Oral Vaccine for Alzheimer's Works in Mice

Scientists in Japan have developed a vaccine that targets Alzheimer's disease. The vaccination, which is taken orally, has proven to be safe and effective in studies with mice. Scientists and drug manufacturers are hoping to move the vaccine into early stage clinical trials for human Alzheimer's patients.

Alzheimer's is a progressive brain disease that is most widely known for destroying one's ability to remember. Lesser-known effects of Alzheimer's disease include reductions in a person's ability to learn, reason, make judgements or communicate. Alzheimer's also impedes the ability to carry out daily life functions. According to the Alzheimer's Association, more than five million are afflicted with the disease in the United States alone.

Alzheimer's is a disease has proven to be incurable thus far. The new vaccine provides hope that the disease can be effectively reversed if caught in the early stages. When the Alzheimer's vaccine was administered to mice suffering from the disease, the Alzheimer's vaccine was proven to reduce the amount of amyloid plaques in the brain while increasing mental functions.

Scientists believe the amyloid plaques are the basic cause of Alzheimer's disease. The Alzheimer's vaccine works by bonding amyloid plaques with a non-harmful virus. When the virus is ingested orally, the body's immune system is stimulated and begins to attack the amyloid plaques. This attack carries over to the amyloid's in the brain that cause Alzheimer's disease.

The initial tests cleared up Alzheimer's disease in mice, without causing any inflammation or bleeding in the brain. The scientists conducting the tests did note, however, that it is easier for animals to recover brain functions after being afflicted with the disease, so the vaccine may only work on humans who are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.