Immunotherapy May Help to Treat Alzheimer’s

Canadian scientists are working on an intravenous treatment for Alzheimer’s that could halt the progression of the disease and improve cognitive functions. Vancouver researcher Neil Cashman and colleagues have discovered a biomarker on toxic molecules called amyloid beta (a-beta) oligomers, which are catalysts in the brain degeneration of Alzheimer’s. Their industry partner, Cangene Corp., a Winnipeg-based biopharmaceutical company, is developing antibodies designed to attack the toxic molecules without harming healthy ones. If successful, the antibodies could be used as an immune therapy for Alzheimer’s, or as a preventive vaccine, according to Dr. Cashman, scientific director of PrioNet Canada, a network of centers conducting research into neurodegenerative disorders. The next step is to test the treatment on mice engineered to develop Alzheimer’s. The mice studies will be completed at the University of British Columbia and at a lab in Milan, Italy. It is expected to be four years before there will be an experimental treatment for clinical trials in humans.