Abstract

Objective: Active or passive immunisation can mitigate plaque pathology in murine models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Recently, it has been shown that antibodies against β-amyloid (Aβ) are present in human immunoglobulin preparations (IVIgG), which specifically recognise and inhibit the neurotoxic effects of Aβ. This study reports the results from a pilot study using IVIgG in patients with AD.

Methods: Five patients with AD were enrolled and received monthly IVIgG over a 6 month period. Efficacy assessment included total Aβ/Aβ_1–42 measured in the CSF/serum as well as effects on cognition (ADAS-cog; CERAD) at baseline and at 6 months following IVIgG.

Results: Following IVIgG, total Aβ levels in the CSF decreased by 30.1% (17.3–43.5%) compared to baseline (p<0.05). Total Aβ increased in the serum by 233% (p<0.05). No significant change was found in Aβ_1–42 levels in the CSF/serum. Using ADAS-cog, an improvement of 3.7±2.9 points was detected. Scores in the MMSE were essentially unchanged (improved in four patients, stable in one patient) following IVIgG compared to baseline.

Conclusion: Although the sample size of this pilot study is too small to draw a clear conclusion, the results of this pilot study provide evidence for a more detailed investigation of IVIgG for the treatment of AD.