New Immunoglobulin Treatment Stops Alzheimers in Three Year Study

Posted by admin

July 21, 2012

On Tuesday, a group at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City presented data at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Vancouver demonstrating a lack of deterioration over three years in a very small group of Alzheimer’s patients being treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), a treatment previously approved for immune deficiency and autoimmune diseases (1). Now, it must be emphasized that there were only 4 patients in the study that were treated over the whole 3 years with the highest dose of the IVIG and showed this lack of deterioration, but the Alzheimer’s scientific world was still extremely excited about this preliminary result, largely because of the relatively consistent lack of effect of every Alzheimer’s drug tested in people to date. Five years ago, every large pharmaceutical company had a thriving Neuroscience Research and Development (R&D) group, with a primary focus on Alzheimer’s disease. Clearly, with the aging population continuing to grow, and 5.4 million Americans presently suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, finding a treatment for this disease would be a huge blockbuster from both the financial and humanitarian perspective. But now, the most common news on the Alzheimer’s R&D front is termination of a clinical program and dissolution of pharmaceutical R&D. Alzheimer’s disease has proven to be a really tough nut to crack.

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