What is the Alzheimers Disease vaccine?
A few years ago, researchers developed a vaccine against an amyloid peptide that is associated with AD; in mice, the vaccine had led to a profound reduction in amyloid deposition. In the animal trials, the vaccine was well tolerated. In early human trials, however, there were major side effects that required the trials to be halted. More recently, another vaccine has been developed. The new one is said to be capable of triggering the body’s immune system to produce antibodies which will reduced the build up of amyloid-beta plaques in the brain, hopefully leading to improved learning and memory. The new vaccine will be delivered via a nasal inhaler, thought to reduce the risk of inflammatory reaction of the kind seen in the earlier study. Research continues.
