Gammaglobulin may help treat Alzheimer's

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CLEVELAND, (UPI) --

U.S. researchers say they are testing gammaglobulin as a treatment to help slow the progress of Alzheimer's disease.

The study -- called the Gammaglobulin Alzheimer's Partnership Study -- is recruiting 360 participants at 36 sites nationwide. The large Phase III clinical trial expands on earlier testing and is part of the final phase before seeking regulatory approval for treating Alzheimer's disease with intravenous immune globulin or IGIV, also known as gammaglobulin -- a traditional treatment for immunodeficiency disorders.

The researchers say the immunotherapy may target the protein that forms the core of plaques in the brain -- beta amyloid -- associated with Alzheimer's disease.

"We are investigating whether IGIV, which contains naturally occurring human anti-amyloid antibodies, will defend the brain of Alzheimer's disease patients against the damaging effects of beta amyloid," study principal investigator Dr. Alan Lerner of University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland says in a statement. "If it does, giving IGIV to patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's may potentially slow the rate of progression of the disease."