Prevention and treatment of amyloidogenic disease

Abstract

The invention provides compositions and methods for treatment of amyloidogenic diseases. Such methods entail administering an agent that induces a beneficial immune response against an amyloid deposit in the patient. The methods are particularly useful for prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of Alzheimer's disease. In such methods, a suitable agent is Aβ peptide, active fragments thereof or an antibody thereto.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 724,319, filed Nov. 27, 2000, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 322,289, filed May 28, 1999, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 201,430, filed Nov. 30, 1998 which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Application No. 60 / 080,970, filed Apr. 7, 1998, and U.S. Application No. 60 / 067,740, filed Dec. 2, 1997, all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The invention resides in the technical fields of immunology and medicine. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive disease resulting in senile dementia. See generally Selkoe, TINS 16, 403-409 (1993); Hardy et al., WO 92 / 13069; Selkoe, J. Neuropathol. Exp. Neurol. 53, 438-447 (1994); Duff et al., Nature 373, 476-477 (1995); Games et al., Nature 373, 523 (1995). Broadly speakin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The invention provides methods for preventing or treating diseases caused by amyloid deposits, such as Alzheimer's disease. These methods involve administering an effective dosage of an antibody that specifically binds to the amyloid deposit or a component thereof to the patient. The antibody can be a human, humanized, chimeric, or non-human antibody, and can be administered as a monoclonal or polyclonal antibody. The antibody can be administered at a dosage of at least 1 mg / kg body weight per day for at least six months. The antibody can be administered by various routes such as intraperitoneally, orally, subcutaneously, intracranially, or intravenously. The patient's level of antibody in the blood can be monitored. The invention also provides methods of preventing or treating Alzheimer's disease by administering a polypeptide comprising an active fragment of Aβ that induces an immune response to Aβ in the patient. The fragment can be administered with an adjuvant to enhance the immune response. The invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising active fragments of Aβ and an adjuvant. The invention further provides methods of screening an antibody to Aβ or a fragment of Aβ for use in treatment of Alzheimer's disease by administering the antibody to a transgenic animal and detecting a reduction in the extent or rate of development of the characteristics of Alzheimer's disease relative to a control transgenic animal."

Problems solved by technology

Because EP 526,511's proposed dosage would barely alter the level of endogenous circulating Aβ and because EP 526,511 does not recommend use of an adjuvant, as an immunostimulant, it seems implausible that any therapeutic benefit would result.

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