PD-1 blockers could promote immune response in Alzheimer’s disease

Written by Alice Weatherston

A recent animal study in Nature Medicine has highlighted the potential efficacy of an immune system-activating cancer medication to improve memory and cognitive ability in Alzheimer’s disease and potentially other neurodegenerative diseases. The study also indicates possibilities for the reduction of key disease-related pathology such as amyloid plaques. The study, carried out on mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, suggests immune-checkpoint blockade as a mechanism for therapy. Specifically, the research team based at the Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel) treated mice with Programmed death-1 (PD-1) blockers, recently approved for use in cancer by the US-FDA, that target the PD-1 immune-checkpoint...

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