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November 15, 2004
The Immunotherapy of Alzeimer's Disease
Topics: Clinical PharmacologyAbstract Review.
Immunity & Ageing 2004, 1:2 doi:10.1186/1742-4933-1-2
Only a small percentage of patients with Alzheimer's disease benefit from
current drug therapy and for only a relatively short time. This is not
surprising as the goal of these drugs is to enhance existing cerebral
function in Alzheimer patients and not to block the progression of
cognitive decline.
In contrast, immunotherapy is directed at clearing
the neurotoxic amyloid beta peptide from the brain that directly or
indirectly leads to cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer's
disease. The single trial of active immunization with the amyloid beta
peptide provided suggestive evidence of a reduction in cerebral amyloid
plaques and of stabilization in cognitive function of half the patients
who developed good antibody responses to the amyloid beta peptide.
However, in 6% of actively immunized Alzheimer patients developed
sterile meningoencephalitis that forced the cessation of the clinical
trial. Passive immunotherapy in animal models of Alzheimer's disease
has provided similar benefits comparable to those seen with active
immunotherapy and has the potential of being effective in the half of
Alzheimer's disease patients who do not make a significant anti-amyloid
beta peptide antibody response and without inducing T-cell-mediated
encephalitis.
Published studies of 5 patients with sporadic Alzheimer disease treated with intravenous immunoglobulin containing anti-amyloid beta peptide antibodies showed that amyloid beta peptide was mobilized from the brain and cognitive decline was interrupted. Further studies of passive immunotherapy are urgently required to confirm these observations.
Posted by Hyscience at November 15, 2004 8:08 AM
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