A new oral vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease is proving safe and effective for the mouse in your house. Now, small-scale clinical trials in humans may start later this year, says Takeshi Tabira, who runs the National Institute for Longevity Sciences in Aichi, central Japan.

“We hope the Phase I trials go well,” he says. “Animals are able to recover their functions after developing symptoms, but humans are less able to do so. It may be that this only works in the early stages of the disease, when symptoms are light.”

The vaccine was given to 28 mice that were genetically modified to develop Alzheimer’s. Half were given a dose at 10 months of age, while the control group weren’t treated. Three months later, tests showed mental function in the treated mice had returned to levels close to those before they developed Alzheimer’s symptoms.

In other words, they could find their way to the kitchen counter again.

Source: Reuters[tags]Alzheimer’s[/tags]