Major Step Toward an Alzheimer’s Vaccine?

A team of researchers from Université Laval, CHU de Québec, and pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has discovered a way to stimulate the brain’s natural defense mechanisms in people with Alzheimer’s disease.  In mice with Alzheimer’s symptoms, weekly injections of MPL over a twelve-week period eliminated up to 80% of senile plaques. In addition, tests measuring the mice’s ability to learn new tasks showed significant improvement in cognitive function over the same period.  Comment: While this research is fine for mice there is a long way to go between animal testing and use on people.  While plaques may disappear we have no idea what else may be affected and what the side effects will be.  It could be 10 or more years before such an apparently useful intervention would pass scrutiny.  Ideally we still need a marker for Alzheimer’s disease, as opposed to other dementias, before it occurs at which time an intervention such as this would be more appropriate.

Source: Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG - February 9, 2013 Category: Epidemiologists Authors: cbuttery Tags: Chronic Disease epidemiology Prevention research Source Type: blogs