A nasal vaccine for Alzheimer's

Filed in archive Investigational on August 11, 2005

A nasal vaccine for Alzheimer's is being investigated. It works . . . in mice:

The study focused on mice with an Alzheimer's-like brain disease. The mice got vaccine treatments and boosters for several weeks.

The vaccine is designed to activate brain cells called microglia. The microglia, in turn, are supposed to clean up a protein called beta-amyloid, which is found in brain plaques seen in Alzheimer's disease.

After the nasal vaccine treatments, total beta-amyloid levels dropped 73%, write the researchers.

(Hitti, "A Nasal Vaccine for Alzheimer's Disease?", WebMD, Aug.11)