title: Antibodies against beta-amyloid slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: To test whether antibodies against beta-amyloid are effective in slowing progression of Alzheimer's disease, we assessed cognitive functions in 30 patients who received a prime and a booster immunization of aggregated Abeta(42) over a 1 year period in a placebo-controlled, randomized trial. Twenty patients generated antibodies against beta-amyloid, as determined by tissue amyloid plaque immunoreactivity assay. Patients who generated such antibodies showed significantly slower rates of decline of cognitive functions and activities of daily living, as indicated by the Mini Mental State Examination, the Disability Assessment for Dementia, and the Visual Paired Associates Test of delayed recall from the Wechsler Memory Scale, as compared to patients without such antibodies. These beneficial clinical effects were also present in two of three patients who had experienced transient episodes of immunization-related aseptic meningoencephalitis. Our results establish that antibodies against beta-amyloid plaques can slow cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry Research, University of Zurich, August Forel Strasse 1, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland. chock@bli.unizh.ch
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hock
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Konietzko
authors.forename: Johannes R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Streffer
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tracy
authors.forename: Andri
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Signorell
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Müller-Tillmanns
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Lemke
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Henke
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moritz
authors.forename: Esmeralda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: M Axel
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wollmer
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Umbricht
authors.forename: Dominique J F
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: de Quervain
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maddalena
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papassotiropoulos
authors.forename: Roger M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Nitsch
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D016233:Immunotherapy, Active; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D058225:Plaque, Amyloid / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D000906:Antibodies; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C075222:amyloid beta-protein (1-42)