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Wednesday, March 27, 2024 | Back issues
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Alzheimer’s Vaccine Shows Promising Results in Human Testing

The researchers said the tests show the vaccine was safe to use and produced an immune response, but cautioned that more testing is necessary.

(CN) --- Alzheimer’s disease is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. but the results of a new breakthrough vaccine announced Monday shows promise in the effort to curb the deadly brain disorder.

Biotech company Axon Neuroscience released the results of its Phase II testing of its vaccine in the journal Nature Aging. The two-year trial, involving 196 patients from eight European countries, was demonstrated to be safe and effective with those suffering from mild Alzheimer’s disease.

The disease is notable for affecting older adults, leading to dementia and the loss of thinking and memory skills. It is the leading cause of dementia among older adults, according to the National Institute on Aging

The vaccine, named AADvac1, reduced the accumulation of Neurofilament Light Chain, or NfL, in the blood by 58%. NfL is a biomarker found in blood that can be used to mark the presence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and traumatic brain injuries.

“Our Phase II trial successfully demonstrated the strengths of our lead asset AADvac1, a tau vaccine on track to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease,” said Axon Neuroscience CEO Michal Fresser.

Researchers said toxic proteins called tau accumulate and spread in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s disease. 

“It is thought to be responsible for the widespread death of neurons that ultimately leads to dementia,” the researchers wrote in a statement. “Immunotherapy is currently under consideration as a strategy to decrease the levels of toxic tau proteins and help slow cognitive decline in patients.”

The study authors said although the vaccine was safe and produced an immune response against tau, “it did not result in statistically significant cognitive benefits.” They added that more testing will be needed with a larger sample size to confirm the vaccine’s efficacy.

A separate study announced on Monday revealed that scientists have discovered a way to measure increases in tau and therefore help identify the presence of Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms occur.

Using a novel positron emission tomography radiotracer, an imaging technique that helps doctors and scientists view the brain, the researchers said the tracer “offers an important tool to assess the effectiveness of Alzheimer’s disease treatments in clinical trials.”

"The effectiveness of the 18F-MK6240 tracer is important for drug trials that aim to measure whether or not treatments to remove tau from the brain are actually working," said Christopher Rowe, director of molecular imaging research at Austin Health in Australia. "Use of the radiotracer will allow researchers to select people at different stages of Alzheimer's disease for clinical trials, which ultimately may speed the development of effective treatments for the disease."

The two developments come after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a controversial Alzheimer’s drug called Aduhelm last week. The agency approved the drug despite an advisory committee’s recommendation against it, saying there was not enough proof the drug helps Alzheimer’s patients.

Categories / Health, Science

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