Therapeutic applications of antibodies in non-infectious neurodegenerative diseases.

Abstract

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease (HD) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are all characterised histologically by the presence of deposits of misfolded proteins, tau and amyloid-β, α-synuclein, huntingtin or superoxide dismutase, respectively. Currently, these illnesses do not have any disease modifying treatment options. A novel therapeutic strategy that is being pursued is immunomodulation, which is using the body's immune system to target the self-proteins that are deposited. Most of these promising approaches are still in preclinical development while some have progressed to Phase III clinical trials. As new insights are gained, it is hoped that these immunotherapies will be effective tools at slowing the progression of these debilitating diseases.

• Authors: Pavan K Krishnamurthy, Einar M Sigurdsson
• Journal: New biotechnology (N Biotechnol) Vol. 28 Issue 5 Pg. 511-7 (Sep 2011) ISSN: 1876-4347 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 21473943 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Antibodies

Topics

• Animals
• Antibodies (immunology, therapeutic use)
• Disease Progression
• Humans
• Immunologic Techniques
• Immunotherapy
• Neurodegenerative Diseases (drug therapy, immunology, pathology)