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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : November 23, 2018 5:33 PM IST
It’s the most common form of dementia. ©Shutterstock.
Finally, after decades of research, a new paper has revealed a vaccine that targets the neurological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. According to Medical News Today prevention may soon be a possibility.
Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative neurological disease. It's the most common form of dementia. The early signs are marked by loss of memory which gradually worsens over time.
The exact cause of Alzheimer's disease is yet to be discovered, yet scientists believe that certain neurological markers play a significant role.
A buildup of certain proteins in the brain called beta-amyloid and tau are believed to involved. these abnormal congregations are referred to as plaques and neurofibrillary tangles respectively by doctors.
Many scientists including Dr. Roger Rosenberg, founding director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center at UT Southwestern in Dallas, TX, are on the hunt for a vaccine.
Dr Rosenberg's has described a new approach in his latest paper. His team injected DNA coding for amyloid into the skin rather than the muscle. The injected cells created a three-molecule chain of beta-amyloid (ab42).
This molecule chain sparked an immune response, generating antibodies that target ab42. The antibodies prevented the buildup of amyloid plaques and indirectly prevented the buildup of tau.
The current study examined this response in mice and found that the vaccine produced a 40 per cent reduction in beta-amyloid and up to a 50 per cent reduction in tau. Importantly, there were no adverse immune reactions.
Dr. Drenberg says, "This study is the culmination of a decade of research that has repeatedly demonstrated that this vaccine can effectively and safely target in animal models what we think may cause Alzheimer's disease,". Excited about the results he added, "I believe we're getting close to testing this therapy in people."
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