Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be simply prevented or treated by transdermal (across the skin) vaccination, with less adverse immune reactions.

This has been demonstrated by University of Florida researchers where a novel transdermal vaccine has effectively and safely cleared amyloid plaques in AD mouse models.

The Alzheimer's vaccine works by triggering the immune system to recognize Ab -- a protein that abnormally builds up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients -- as a foreign invader and attack it.

According to senior study author Jun Tan, PhD, MD, and Director of the Neuroimmunology Laboratory at the Institute for Research in Psychiatry, USF Department of Psychiatry:

"While many groups have shown vaccinating against the beta amyloid protein (Ab) can reduce Alzheimer's-like pathology including certain cognitive deficits, this study is the first to demonstrate that immunization using the skin may be an effective way to reduce Ab pathology."

This new study, recently published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, will lead to a promising skin patch for Alzheimer's disease that doesn't seem to trigger specific toxicities associated with past immunization strategies.

Find more details from the full report.

[Photo Credit: Device Link]