
via University of New Mexico
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive memory disorder that affects nearly one in three seniors and is on the rise, currently affecting 43 million people worldwide.
Behind the memory impairments, there is a perfect storm of destruction in the brain, stemming in part from accumulations of a protein called tau. Normally a stabilizing structure inside of neurons, tau can accumulate in long tangles that disrupt the ability of neurons to communicate with one another.
University of New Mexico researchers have developed a vaccine that could prevent the formation of the tau tangles and potentially prevent the cognitive decline typically seen in Alzheimer’s patients.
In a paper published last week in NPJ Vaccines, the team reported it had engineered a vaccine using virus-like particles (VLPs, for short) that eliminated the tau tangles in mice that had been bred to develop symptoms like those affecting human Alzheimer’s patients.
“We’re excited by these findings, because they seem to suggest that we can use the body’s own immune system to make antibodies against these tangles, and that these antibodies actually bind and clear these tau tangles,” said Nicole Maphis, a PhD candidate in UNM’s Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program.
Maphis, working in the lab of Kiran Bhaskar, PhD, an associate professor in UNM’s Department of Molecular Genetics & Microbiology, found that when the vaccine was given to mice, they developed antibodies that cleared the tau protein from their brains – and the response lasted for months.
Then, she tested the animals in a battery of maze-like tests. Mice receiving the vaccination performed remarkably better than those that hadn’t. MRI scans showed that the vaccinated animals had less brain shrinkage, suggesting that the vaccine prevented neurons from dying.
Maphis also found significantly fewer tangles in both the cortex and the hippocampus – areas in the brain that are important for learning and memory, and which are destroyed in Alzheimer’s.
“These results confirm that targeting tau tangles using a vaccine intervention could rescue memory impairments and prevent neurons from dying,” Maphis said.
The vaccine was created with help from UNM scientists David Peabody and Bryce Chackerian. The pair helped pioneer the use of VLPs to create vaccines targeting dengue virus, hepatitis B, human papillomavirus and amyloid beta protein (which is also present in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients).
VLPs are derived from viruses that have their genomes removed, leaving only their outer protein shell. Lacking a genome, they’re unable to reproduce, but the body’s immune system still recognizes them as foreign invaders and manufactures antibodies to neutralize the proteins attached to their surface. In this case, a portion of tau protein on the surface of the VLP triggers an immune response, leading to the elimination of the tau tangles.
Going forward, Bhaskar hopes to obtain funding to commercialize this vaccine in order to create an injection that could potentially be tested in human patients. However, moving a drug from bench to bedside can cost millions of dollars and take decades.
By partnering with AgilVax, Inc., a company formed to commercialize the VLP technology, and STC.UNM (UNM’s technology commercialization arm), Bhaskar hopes to receive funding from a federal Small Business Innovation Research grant to help move the research project forward.
Learn more: Memory Preserver
The Latest on: Alzheimer’s vaccine
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Alzheimer’s vaccine” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Alzheimer’s vaccine
- The pioneer of messenger RNA immunizations reflects on new treatments against viruses, bacteria and canceron June 4, 2023 at 3:01 pm
Katalin Karikó is one of the creators of messenger RNA vaccines, which have saved millions of lives all over the world. The powerful technology was the basis for the Covid-19 vaccines, and it will now ...
- Colby Cosh: A huge breakthrough in dementia prevention or a glitch in the matrix?on June 4, 2023 at 3:01 am
Is there a noticeable difference in dementia risk between the people born slightly before the cutoff date and those born slightly after? The answer in the study is “Holy heck, yes.” Only 0.01 per cent ...
- Medicare to provide limited coverage of new Alzheimer's drugs upon FDA approvalon June 2, 2023 at 8:49 am
Medicare will soon cover a new class of Alzheimer's drugs if they receive full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with some key limits.
- Shingles vaccination could significantly reduce the risk of developing dementia, study findson June 1, 2023 at 3:28 pm
Researchers found that those who had the jab were 20 per cent less likely to develop dementia than those who didn’t. The effect of the vaccine was far stronger in women than in men, reducing the risk ...
- Medicare details plan to cover Alzheimer's treatmentson June 1, 2023 at 1:33 pm
Patients will have to participate in registries that collect real-world data on how the drug works as a condition of coverage.
- Will a Shingles Vaccine Prevent Alzheimer’s?on May 29, 2023 at 10:39 pm
We preselected all newsletters you had before unsubscribing.
- Will a Shingles Vaccine Prevent Alzheimer’s?on May 29, 2023 at 10:39 pm
We preselected all newsletters you had before unsubscribing.
- Could the shingles vaccine lower dementia risk? And ADHD clinics cashing in on demandon May 29, 2023 at 1:00 am
A new kind of ADHD clinic is cashing in on surging demand for diagnoses — and promising salaries of more than $900,000 to recruit psychiatrists.
- BCG vaccine treatment could protect against Alzheimer's and other dementiason May 26, 2023 at 7:45 am
The Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, which is primarily used for tuberculosis, could also have a protective effect against Alzheimer's, a study suggests.
- Nasal vaccine for Alzheimer’s cuts atrophied brain matter in miceon May 22, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Scientists have developed a nasal Alzheimer's disease vaccine that they believe could be key to preventing and treating the degenerative cognitive condition in humans. The vaccine, which blocks a ...
via Bing News