Breakthrough: An Alzheimer's vaccine may be available in two years. (Posed by models)
A revolutionary jab that could stop the onslaught of Alzheimer’s disease may be available within two years.
The vaccine has been proved to halt and even reverse the damage caused to the brain by the mind-robbing condition.
Although it would not be a cure, it is regarded as one of the biggest potential breakthroughs in years in the search for Alzheimer’s treatments.
It is one of only two vaccines for the condition to have reached the final stages of testing, known as phase three.
This means it has passed initial safety hurdles and been shown to be effective.
It is now in the final stages of clinical trials and is being tested on more than 10,000 patients around the world, including hundreds in the UK.
Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia affect more than 800,000 Britons, and the number is expected to double in a generation as the population ages.
Existing drugs can delay the progress of Alzheimer’s, but their failure to tackle the underlying cause in the brain means that their effect quickly wears off and the disease soon takes its devastating course.
In contrast, the bapineuzumab jab prevents or even reverses the build-up of amyloid, the toxic protein that clogs the brain in Alzheimer’s, destroying vital connections between cells. It is hoped this will dramatically slow the progress of the disease.
In one early test, it cut the number of amyloid plaques by a quarter.
The development of tests which can detect Alzheimer’s in its earliest stages would allow the jab to be given at the first possible opportunity.
This would enable it to save thousands from the most devastating effects of the incurable disease, which leaves sufferers unable to walk, talk and even swallow, making them totally dependent on others.
Although vaccines are traditionally thought of as preventing disease, bapineuzumab is designed as a treatment.
Dr David Wilkinson, from Southampton University’s Memory Assessment and Research Centre, was involved in some of the earliest research into Alzheimer’s vaccines in the 1990s.
He said: ‘Hopefully the vaccine will make a big difference to Alzheimer’s treatment. If we can give it early – before major brain impairment is seen – it may have an important part to play.
‘If it can clear amyloid plaques from the brain and we can give it very early in the disease process, it may prevent some of the damage.’
A treatment capable of dramatically slowing the condition’s progress could also have huge financial benefits, with experts estimating that half of the £17billion spent on Alzheimer’s in Britain each year could be saved if patients developed the disease five years later than they do now.
The three drug firms behind the vaccine, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Elan Corporation, are expected to seek marketing approval when testing is completed towards the end of next year.
VACCINE TARGETS TOXIN IN THE BRAIN
The jab targets amyloid, the toxic protein that clogs the brain in Alzheimer’s patients. As the clumps of amyloid get bigger, they stop the brain cells from ‘talking’ to each other, disrupting memory, mood and behaviour.
The vaccine contains an antibody that zeroes in on amyloid and tries to flush it out of the body. It is hoped this will dramatically slow the progress of the disease.
Because the vaccine contains the antibody, rather than prompting the immune system to make its own supply, patients would need injections every few months.
However, some experts are unconvinced that amyloid is the key villain in Alzheimer’s, and early tests show that the jab will not help everyone.The cost of the vaccine is likely to be decided only if drug licensing authorities in the UK and Europe give it the go-ahead, possibly within the next two to three years.
It is likely that the treatment for each patient will cost several thousand pounds per year, with patients being given regular injections every few months for the rest of their lives.
Experts stress that there is no guarantee the vaccine will work for everybody.
Dr Wilkinson’s own research shows that getting rid of the amyloid plaques does not always prevent the disease.
And tests show that the jab has little effect on patients carrying a gene that raises the odds of the disease.
Dr Simon Ridley, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said the vaccine could be a significant breakthrough if further trials show it not only clears brain deposits but also prevents dementia.
‘It’s too early to tell whether bapineuzumab could benefit people until the results of this trial are known,’ he said.
‘But any new drug that tackles the disease itself has got to be better than what we have at the moment.
‘Existing drugs don’t touch the disease process. They help with the symptoms but not the underlying loss of brain cells.
‘We desperately need to see more treatments being tested if we are to have the best chance of tackling the condition.
Dr Ridley added: ‘This means it’s vital that we invest in more research.’
He said trials had highlighted side-effects in some patients given high doses of the vaccine.
Some developed a condition called vasogenic cerebral oedema, a form of swelling in the brain.
Professor Clive Ballard, director of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘Finding the right vaccine would be a life-changing matter for people living with Alzheimer’s.
‘However, this is early days and a substantial amount of research is needed.
‘Dementia research is desperately underfunded and to make the breakthroughs we need, we must invest now.’
The jab is one of several that are under development that could provide a potential bonanza for drug companies around the world.
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