Researchers in the United Kingdom devised a vaccine that has shown promise in the treatment of the prevention of Alzheimer's and other diseases. 

Dr. John Foerster, a dermatologist and clinical senior lecturer at the University of Dundee in Scotland, U.K., jointly supervised the research with Martin Bachmann, a professor of vaccinology at the Jenner Institute in Oxford, U.K.

Dr. Foerster, Prof. Bachmann, and their research team designed a new vaccine by combining an existing anti-tetanus vaccine with a protein from a virus that affects a variety of plants.

The viral protein was taken from the so-called cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) — a virus that received this name because it was first found in cucumbers. 

The scientists incorporated a so-called tetanus-epitope into the CMV particles and tested the resulting vaccine in animal models of psoriasis, allergies, and Alzheimer's disease.

An epitope is the part of a foreign substance — in this case, tetanus — that elicits an immune response in the body.

In a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, the vaccine increased levels of certain antibodies that are believed to protect against the neurodegenerative disease. 

More specifically, the vaccine raised levels of the Immunoglobulin G antibodies that are thought to recognize and fight against aggregates of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain — which is a marker of Alzheimer's disease.

Based on the findings, the authors suggest that "a prophylactic vaccination approach could be a viable public health intervention" against Alzheimer's disease. 

Evidently, more research is needed to test these benefits in humans. The vaccine could be adapted to almost any foreign substance, or antigen, the authors write, and it would be "ideally suited [...] for aging populations."

Learn more at https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319857.php