Phase 1 clinical trial reports positive results for a brain-protective immunotherapy in patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease

Dozens of research teams worldwide are working to halt, treat, and even prevent Alzheimer’s disease, which can silently develop in the brain for more than a decade before symptoms appear. Although significant progress has been made in recent years, researchers continue to seek therapies that can more effectively alter the course of the disease and other forms of dementia.

Professor Michal Schwartz, from the Department of Brain Sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science, has developed an innovative strategy for treating Alzheimer’s. Winner of the Israel Prize in Life Sciences, she demonstrated that the brain depends on the immune system for its functioning, maintenance, and repair throughout life—contradicting the long-held belief that any immune activity in the brain would be harmful.

Based on these findings, Schwartz showed that aging of the immune system plays a central role in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases by promoting........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)