Research groups in both the U.S. and Europe are working on vaccines to help. The prototype vaccine tested by Wisniewski and his group came from prion proteins attached to a genetically modified strain of a bug called Salmonella, which has also been used in other animal and human vaccines.