Researchers from Australia and the U.S. have created an Alzheimer's vaccine that could be ready for dissemination in three to five years if human clinical trials are successful, according a new study published in Scientific Reports.
To generate the vaccine, scientists from Flinders University in Australia and the University of California, Irvine created a formula which incites an antibody response. The response takes aim at the abnormal beta-amyloid and tau proteins that trigger Alzheimer's disease. The vaccine proved effective in mouse models.
Nikolai Petrovsky, PhD, a professor of medicine at Flinders University, told The Australian the formula's potency is what makes the development of a widely used vaccine possible.
"Some [vaccines] weren't strong enough — they were inducing the right antibodies but at tiny levels. We've been able to create the same types of antibodies but at up to 1,000 times the levels that the early vaccine candidates were generating. That is transformative," said Dr. Petrovsky.
"You could actually give it to everyone, say when they turn 50, a bit like we give all high-risk groups a flu shot, and thereby stop it in its tracks. You can immunize for it before it even starts."
Dr. Petrovsky added that the new formula could potentially reverse some of the later symptoms of the disease and that clinical trials could begin in the next two years.
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