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Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Prize-Winning Alzheimer's Researcher on the Trail of
Immunization that Works
A vaccination - getting the immune system to clean up
the plaques - has been considered a promising approach for AD
 Nov.
12, 2007 - A new study led by one of the most respected researchers of
Alzheimer's disease has found an immunization that could offer a way to
blunt or even prevent the deadly, memory-robbing disease. Jordan Tang,
Ph.D., who led the study at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation,
has already won the most prestigious research award given by the
Alzheimer’s Association.
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OMRF scientists immunized Alzheimer’s mice with a
protein believed to play a key role in the disease-causing process. The
mice who received the vaccination showed a significant reduction in the
build-up of protein plaques that, when present in the brain for long
periods of time, are believed to cause the cell death, memory loss and
neurological dysfunction characteristic of Alzheimer’s.
The immunized mice also showed better cognitive
performance than control mice that had not received the vaccine.
“These results are extremely exciting,” said Jordan
Tang, Ph.D., the OMRF researcher who led the study. “They certainly show
that this vaccination approach warrants additional investigation as a
therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.”
The new research appears in The Journal of the
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
Tang and his colleagues at OMRF previously had
identified the cutting enzyme (known as memapsin 2) that creates the
protein fragments believed to be the culprit behind Alzheimer’s. In the
current study, researchers used mice that had been genetically
engineered to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s, then immunized the
animals with memapsin 2.
“What we saw is that the mice immunized with
memapsin 2 developed 35 percent fewer plaques than their non-vaccinated
counterparts,” said Tang. “Those immunized mice also performed better
than control mice in tests designed to assess their cognitive function.”
Tang’s work with memapsin 2 also has led to the
creation of an experimental drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. That
drug, which works by inhibiting the cutting enzyme, began human clinical
trials in the summer of 2007.
Tang emphasized that the vaccine approach should be
viewed as a supplement to - rather than substitute for - the
experimental inhibitor and other treatments currently in development for
the illness.
“Alzheimer’s is a complicated, multi-faceted
disease,” said the OMRF researcher. “As with illnesses like cancer and
heart disease, Alzheimer’s demands that we develop many different
approaches to combat it. We cannot rely on a ‘one-size-fits-all’
strategy, because what works in one patient will not necessarily work in
another.”
A vaccination approach - getting the immune system
to clean up the plaques - has been considered a promising way to tackle
the disease, but its success has been limited. In 2002, for example, the
pharmaceutical company Elan halted trials of a different vaccine after
15 patients suffered swelling of the central nervous system.
OMRF President Stephen Prescott, M.D., is hopeful
that Tang’s work will avoid the pitfalls that beset Elan’s vaccine.
“This vaccination stimulates the immune system more gently than previous
Alzheimer’s vaccines, so we are optimistic about its prospects going
forward,” he said. “Once again, Dr. Tang has found an innovative way to
make inroads against a devastating and poorly understood disease.”
The next step, said Tang, will be to progress the
work to the point that it can be tested in humans. “There currently is
no effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, so we must explore every
possible option to find a way to stop it,” he said.
The research was supported, in part, by a grant
from the Alzheimer’s Association.
“The Alzheimer’s Association is pleased to provide
funding for innovative work such as this to develop possible new
therapies for Alzheimer's,” said William Thies, Ph.D., vice president
for Medical & Scientific Relations at the Alzheimer’s Association. “It
is important to encourage imaginative researchers to test unconventional
strategies, as Dr. Tang has done here. We face an overwhelming epidemic
of Alzheimer's and dementia if we don't change the current
unsatisfactory situation by greatly improving early detection, treatment
and prevention.”
At OMRF, Tang heads the Protein Studies Research
Program and holds the J.G. Puterbaugh Chair in Medical Research. His
work with cutting enzymes has made important contributions to the study
of HIV, gastric enzymes and Alzheimer’s and has earned him the
Alzheimer’s Association’s highest research prize, the Pioneer Award.
About Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological disorder
characterized by slow, progressive memory loss due to the gradual death
of brain cells. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the disease
affects more than 5 million Americans, including approximately 77,000
Oklahomans and nearly half the nation’s population over the age of 85.
About OMRF
Chartered in 1946, OMRF (www.omrf.org)
is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to
understanding and developing more effective treatments for human
disease. Its scientists focus on such critical research areas as
Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, lupus and cardiovascular disease.
Discoveries at OMRF have given birth to three FDA-approved drugs, and it
is home to a member of the National Academy of Sciences and Oklahoma's
only Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
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