An experimental vaccine developed at the University of Rochester Medical Center prevented the build-up of amyloid plaques in the brains of mice engineered to develop an aggressive form of Alzheimer's disease. And the researchers were able to provoke an immune response without triggering inflammation or any significant side effects.
"Our study demonstrates that we can create a potent but safe version of a vaccine that utilizes the strategy of immune response shaping to prevent Alzheimer's-related pathologies and memory deficits," said William Bowers, associate professor of neurology and of microbiology and immunology at the Medical Center and lead author of the article. "The vaccinated mice not only performed better, we found no evidence of signature amyloid plaque in their brains."
Scientists loaded a benign virus with the genetic code for amyloid beta and interleukin-4, a protein that stimulates immune responses involving type 2 T helper cells and then injected it into the mice.
- check out the press release