An experimental study finds that Gammagard IVIg solution may be able to prevent Alzheimer’s disease from worsening three years, but more research will be needed to confirm this claim.
Doctors say that four patients who received the highest dose of Gammagard in early testing showed
no decline on memory and cognition tests three years later. The drug is a collection of antibodies from
pooled blood donations given as infusions every two weeks to patients. These antibodies may help clear
the sticky plaque gumming up patients’ brains. This is the first study to report long-term stabilization of
Alzheimer’s symptoms with IVIg.
For the study, 24 patients received:
• Six months of treatment, followed by …
• 12 months of treatment with Gammagard, tested in several doses, and
• An additional 18 months of a standardized dose of Gammagard treatment to test the drug’s long-
term effects.
Four patients who took the standardized dose of the drug for the full 36 months reported the best
outcomes, with no measurable declines in cognition, memory, daily functioning and mood.
Gammagard is one of six companies selling IVIg, or intravenous immune globulin, which are multiple,
natural antibodies culled from plasma to treat blood disorders, including hemophilia and von Willebrand
Disease. It takes 130 plasma donations to make enough to treat one patient for a year.
A late-stage, 400-patient study of Gammagard will wrap up later this year. In it, a group of patients getting
the treatment will be compared with a similar group given dummy “placebo” infusions.
To read about the study in more detail visit CBS News.