Current progress in beta-amyloid immunotherapy

As neuroscientists, we are taught that the brain is immune privileged and thus unlikely to be affected by the peripheral immune system. Accordingly, initial results demonstrating the effectiveness of β-amyloid (Aβ) immunotherapy in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) were viewed with considerable surprise and some skepticism. Many groups have since demonstrated efficacy with Aβ immunotherapy in models of AD, using Aβ-based immunogens and anti-Aβ antibodies. Clinical trials involving Aβ immunotherapy for AD are in progress and are providing a wealth of information around the amyloid hypothesis of AD. Aβ immunotherapy is also raising new opportunities and questions about the general role of the immune system in neurodegenerative diseases.