Features

• Gammagard isn't swallowed like a pill---it's injected into a muscle or under the skin. As such, it's known as an intravenous immunoglobulin. It's usually injected every three to four weeks. Doctors are confident of the drug's safety in that it has a history of being used to treat a variety of illnesses where antibodies are needed to protect the body from infection. Even so, this treatment, which is made from human plasma, couldn't be used by everyone with AD, even if it were approved as such. It can be harmful to the kidneys, and anyone with a history of kidney disease, heart disease or diabetes must be monitored to make sure the drug isn't making things worse. Other drugs, including some cancer meds and antipsychotics, should not be taken with Gammagard.
  
  

Long-Term Benefits

• One of the challenges of the three leading drugs available to manage AD---marketed as Aricept, Exelon and Razadyne---are that their impacts have been short-lived. According to the Alzheimer's Association, these drugs, known as cholinesterase inhibitors, typically lessen the symptoms of AD for months---usually no longer than six months to a year---in about half of the patients who are treated with the drugs. However, in a study of volunteers with AD who were given Gammagard for nine months, it was found that they showed significant improvements in cognitive functioning and in the ability to perform the tasks of daily living. Researchers have lauded this as the first drug to offer persistent benefits to its users.
  
  

Prevention

• In another study, it was found that those who were treated with Gammagard were half as likely to develop AD or related dementia than those who were given a placebo. Two percent of the 847 volunteers who were treated with Gammagard developed dementia, compared to more than 4 percent of those who were not given the treatment.
  
  

Process

• Just how can Gammagard prevent or decrease the onslaught of worsening AD symptoms? Studies suggest that, as an antibody-based therapy, Gammagard is able to lift the body's immune response. In doing so, the drug may decrease the effectiveness of the beta amyloid protein in developing the plaques which are believed to be a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. That's because, scientists surmise, the antibodies are replenished and are then able to remove the destructive amyloid. In other words, just as Gammagard is used to help the body fight off leukemia, it may be used to strengthen the body to defend itself against the abnormal structures, or plaques, that cause so much damage to the brain.
  
  

Warnings

• Resist the temptation to think of drugs like Gammagard, which are still being studied for their effects on AD, as cure-alls. Even if the drug is approved by the FDA for Alzheimer's patients or those at risk of developing the disease, it's expected to be costly. For starters, since the drug is made from human plasma, it will be in relatively limited supply by its very nature. That limited supply will shoot up the costs associated with the drug and will make it difficult to obtain, even for those who feel price is not an issue.