Aborted Alzheimer's Vaccine On Right Track: Study

An attempt to make a vaccine to treat Alzheimer's disease, abandoned after it caused dangerous brain inflammation in some patients, may have done the patients some good, researchers reported on Monday. They found evidence that the vaccine, made by Dublin-based Elan Corp. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, helped clear some of the brain-destroying "plaques" that characterize the disease. Some vaccinated patients scored better on memory and a few other tests used to diagnose the fatal, incurable condition. "We now need to see whether we can create an immune response safely and in a way that slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease and preserves cognition," Dr. Sid Gilman of the University of Michigan Medical School, who led one of the studies, said in a statement.