Progress towards Alzheimer's vaccine

We have been able to stimulate an immune response and forecast the effects in inoculated mice carrying human genes, said dr. Alon Monsonego.

An Israeli researcher working on a vaccine to combat Alzheimer's disease said on Monday he had made important progress following tests on gene-altered laboratory mice.

"We have been able to stimulate an immune response and forecast the effects in inoculated mice carrying human genes," Alon Monsonego, who works with British and US researchers, told AFP.

"It is an important development" that could help find vaccines which could be used for individuals with a predisposition to Alzheimer's, the University of Beersheva researcher said.

Monsonego added that "inoculated mice were able to reduce plaques of beta-peptides, as well as inflammations and neuronal damage associated with the disease."

Monsonego's work which is aimed at finding a vaccine capable of reinforcing the immune system were published in the specialised Journal of Immunology.

A report on Monday by the Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI), which groups Alzheimer associations around the world, predicted that cases of the disease and other forms of dementia are expected to soar in the next few decades, due largely to a spike in cases in developing countries.

Just under 36 million people will be living with dementia in 2010, an increase of around 12 million on how many suffered some form of dementia in 2005, the report said.