Stopping Alzheimer’s has become urgent. This neurodegenerative disease that manifests as cognitive impairment and behavioral disorders continues to increase its numbers , especially in Western countries.
Now, a new and promising study developed by researchers from the University of Flinders (Australia), together with other colleagues from the Institute of Molecular Medicine and the University of California (USA), brings us closer to the development of a vaccine against this disease.
The vaccine in question can specifically target beta-amyloid proteins and tau proteins, which accumulate in large quantities in the brain and are primarily responsible for Alzheimer’s disease. Its progress shows that it could prevent and even reverse neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Kuru, Huntington’s disease or Alzheimer’s.
The scientists, who have carried out their experiments with rodents, have combined two vaccines in one: the first, would act on the beta-amyloid protein in a specific way; the second would affect tau proteins.
” Essentially what happens in people who get Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is that they have a large amount of these proteins broken down in the brain,” explains Nikolai Petrovsky, leader of the work.
This remedy against neurodegenerative diseases has been baptized with the name of MultiTEP and, as we can see, it would prevent these proteins from causing problems at the brain level.
“This study suggests that we can vaccinate patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease or even healthy people at risk, using our anti-beta-amyloid vaccine and, if the disease progresses, then vaccinate with another vaccine -tau to increase efficiency ”, clarifies Petrovsky.
The vaccine could begin its trials in humans in about three years and could be administered to healthy patients in their 50s to avoid its appearance or to nip the advance at its first symptoms.
The study has been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
