Developing injectable immunoglobulins to treat cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease.
BACKGROUND
Alzheimer's disease is a devastating disorder, clinically characterized by a comprehensive cognitive decline. The novel strategy of anti-amyloid-beta immunotherapy has been suggested following encouraging results obtained in murine models of Alzheimer's disease, in non-human primates, and in small-scale clinical trials.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the choice between active or passive anti-amyloid-beta immunization and the choice of the molecule to which the immune machinery should be targeted, which are central issues in future immune therapy of Alzheimer's disease.


METHODS
Research into the new area of Alzheimer's disease immune therapy is primarily based on in vivo and in vitro studies of murine models of Alzheimer's disease. The studies are hence limited to defined genetic deficiencies.


CONCLUSIONS
In humans, infusion of anti-amyloid-beta antibodies is considered a safer approach than active anti-amyloid-beta vaccination. Alzheimer's-disease-protective anti-amyloid-beta monoclonal antibodies should target specific epitopes within the amyloid beta(1 42) peptide, avoiding possibly harmful binding to the ubiquitous normal amyloid precursor protein. Since Alzheimer's disease immunotherapy requires repeated infusion of antibodies over a prolonged period of time, Alzheimer's disease patients will tolerate such antibodies provided the latter are exclusively of human origin. Human monoclonal antibodies that correspond to ubiquitous anti-amyloid-beta, present in all healthy humans, might bear important protective characteristics.
Steinitz
Michael
M
The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Department of Pathology, Jerusalem, 91120, POB 12272, Israel. michaels@md.huji.ac.il
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007267:Injections
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D007136:Immunoglobulins