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New vaccine tested in animals may hold hope for patients.
2003 DEC 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In new research, scientists show that two dramatically different approaches may be effective in treating or preventing Alzheimer disease.
One approach involves development of a vaccine that clears deposits of a sticky substance called amyloid beta protein from monkey brains. The amyloid beta protein in monkey brains is the same as that in the brains of Alzheimer patients, so the hope is that such a vaccine may be effective in humans.
The other research centers on finding out how and to what extent reducing caloric intake can help diminish the pathological symptoms of Alzheimer disease. Researchers are also working on newer and safer forms of immunization for this devastating disease that afflicts 4.5 million Americans.
Although aging is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer - its prevalence in the general population doubles every five years after the age of 65 - there are a number of other risk factors that might be controlled by changes in lifestyle.
One prominent theory for how Alzheimer disease develops is that it results from an imbalance in production or clearance of amyloid beta protein, resulting in its accumulation outside of nerve cells to form plaques. As the protein becomes more tightly clumped, it is difficult to clear, diminishing the connections between neurons, and ultimately leading to the dementia associated with Alzheimer disease.
Several groups are exploring the possibility that vaccines can help the brain in Alzheimer disease either lower the production of amyloid beta protein or increase its clearance.
Work by Cynthia Lemere, PhD, and her associates at Harvard Medical School shows that vaccinating monkeys with synthetic amyloid beta peptide enhanced the clearance of amyloid beta protein from the brain and into the blood. Although this finding confirms what had already been shown in mice, it is significant because monkeys have the same amyloid beta protein as humans, making them a more natural model for studying clearance of the protein. Dennis Selkoe, coauthor, is director and cofounder of Elan, a company that does research and development in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer disease. The Harvard group's research was not sponsored by Elan.
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Source: HighBeam Research, New vaccine tested in animals may hold hope for patients.