|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Protein Injection Reverses Alzheimer's Brain Damage
in Lab Mice
Findings could lead to new approach to fight
Alzheimer's Disease
 Oct. 8, 2007 – Getting an injection to erase the
brain damages of Alzheimer’s disease is a possibility raised by a new
experiment. Mice with an induced animal version of Alzheimer’s regained
their mental abilities after being injected with a special protein.
The protein - part of the immunoglobulin M (IgM)
class - is an antibody that grabs onto the amyloid beta protein in the
brain and prevents it from changing into the toxic substance believed to
cause Alzheimer’s disease, according to the researchers from Saint Louis
University.
“Our research in an animal model showed that
antibodies can be developed rationally for treating Alzheimer’s
disease,” says William A. Banks, M.D. professor of geriatrics and
pharmacological and physiological science at Saint Louis University.
“It’s a major thing that people have been trying to
do -- get antibodies into the brain in the right amount to treat
illnesses. This antibody does that.”
Banks says the findings are surprising because IgM
is five times bigger than the antibody immunoglobulin G (IgG), which has
already been studied as a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.
Because it is larger, scientists didn’t believe it
could cross the blood- brain barrier, a protective membrane that keeps
foreign substances out of the brain.
“We collaborated with Michael Steinitz from Hebrew
University in Jerusalem, who developed an antibody that is part of the
IgM class of antibodies that would stick better to amyloid beta
protein,” says Banks, who also is a staff physician at Veterans Affairs
Medical Center in St. Louis Banks says.
“This compound had better entry to the brain than
IgG, even though they are smaller.”
A single intravenous dose of IgM reversed cognitive
impairment in aged mice that have a genetic mutation that causes
deficits similar to those found in patients with Alzheimer’s disease,
Banks says.
The findings were published in the August issue of
Experimental Neurology.
About Saint Louis U. School of Medicine
Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School
of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first M.D. degree west
of the Mississippi River. Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a
pioneer in geriatric medicine, organ transplantation, chronic disease
prevention, cardiovascular disease, neurosciences and vaccine research,
among others. The School of Medicine trains physicians and biomedical
scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health services on a
local, national and international level.
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
