Antibody offers hope of Alzheimer's treatment

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Experiments show value of potential antibody treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease is the existence of deposits of a protein called beta-amyloid in the brain. Normally these are only discovered on post-mortem. It is known they are involved in some way in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease, which is marked by decline in memory and other brain functions, leading to loss of independence.

Much research is now focused upon understanding how beta-amyloid deposits are formed. A team at the Welsh School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University now reveals preliminary results on an antibody which can bind to a protein called amyloid precursor protein (APP) which, as the name suggests, is the molecule from which the deposits are formed. If progress from APP to beta-amyloid can be blocked by antibody binding, then the formation of the deposits in the brain could be prevented. This is a new approach to treatment - existing medications merely treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. The team has been working to find the impact of the APP binding antibody on cells cultured in the laboratory. Much more work will be needed before such treatment could be tested on humans. Nevertheless, such antibody drugs might be used, one day, both to treat Alzheimer's disease and prevent its occurrence in individuals at high risk.

Source
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease 21st December 2006

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