Immune therapy may help Alzheimer's patients

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Infusing human antibodies into people with Alzheimer's disease appears to slow disease progression and may even improve the patients' condition a little, researchers reported on Tuesday.

Six of eight patients given intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) for 18 months appeared to develop better brain function, the team at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center told participants at a conference in Spain.

"This study suggests that IVIg can exert long-term benefits for the treatment of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's," Dr. Norman Relkin, who led the study, said in a statement.

Alzheimer's disease, which affects an estimated 12 million people worldwide, is the leading cause of dementia. It starts out with memory loss and what is known as mild cognitive impairment.

Patient's brains become clogged with plaques of amyloid proteins and tangles of nerve fibers, but it is unclear if this is the cause of the disease or a symptom.

Relkin said his team tested the patients' spinal fluid for amyloid protein and found levels were reduced by more than one third over 18 months.

"This is consistent with the movement of amyloid out of the central nervous system and into the blood stream, where it can be cleared from the body," he said.

IVIg is a mixture of human antibodies that attach to various foreign invaders, such as bacteria and viruses, and also to abnormal cells and proteins. It has been used for more than 30 years for a range of disorders, the researchers told the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in Madrid.

"The world's population is growing rapidly larger and older, and Alzheimer's diagnoses will sharply increase," said Steven Ferris, a member of the U.S. Alzheimer's Association's Medical & Scientific Advisory Council.

"We desperately need major breakthroughs in new therapies to reduce disability and suffering, and control costs. Therefore, it is very important that we have a diverse drug pipeline and investigate all viable options that might slow progression or prevent the disease."

Another study presented at the meeting focused on triflusal, a drug developed in Spain to prevent heart attacks. The drug has antiplatelet effects, meaning it keeps the blood from clotting, but it appears to also affect the brain.

Dr. Teresa Gomez-Isla of Hospital Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona, Spain, studied 257 people with mild cognitive impairment, giving half triflusal and half a placebo.

After 18 months, 16 people in the triflusal group and 25 of those given placebo developed dementia, she told the meeting.

But the trial was small and was stopped early because the researchers could not get enough people to volunteer.