title: 18-Month study of intravenous immunoglobulin for treatment of mild Alzheimer disease.
abstract: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) has been proposed as a potential agent for Alzheimer's disease (AD) immunotherapy because it contains antibodies against beta-amyloid (Abeta). We carried out an open label dose-ranging study in 8 mild AD patients in which IVIg was added to approved AD therapies for 6 months, discontinued, and then resumed for another 9 months. Infusions were generally well-tolerated. Anti-Abeta antibodies in the serum from AD patients increased in proportion to IVIg dose and had a shorter half-life than anti-hepatitis antibodies and total IgG. Plasma Abeta levels increased transiently after each infusion. Cerebrospinal fluid Abeta decreased significantly at 6 months, returned to baseline after washout and decreased again after IVIg was re-administered for an additional 9 months. Mini-mental state scores increased an average of 2.5 points after 6 months, returned to baseline during washout and remained stable during subsequent IVIg treatment. Our findings confirm and extend those obtained by Dodel et al. [Dodel, R.C., Du, Y., Depboylu, C., Hampel, H., Frolich, L., Haag, A., Hemmeter, U., Paulsen, S., Teipel, S.J., Brettschneider, S., Spottke, A., Nolker, C., Moller, H.J., Wei, X., Farlow, M., Sommer, N., Oertel, W.H., 2004. Intravenous immunoglobulins containing antibodies against beta-amyloid for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 75, 1472-1474] from a 6-month trial of IVIg in 5 AD patients and justify further studies of IVIg for treatment of AD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Norman R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Relkin
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Szabo
authors.forename: Basia
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Adamiak
authors.forename: Tuna
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Burgut
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Monthe
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Lent
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Younkin
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Younkin
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schiff
authors.forename: Marc E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Weksler
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000276:immunology; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C078592:amyloid beta-protein (1-40); C075222:amyloid beta-protein (1-42)