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MONDAY, Nov. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) – An experimental test against Alzheimer's disease is promising in animal tests, and researchers say it could potentially halve the number of cases of dementia.
In mice created to develop Alzheimer's disease, the vaccine triggered an immune response that reduced the accumulation of two toxic proteins associated with fatal brain disease.
According to researchers at the University of Texas, there was a 40% reduction in beta-amyloid protein and up to 50% tau protein, with no harmful side effects.
But there is a problem: if such tests have shown positive results in mice, animal research does not always produce the same effects in humans. More study is needed.
Nevertheless, the researchers remained optimistic. A reduction in these proteins could someday have significant benefits in people at risk for Alzheimer's disease, said lead author of the study, Doris Lambracht-Washington, from the University of Toronto. Brain Research Institute at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
"If the onset of the disease could be delayed even five years, it would be huge for patients and their families," she said in a press release from the center. "The number of dementia cases could fall by half."
Lead researcher, Dr. Roger Rosenberg, is the founding director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center at UT Southwestern.
"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 disease." Alzheimer's, "said Rosenberg.
"I think we're about to test this therapy in people," he added.
Two previous studies from Rosenberg's lab showed that the vaccine elicited similar immune responses in rabbits and monkeys.
Scientists in southwestern UT are also working to create a test to detect abnormal levels of tau in the cerebrospinal fluid before the onset of symptoms of memory loss of the disease d & # 39; Alzheimer's. They stated that such a test would identify people likely to benefit from the vaccine.
In people with Alzheimer's disease, beta-amyloid and tau proteins spread in deadly patches and tangles on the brain, the study's authors explained.
"The more you wait [to administer the vaccine]Rosenberg said, "Once these plaques and entanglements are formed, it may be too late."
About 5.7 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this number is expected to more than double by 2050. There is no effective treatment for the disease.
The study was recently published in the journal Alzheimer's Research and Therapy.
More information
The US National Institute on Aging is more interested in Alzheimer's disease.
SOURCE: Southwestern Medical Center of the University of Texas, press release, November 20, 2018
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