Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
New hopes for development of Alzheimer’s vaccine
NEW research at Dundee University has found vaccinating against Alzheimer’s could be a possibility.
Studies in conjunction with Oxford University have shown that combining the tetanus vaccine with a viral particle can be used to treat psoriasis, allergies and possibly Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists led by Dundee’s Dr John Foerster and Oxford’s Professor Martin Bachmann were able to incorporate a tetanus vaccine-derived protein structure known to stimulate the immune system in order to create vaccines to treat multiple chronic diseases.
The vaccine showed positive results in models of psoriasis and cat allergy and was shown to raise antibody levels thought to be beneficial in Alzheimer’s disease.
These vaccines can be either preventative, which is the hope for Alzheimer’s, but also therapeutic, meaning they can cure a disease such as psoriasis after it has already been established.
Dr Foerster said: “As an academic dermatologist with a special interest in the immune system, my specific attention is on vaccines to be developed against chronic skin diseases.
“Our research shows that this technique works in mice and, importantly, our new vaccine technology shows that it is likely to be a more effective type of vaccine than existing ones in older people.
“Since many patients with chronic conditions are elderly, this technology may work much better to obtain effective vaccines.”