Antibody therapy reduces risk of Alzheimer's

Pumping good antibodies into the blood stream through the use of intravenous immunoglobulin could significantly lower a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's and other disorders of the brain, according to a team of researchers.

The investigators went back over the records of more than 800 patients given at least one IVIg treatment over four years--given for immune deficiency, cancer, anemia and other ailments--and then compared their experiences with 84,700 cases that did not include IVIg.

"In our study, we looked at the association of the use of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) with the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease. IVIg has been used safely for more than 20 years to treat other diseases but is thought to have an indirect effect on Alzheimer's disease by targeting beta-amyloid, or plaques in the brain," said Howard Fillit, MD, with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

"These findings do not constitute an endorsement of IVIg treatment for Alzheimer's disease. A large scale clinical trial is underway to determine whether IVIg could be an effective treatment for Alzheimer's," researchers said. The study was supported by Baxter International, which manufactures IVIg.

- read the press release

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