Vaccine against Alzheimer`s disease: Is there any results?

The idea of a vaccine against &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/society/2002/06/29/31468.html ' target=_blank>Alzheimer's disease may yet have some life left to it.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have started a new, albeit modified, trial, even while the May 10 issue of Neurology publishes follow-up data to an Alzheimer's vaccine trial that was halted due to safety concerns in 2002.

The earlier trial was halted after about 6 percent of participants developed a dangerous brain inflammation, &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/region/2001/12/30/24828.html ' target=_blank>encephalitis. However, researchers continued to monitor the remaining patients for up to a year after their last injection -- with some encouraging results, tells Forbes.

Participants whose immune systems had mounted a high antibody response to beta-amyloid levels in the brain performed better on memory tests than people who had received a placebo, the Michigan team reported.

They found evidence that the vaccine helped clear some of the brain-destroying “plaques” that characterize the disease. Some vaccinated patients scored better on memory and a few other tests used to diagnose the fatal, incurable condition.