1. Academic Validation
  2. The antibody aducanumab reduces Aβ plaques in Alzheimer's disease

The antibody aducanumab reduces Aβ plaques in Alzheimer's disease

  • Nature. 2016 Sep 1;537(7618):50-6. doi: 10.1038/nature19323.
Jeff Sevigny 1 Ping Chiao 1 Thierry Bussière 1 Paul H Weinreb 1 Leslie Williams 1 Marcel Maier 2 Robert Dunstan 1 Stephen Salloway 3 Tianle Chen 1 Yan Ling 1 John O'Gorman 1 Fang Qian 1 Mahin Arastu 1 Mingwei Li 1 Sowmya Chollate 1 Melanie S Brennan 1 Omar Quintero-Monzon 1 Robert H Scannevin 1 H Moore Arnold 1 Thomas Engber 1 Kenneth Rhodes 1 James Ferrero 1 Yaming Hang 1 Alvydas Mikulskis 1 Jan Grimm 2 Christoph Hock 2 4 Roger M Nitsch 2 4 Alfred Sandrock 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Biogen, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA.
  • 2 Neurimmune, Schlieren-Zurich 8952, Switzerland.
  • 3 Butler Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island 02906, USA.
  • 4 Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich 8952, Switzerland.
Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by deposition of Amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, accompanied by synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration. Antibody-based immunotherapy against Aβ to trigger its clearance or mitigate its neurotoxicity has so far been unsuccessful. Here we report the generation of aducanumab, a human monoclonal antibody that selectively targets aggregated Aβ. In a transgenic mouse model of AD, aducanumab is shown to enter the brain, bind parenchymal Aβ, and reduce soluble and insoluble Aβ in a dose-dependent manner. In patients with prodromal or mild AD, one year of monthly intravenous infusions of aducanumab reduces brain Aβ in a dose- and time-dependent manner. This is accompanied by a slowing of clinical decline measured by Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes and Mini Mental State Examination scores. The main safety and tolerability findings are amyloid-related imaging abnormalities. These results justify further development of aducanumab for the treatment of AD. Should the slowing of clinical decline be confirmed in ongoing phase 3 clinical trials, it would provide compelling support for the amyloid hypothesis.

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