Promising DNA Vaccine for Alzheimer's Moves Closer to Human Trials

A study from the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center published in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy details how a novel DNA vaccine can successfully reduce the accumulation of two toxic proteins — amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles — associated with the progression of Alzheimer's, reports New Atlas . The researchers' active immunization approach entails administering a vaccine that stimulates the body's immune system to produce its own antibodies. The vaccine does not lead to negative inflammatory effects, and is the first antibody or vaccine treatment to target both amyloid and tau pathologies concurrently. Administering the DNA vaccine into superficial skin cells, rather than intra-muscular injection, appears to be a safer alternative that could evade some of the more adverse autoimmune responses observed in previous trials. "This study is the culmination of a decade of research that has repeatedly demonstrated that this vaccine can effectively and safely target in animal models what we think may cause Alzheimer's disease," says UT Southwestern's Roger Rosenberg. "I believe we're getting close to testing this therapy in people."