More welcome news from the 2012 Alzheimer s Association International Conference in Vancouver: Results of an extended phase II trial find that intravenous immunoglobulin (IVG), which consists of an extract of pooled blood antibodies, prevents declines in cognition, memory, daily functioning, and mood.
For the study, 24 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer s disease received either a placebo or IVIG for the first six months, followed by a 12-month open-label extension in which all subjects were treated with IVIG at various doses. In order to evaluate the therapy s long term effects, however, patients were then offered an additional 18 months of IVIG treatment at a single standardized dose. After three years, participants with the best outcomes in terms of thinking ability, behavior, and daily function numbering only four out of the original group were those who were treated with IVIG every two weeks for all 36 months. And while the mental and behavioral functions of those who were on the placebo declined during the study, these patients did experience a less rapid decline when they switched to a uniform dose of IVIG.
Alhough only a small number of participants were involved in the study, the results are hopeful as the drug now moves on to a phase III trial involving 400 study subjects. This is the first study to report long term stabilization of Alzheimer s symptoms with IVIG, says lead study author Dr. Norman Relkin of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.
Dr. Ross can t help but be excited about the latest findings, though he does warn that the research is still quite preliminary. I m hopeful that IVIG will help to one day slow the devastating effects of Alzheimer s, though I wouldn t go so far as to say that it stops the disease in its tracks, as one news headline claimed, he says. There is still much work to be done.