Potential Vaccine and Oral Medication for Alzheimer’s Disease in Human Trials

Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine are tackling Alzheimer’s disease (AD) proactively by focusing on prevention. AD, the sixth-leading cause of death in the US which affects 47 million people worldwide, is the subject of a new study and series of clinical trials testing both a vaccine and oral medication. Both interventions aim to prevent or delay AD in older at risk adults.

This focus on prevention is a new approach to fighting AD. “One of the challenges in developing new medications for Alzheimer’s is that researchers tend to test medications on people with more advanced Alzheimer’s, and the medications are simply not proving to be effective,” Lon Schneider, Keck School professor of psychiatry and study lead investigator, told Neuroscience News. “By intervening 10 to 12 years before Alzheimer’s manifests, we may be able to stop it before it begins or delay the symptoms.”

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Written by Karla Lant for futurism.com

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