First clinical trial of a nasal Alzheimer’s vaccine begins in the US

Posted: 22 Nov 2021 15:46 GMT

The trials will have 16 participants between the ages of 60 and 85 with early, symptomatic disease.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) recently announced that it is ready to begin a clinical trial that will test the safety and efficacy of a Alzheimer’s vaccine administered nasally. This is the result of nearly 20 years of research led by Howard L. Weiner, co-director of the Ann Romney Center for Neurological Diseases at the BWH in Massachusetts, USA.

“The initiation of the first human trial of a nasal Alzheimer’s vaccine is a remarkable milestone,” Weiner said. “If human clinical trials show that the vaccine it is safe and effectiveThis could represent a non-toxic treatment for people with Alzheimer’s, and it could also be given early to help prevent the disease in people at risk, “he added.

The clinical trial will have 16 participants between the ages of 60 and 85 who have early-stage symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. Everyone will receive two doses of the nasal vaccine one week apart.

According to the BWH, the vaccine uses the immune modulator Protollin, an experimental intranasal agent that stimulates the immune system and is composed of proteins derived from bacteria. This agent is designed to activate the white blood cells found in the lymph nodes and cause them to travel to the brain and trigger the elimination of beta amyloid plaques, one of the distinctive physiological characteristics of Alzheimer’s.

Treatment of other diseases

According to Tanuja Chitnis, Professor of Neurology at the BWH and lead author of the trial, research in this area “has paved the way for a completely new avenue to potentially treat not only Alzheimer’s but also other neurodegenerative diseases“.

The main objective of the trial in its first stage will be, in addition to determining the safety and tolerability of the nasal vaccine, to measure the effect of Protollin on the immune response of the participants by examining cell surface markers, genetic profiles and functional tests.

“The immune system plays a very important role in all neurological diseases, “Weiner explained, and concluded that” it is exciting “that after 20 years of preclinical work, this can finally be” done. first historical human trial“.