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A comparative study of the effects of Aducanumab and scanning ultrasound on amyloid plaques and behavior in the APP23 mouse model of Alzheimer disease
Leinenga G, Koh WK, Götz J.. Alzheimer's research & therapy, 2021-01-04
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Background Aducanumab is an anti-amyloid-β (Aβ) antibody that achieved reduced amyloid pathology in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) trials, but it is controversial whether it also improved cognition. It has been claimed that this would require a sufficiently high cumulative dose of the antibody in the brain. Therapeutic ultrasound, in contrast, has only begun to be investigated in human AD clinical trials. We have previously shown that scanning ultrasound in combination with intravenously injected microbubbles (SUS), that temporarily and safely opens the blood-brain barrier (BBB), removes amyloid and restores cognition in APP23 mice. It has not been directly tested how the effects of SUS compare to immunotherapy or whether a combination therapy is more effective. Methods In a study comprising four treatment arms, we tested the efficacy of an Aducanumab analogue, Adu, in comparison to SUS, as well as a combination therapy in APP23 mice, using sham as a control (aged 13-22 months). The active place avoidance (APA) test was used to test spatial memory, and histology and ELISA were used to measure amyloid. Brain antibody levels were also determined. Results We found that both Adu and SUS reduced the total plaque area in the hippocampus to a similar degree, with no additive effect in the combination treatment (SUS+Adu). Whereas there was only a trend towards a reduction for both Adu and SUS in the cortex, the combination trial yielded a statistically significant reduction compared to sham. Only the SUS and SUS+Adu groups included animals that had their plaque load reduced to below 1% from above 10%. There was a robust improvement in spatial memory for SUS+Adu only. In this group, when measured three days post-treatment, Adu levels were still 5-fold increased in the combination therapy compared to delivery of Adu on its own. Together, these findings suggest that SUS should be seriously considered as a treatment option for AD. Alternatively, a combination trial using Aducanumab together with ultrasound to increase brain levels of Aducanumab may be warranted, as the two approaches may engage different (albeit shared) clearance mechanisms.
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APA 7th
Leinenga, G., Koh, W. K., & Götz, J. (2021). A comparative study of the effects of Aducanumab and scanning ultrasound on amyloid plaques and behavior in the APP23 mouse model of Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer's research & therapy. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.04.425327
Vancouver
Leinenga G, Koh WK, Götz J. A comparative study of the effects of Aducanumab and scanning ultrasound on amyloid plaques and behavior in the APP23 mouse model of Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer's research & therapy. 2021. doi:10.1101/2021.01.04.425327.
BibTeX
@article{leinenga2021-a9983515,
author = {Leinenga, G. and Koh, W. K. and Götz, J.},
title = {{A comparative study of the effects of Aducanumab and scanning ultrasound on amyloid plaques and behavior in the APP23 mouse model of Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Alzheimer's research \& therapy},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1101/2021.01.04.425327},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.04.425327}
}
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Key findings
- We have previously shown that scanning ultrasound in combination with intravenously injected microbubbles (SUS), that temporarily and safely opens the blood-brain barrier (BBB), removes amyloid and restores cognition in APP23 mice.
- Results We found that both Adu and SUS reduced the total plaque area in the hippocampus to a similar degree, with no additive effect in the combination treatment (SUS+Adu).
- Whereas there was only a trend towards a reduction for both Adu and SUS in the cortex, the combination trial yielded a statistically significant reduction compared to sham.
- In this group, when measured three days post-treatment, Adu levels were still 5-fold increased in the combination therapy compared to delivery of Adu on its own.
- Together, these findings suggest that SUS should be seriously considered as a treatment option for AD.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multicenter collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 40 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer's research & therapy) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Laboratory or animal study (title names “mouse”) — scores zero |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multicenter collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 33836798) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 23 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 23 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 40 out of 100. |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
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