Vaccine For Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's Vaccine Looks Promising


The first vaccine being developed for Parkinson's disease (PD) is showing early promise.


A phase 1 pilot trial of subcutaneous injections of PD01A, carried out at a single center in Vienna, Austria, shows that the vaccine was well tolerated and safe, that it induced an immune response, and that the immune response appeared to be improving function.



The vaccine targets alpha-synuclein, a protein that is highly expressed in the brain and that tends to aggregate in patients with PD. It is thought that this process either interferes with normal alpha-synuclein function or is itself toxic to cells. PD01A is designed to stimulate the body to produce antibodies that bind to and clear excess alpha-synuclein.




Because the vaccine is intended to prevent PD, it is important to identify the disease as early as possible.



"The most convincing" piece of evidence from the study is that immune responders show a clinically better response than immunological non-responders.