Alzheimer's disease is an illness of the brain that causes memory loss and other losses in cognitive function, as well as being responsible for over half of all dementia cases. Because there isn't a cure or treatment that can reverse the deterioration of mental function due to Alzheimer's, prevention is often people's best hope of not getting the disease. And now, researchers at the University of New Mexico are working on a preventative treatment in an unlikely form: a vaccine.
While usually vaccines target illnesses that are caused by invasive microorganisms like bacteria and viruses, this one actually targets a protein that is often found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, reported KRQE, an affiliate of CBS. The protein, called "pathological tau," was successfully cleared by the antibodies in the vaccine when tested on mice with Alzheimer's.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
RFK Jr.: How to destroy vaccinationFeature Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaces all 17 members of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice
-
The god in the machineFeature An AI model with superhuman intelligence could soon become reality. Should we be worried?
-
ICE: Targeting essential workersFeature After a brief pause, the Trump administration resumes its mass deportation plan
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive orderspeed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measlesSpeed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study findsSpeed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influenceSpeed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
