A new clinical trial is set to begin at Brigham and Women’s hospital to develop a vaccine that treats Alzheimer’s Disease.
The vaccine will use Protollin, a drug that has been shown to activate the immune system and is in development as a treatment to slow and prevent Alzheimer’s Disease progression.
Protollin works by using protein derived from bacteria, which in turn stimulates the white blood cells and specifically activates lymph nodes in the neck. This enables them to send the brain clear beta-amyloid plaques, which deteriorate markedly with Alzheimer’s progression.
The trial will involve a single ascending dose given to participants aged between 60-85 with early, symptomatic Alzheimer’s. There will be 16 subjects in total, all enrolled from the hospital’s center for Neurological disease, the Ann Romney Center, who will all be given two doses of the vaccine one week apart.
The co-director of the Ann Romney Center, Howard L Weiner said, “If clinical trials in humans show that the vaccine is safe and effective, this could represent a non-toxic treatment for people with Alzheimer’s, and it could also be given early to help prevent Alzheimer’s in people at risk. The immune system plays a very important role in all neurologic diseases.”
The vaccine will be given intranasally, and the main endpoint of the trial is to determine the safety and tolerability of the vaccine. Later phases of the research will further assess the dosing and effectiveness of the treatment or prevention granted by the vaccine.
Want to Learn More?
In addition to keeping you up to date on all things clinical trials, we also act as a digital CRO with a specific focus on patient recruitment and retention. We believe that patient recruitment and study startup (especially study design and study material) are heavily intertwined. After all, study design can make or break clinical trials, and the patient-perspective should be considered when designing studies to ensure that patient targets are met not only on time, but also on budget.
For Citruslabs, patient recruitment starts with study design and ends with trial completion. We recruit patients through our network of health apps, which enables you to connect with thousands of patients in real-time. The best part: these patients are already educated and prepared for the clinical trial process.
If you’d like to hear more about what we do, go here to read about what sets us apart, or here to read what our patients have to say about us.