[ad_1]
The promising vaccine on Alzheimer's is getting closer to human trials, say researchers
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, a DNA vaccine that can reduce the accumulation of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease in mice, may soon be tested on humans .
>> Read more new trends
A team at the Center's Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute tested the vaccine, which researchers say is leading to an immune response that reduces the accumulation of toxic tau and beta-amyloid proteins. Their findings were published this week in the medical journal Alzheimer's Research and Therapy.
"This study is the culmination of a decade of research that has repeatedly demonstrated that this vaccine can effectively and safely target animal models that we believe are likely to cause Alzheimer's disease." Said Dr. Roger Rosenburg, founding director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center at UT Southwestern. , said in a press release. "I think we're about to test this therapy in people."
A new treatment tested on mice could give hope to Alzheimer patients, families and people
The vaccine is administered on the skin and appears to be safe for humans, researchers said. It had already been tested – with similar results – in monkeys and rabbits.
The study published this week included tests on four cohorts consisting of 15 to 24 mice each. He showed that the DNA vaccine developed by Rosenberg and his team "resulted in a 40% reduction in beta-amyloid and up to 50% in tau protein, with no unwanted immune response," according to UT Southwestern.
>> Read the study
There is currently no effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia. The disease often presents initially with a slight memory loss and can evolve to the point of seriously affecting a person's ability to carry out daily activities, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
>> Research shows that Alzheimer's disease has been reversed in mice
According to the CDC, as many as 5 million Americans were living with the disease in 2014, the last year for which data were available. Younger people are sometimes affected by Alzheimer's, but symptoms often appear after age 60, the agency reported.
"If the onset of the disease could be delayed by five years, it would be huge for patients and their families," said Dr. Doris Lambracht-Washington, lead author of the study, in a press release. "The number of dementia cases could fall by half."
Several other therapies are also the subject of research and testing to treat the disease.
Source link
