Immunoglobulins which are already being used to treat multiple sclerosis may also be able to help patients with Alzheimer’s. This, at least, is the finding of a pilot study on five patients at the University of Bonn.
The results are set out in the forthcoming edition of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, which also devotes its editorial to this discovery.
Immunoglobulins contain, among other things, anti-bodies against a protein which is the ‘main suspect’ thought to trigger off Alzheimer’s. After six months of immuno-globulin doses the concentration of this protein in the patients’ cerebrospinal fluid was reduced by one third. The patients’ cognitive abilities improved slightly. However, the medical team involved emphasise that their findings are still very tentative. They are now planning a large-scale double-blind clinical trial with about sixty patients so as to further confirm the positive effect of the immunoglobulins.
The cerebral cortex of Alzheimer’s patients regularly contains large protein aggregates, what are known as Alzheimer’s glands. They predominantly consist of beta-amyloid peptide, a small protein. This peptide collects in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients and forms protein deposits which can damage and even destroy the sensitive nerve cells.
A promising approach in combating the disease seems to be the treatment with anti-bodies which are specifically effective against beta-amyloid. Thus, in animal experiments the injection of beta-amyloid anti-bodies led to a reduction in the protein deposits and an improvement in the behavioural deficits in these animals. Another study recently showed that immunising was not only able to reduce amyloid plaques, it also prevented the formation of the abnormal tau protein.