Goodbye, Alzheimer's? Scientists hopeful new vaccine could prevent disease
- Replies 4
Scientists are buzzing with a breakthrough that could potentially change life courses for many of us or our loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease.
Could this be the light at the end of the tunnel we've all been hoping for?
It seems there is hope for those looking to protect their loved ones, and themselves, from Alzheimer's disease.
Work is underway on a new vaccine that could be a key to possibly preventing this devastating disorder.
Researchers at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions 2023, located in Boston, USA, have presented a gripping study—yet to undergo peer reviewing—showcasing their data.
The vaccine in question provokes interest because it targets inflamed cells within the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's. Just like your platelet white blood cells that seek out infections in your body to battle, this vaccine acts similarly.
The brains behind this trial are the scientists from Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. In their previous work, they successfully developed a vaccine to eliminate ageing senescent cells in the brain that express a protein known as senescence-associated glycoprotein (SAGP).
Eliminating these cells helped improve age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis and Type 2 diabetes in mice.
Calling on the success of this previous trial, the same team of scientists decided to build on their existing foundation.
They developed a model of Alzheimer's disease in mice that realistically mimicked the condition in the human brain and stimulated the disease’s pathology. Then, they commenced testing the new vaccine to target the SAGP-overexpressed brain cells to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers treated mice with either a control vaccine or the SAGP vaccine at two and four months old.
It's well-documented that in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's, patients often lack anxiety. They become less aware and less conscious of the world around them.
However, the mice treated with the new SAGP vaccine displayed heightened anxiety–a sign of increased awareness and, consequently, a regression of the disease.
According to scientists, besides these behavioural changes, the vaccine also decreased inflammation indicators, which are telltale signs of Alzheimer's.
LTheead author Dr Chieh-Lun Hsiao stated: ‘Our study’s novel vaccine test in mice points to a potential way to prevent or modify the disease. The future challenge will be to achieve similar results in humans.’
‘If the vaccine could prove to be successful in humans, it would be a big step forward towards delaying disease progression or even prevention of this disease.’
Another intriguing discovery was the reduction of amyloid beta peptides, proteins that cause plaques between neurons disrupting their functions. These are one of the defining characteristics of Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers found that the vaccine-treated mice exhibited normal, healthy behaviours, demonstrated an improved awareness of their surroundings and, most importantly, their brain showed significantly lesser amyloid deposits, especially in the cerebral cortex brain region (critical for language processing, attention and problem-solving).
‘Earlier studies using different vaccines to treat Alzheimer’s disease in mouse models have been successful in reducing amyloid plaque deposits and inflammatory factors. However, what makes our study different is that our SAGP vaccine also altered the behaviour of these mice for the better,’ shared Dr Hsiao.
A few months ago, the world of science also made a significant breakthrough that could change the way we tackle this debilitating disease.
According to a study recently published in Neuron, a critical link has been uncovered between the rare early-onset and common late-onset forms of Alzheimer’s disease. This newfound connection promises to offer more effective treatment strategies for the latter form, affecting most sufferers. You can read more about this story here.
While these results are certainly encouraging for those of us who have family members and friends touched by the illness, we urge our members to exercise patience and caution before getting your hopes up about what these findings could mean in terms of the management of Alzheimer’s in humans and whether or not a new vaccine will be available soon.
Members, we’ll keep you updated if we hear more research progress – stay tuned for more information!
Could this be the light at the end of the tunnel we've all been hoping for?
It seems there is hope for those looking to protect their loved ones, and themselves, from Alzheimer's disease.
Work is underway on a new vaccine that could be a key to possibly preventing this devastating disorder.
According to scientists, a new vaccine could be the key to preventing Alzheimer’s disease. Credit: Mario Wallner/Pexels
Researchers at the American Heart Association's Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions 2023, located in Boston, USA, have presented a gripping study—yet to undergo peer reviewing—showcasing their data.
The vaccine in question provokes interest because it targets inflamed cells within the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's. Just like your platelet white blood cells that seek out infections in your body to battle, this vaccine acts similarly.
The brains behind this trial are the scientists from Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. In their previous work, they successfully developed a vaccine to eliminate ageing senescent cells in the brain that express a protein known as senescence-associated glycoprotein (SAGP).
Eliminating these cells helped improve age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis and Type 2 diabetes in mice.
The vaccine was tested in mice to target cells producing proteins linked to ageing. Credit: RDNE Stock project/Pexels
Calling on the success of this previous trial, the same team of scientists decided to build on their existing foundation.
They developed a model of Alzheimer's disease in mice that realistically mimicked the condition in the human brain and stimulated the disease’s pathology. Then, they commenced testing the new vaccine to target the SAGP-overexpressed brain cells to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers treated mice with either a control vaccine or the SAGP vaccine at two and four months old.
It's well-documented that in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's, patients often lack anxiety. They become less aware and less conscious of the world around them.
However, the mice treated with the new SAGP vaccine displayed heightened anxiety–a sign of increased awareness and, consequently, a regression of the disease.
According to scientists, besides these behavioural changes, the vaccine also decreased inflammation indicators, which are telltale signs of Alzheimer's.
LTheead author Dr Chieh-Lun Hsiao stated: ‘Our study’s novel vaccine test in mice points to a potential way to prevent or modify the disease. The future challenge will be to achieve similar results in humans.’
‘If the vaccine could prove to be successful in humans, it would be a big step forward towards delaying disease progression or even prevention of this disease.’
Another intriguing discovery was the reduction of amyloid beta peptides, proteins that cause plaques between neurons disrupting their functions. These are one of the defining characteristics of Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers found that the vaccine-treated mice exhibited normal, healthy behaviours, demonstrated an improved awareness of their surroundings and, most importantly, their brain showed significantly lesser amyloid deposits, especially in the cerebral cortex brain region (critical for language processing, attention and problem-solving).
‘Earlier studies using different vaccines to treat Alzheimer’s disease in mouse models have been successful in reducing amyloid plaque deposits and inflammatory factors. However, what makes our study different is that our SAGP vaccine also altered the behaviour of these mice for the better,’ shared Dr Hsiao.
A few months ago, the world of science also made a significant breakthrough that could change the way we tackle this debilitating disease.
According to a study recently published in Neuron, a critical link has been uncovered between the rare early-onset and common late-onset forms of Alzheimer’s disease. This newfound connection promises to offer more effective treatment strategies for the latter form, affecting most sufferers. You can read more about this story here.
While these results are certainly encouraging for those of us who have family members and friends touched by the illness, we urge our members to exercise patience and caution before getting your hopes up about what these findings could mean in terms of the management of Alzheimer’s in humans and whether or not a new vaccine will be available soon.
.png){kind=icon}
