( mplications for immune therapy of other...)Newly discovered antibody may be body's natural defense against Alzheimer's

"We were able to confirm that the antibodies we found not only recognize oligomers of beta amyloid but also unhealthy forms of other proteins that accumulate in a wide variety of diseases, such as Parkinson's, Lewy body dementia and Prion disease (the human form of ‘Mad Cow' disease), to name a few," says Dr. Relkin.

Since beta amyloid oligomers are much less abundant in the body than the single-molecule variety, the relatively high amount of oligomer-specific antibody found in human blood suggests that the immune system recognizes these aggregates to be a particularly noxious threat.

"This could be part of an innate defense mechanism against Alzheimer's and other age-related neurodegenerative disorders," comments Dr. Marc Weksler, The Irving Wright Sherwood Professor of Geriatrics and professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, and senior investigator in the Phase I IVIG study that led to this discovery.

However, the clear demonstration of the relationship of these scientific findings to clinical benefit in patients requires much more study, the experts say.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell is currently leading a six-month Phase II study of IVIG in 24 patients with mild and moderate Alzheimer's disease, which is planned to be complete later this year. While this study may provide a signal of the effect of IVIG therapy to clinical outcomes, further investigation in larger controlled and longer-term trials will be needed to definitively demonstrate whether IVIG is useful in treating Alzheimer's.

Still, this discovery substantially boosts our understanding of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative illnesses, the experts say.
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Source:New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center