| STUDY |
The first study in 1999 showed a spectacular result," Lee says. Transgenic mice that had developed amyloid plaques were repeatedly vaccinated with synthetic A42. The treatment reduced or eliminated existing deposits and inhibited further plaque formation in the animals' brains. And Elan says that when it vaccinated young animals prophylactically, "virtually all of the mice had no detectable amyloid deposits" once they had aged. The therapy is based on a "paradoxical finding, that immunizing with amyloid peptides results in clearance of amyloid plaques and even prevention of amyloid deposition in transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease," Sisodia says. The therapy might work by prompting the immune system to recognize and attack the plaques within the brain, although some evidence indicates it might act as an A sink by moving A from the brain into the bloodstream. The question is whether this would work in humans and whether clearing out plaque would result in an improvement in symptoms. In fact, the therapy had progressed to Phase II human clinical trials last year, but Elan suspended dosing this January after four patients out of about 360 developed serious central nervous system inflammation. Eleven other patients have since developed the same symptoms. The company is trying to determine what has gone awry. |
| UPDATE | 03.02 |
| COMPANY | This data is not available for free |
| LITERATURE REF. | This data is not available for free |
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