My research focus is now targeted towards using recombinant Adeno-associated virus (rAAV) to study of neurological disorders. rAAV has gained attention as an excellent gene therapy vehicle for the central nervous system. Features that make AAV an attractive tool for the treatment of neurological disorders and for the study of the nervous system include the fact that the wild-type virus is non-pathogenic, it has low immunogenicity, all viral genes are removed from the recombinant virus, long term expression is attainable and the virus can infects neurons efficiently. We have examined the use of rAAV to over express proteases including neprilysin (NEP), insulin degrading enzyme (IDE; also known as insulysin) and endothelin converting enzyme (ECE) to remove beta-amyloid which is deposited in Alzhiemer disease. To facilitate the diffusion of the protease enzymes to the amyloid plaques, we have engineered the proteins with a signal peptide triggering secretion. We have successfully observed a reduction in amyloid plaques with both NEP and ECE in APP+PS1 transgenic Alzheimer mice models. We are also using rAAV to study an inflammatory molecule known as Fractalkine. Fractalkine reduces the pro-inflammatory response that is observed in many neurological diseases. We are examining whether this reduction in inflammation would be beneficial in Alzheimer and Parkinson’s diseases.