The research results below were reported in the following media: (*=online edition)
◆9 January JiJi Press Ltd.*, The Sankei Shimbun*, Kyodo News*,
　　　 NHK Newsterrace Kansai, Kansai 845, Newswatch 9, BS News
　　　 Kansai Telecasting Corporation News Japan
◆10 January Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun
◆12 January Chinanews*
◆15 January Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun (Business & Technology Daily News)
◆5 February Asahi Shimbun
+ a large number of local newspapers?

Outline

The research group of Associate Professor Takami Tomiyama of the Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Department of Neuroscience has developed a new monoclonal antibody for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. In the brain of patients with Alzheimer ’s disease two pathological changes appear: senile plaques caused by the buildup of amyloid β peptide outside cells and neurofibrillary tangles caused by the buildup of hyperphosphorylated tau proteins within cells.

Until now most research to develop medicines has focused on the amyloid β peptide, but so far none of them has shown effectiveness in clinical trials. This research instead developed a new monoclonal antibody that binds with the phosphorylated tau proteins to eliminate them. In the future, medical treatment for Alzheimer’s disease will most likely consist of a combination of medicines aimed at amyloid β peptides and medicines focusing on phosphorylated tau proteins. The antibody developed in this research is a promising prototype for a medicine aimed at phosphorylated tau proteins as it significantly reduced tau pathologies including neurofibrillary tangles and improved memory in aged model mice.

The research article was published in the online-edition of the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology of the American Neurological Association on 9 January 2015, 15:00 Japanese time.

【Journal name】Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology
【Article Title】Passive immunotherapy of tauopathy targeting pSer413-tau:
a pilot study in mice
【Authors】Tomohiro Umeda, Hiroshi Eguchi, Yuichi Kunori, Yoichi Matsumoto, Taizo Taniguchi, Hiroshi Mori, Takami Tomiyama
【URL】http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2328-9503