Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 60-70% of cases. It is caused by protein aggregates called plaques (composed mainly of amyloid ß
(Aß)) and neurofibrillary tangles (composed of tau protein), which cause progressive synaptic dysfunction and eventually neuronal death. The disease is characterised by progressive memory, cognitive and personality impairment. Current drugs provide only limited treatment of symptoms and do not target the underlying cause of the disease. Immunotherapy for AD patients provides a new way to specifically target the neurotoxic effects of Aß in an attempt to prevent disease progression. Immunotherapy for AD can be divided into passive and active immunotherapy. In passive immunisation, the idea is that patients would receive monoclonal antibodies that bind to Aß and then trigger an immune response that removes Aß. In active immunisation, patients are vaccinated with vaccines containing Aß, which would then boost the immune system to target and remove Aß. Currently, passive immunotherapy is more promising than active
immunotherapy, but the complexity of AD will require a re-strategisation of future research into both immunotherapy avenues to prevent the disease in its early stages.
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