Experimental Alzheimer's vaccine could halve the number of dementias

Breakthrough in the treatment of dementia?

Researchers now found that an experimental Alzheimer's disease vaccine could halve the number of cases of dementia and delay the effects of degenerative brain disease by five years.

The researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found in their current research that an experimental Alzheimer's vaccine could greatly reduce the number of cases of dementia. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Alzheimer's Research & Therapy".

Vaccine showed promising results in animal experiments

The new vaccine has shown promising results in recent animal experiments, say the experts. The researchers hope that the vaccine will also have similar effects in humans. The path from animal testing to human use is long and tedious, and many promising remedies do not make that leap. If the vaccine proves safe and effective during human trials, it could reduce the total number of dementia diagnoses by half, study authors explain.

Alzheimer's vaccines often caused harmful side effects

Dementia is the general term used to describe symptoms of cognitive decline that involve problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Alzheimer's is the leading cause of dementia, say the physicians. The new experimental vaccine marks a monumental push in the fight against dementia. Earlier Alzheimer's vaccines caused harmful side effects including brain inflammation, say the authors.

First successful tests completed!

Recent tests on monkeys and rabbits have now determined that the new vaccine stimulates the body to produce antibodies that reduce the build-up of amyloid and tau. These two proteins typically indicate degenerative brain disease. The vaccine could prolong people's lives and prevent the disease from spreading to the brain, scientists hope.

Vaccine seems to prevent accumulation of proteins

If the medication could delay the onset of the disease by five years, it would be a tremendous step forward for the patients and their families. This could reduce the number of dementia cases by half. The new vaccine appears to be able to halt an accumulation of abnormal protein structures in the brain and consequent nerve cell death without causing autoimmune inflammation, the researchers write in a press release from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Causes herpes Alzheimer's?

According to the Alzheimer's Association, the disease is the sixth most common cause of death in the United States. Approximately 5.7 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer's and the researchers estimate the number will rise to 14 million by 2050. Between the year 2000 and 2015, deaths from Alzheimer's disease increased by 123 percent.

A professor at the University of Manchester recently stated that about half of Alzheimer's disease is caused by herpes viruses. A connection that was unknown until now. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 3.7 billion people under the age of 50 (more than 50 percent of the world's population) carry the type 1 herpes simplex virus in their bodies. (As)