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    • Israeli scientists attempt to prevent Alzheimer’s disease with century-old vaccine
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    Israeli scientists attempt to prevent Alzheimer’s disease with century-old vaccine

    Umito Posted on

    “What’s new?” I ask neurologist Tamir Ben-Hur as we meet in the employee cafeteria Hadassah University Medical Centerat Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. My platter is full of spicy fish and abundant Mediterranean vegetables. Good for the brain.

    He describes his latest clinical trials.

    I have known for several years that there is a blood test that can predict whether or not a person is susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease. It is available and free for those of us aged 65 to 80.

    I was Ben-Hur’s English teacher at Hebrew University High School when he was a teenager and I was 23, so he roughly knows my age.

    Even though I know I can take this test that would illuminate my future, I’ve kind of put it off. In other words, deflated.

    Barbara Sofer is seen taking blood as part of a clinical trial for Alzheimer’s research in Jerusalem. (credit: DAVID ZEV HARRIS)

    “Half of the people to whom the test is offered say they do not want to know if they will have Alzheimer’s disease. The other half says they want to know so they can plan their future,” Ben-Hur told me. He belongs to the second category and took the test himself and passed it with flying colors.

    Participate in clinical trials

    I am happy to participate in clinical trials, a form of volunteering that advances science. Working at Hadassah, where doctors and nurses are always researching and researching subjects, I participated in another clinical trial several years ago in the neurology department.

    The neurologist had to put electrodes in my hair to measure brain waves. It was a complicated task that could probably be done more efficiently by a hairstylist experienced in perms and colored highlights.

    Once I was electrocuted, I was attached to a machine to measure my brain activity. I had to answer a long series of questions, like “Which is closer to Jerusalem – Tel Aviv or Haifa?” (a breeze, right?), then “Which is closer to Jerusalem – Kiryat Malachi or Hadera?” The questions became more difficult.

    After the article was published in a prestigious scientific journal, I asked how I did it. The researcher agreed to check.

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    Great, he said. The real words? “Excellent brain.”

    This is a compliment to savor!

    But later I wondered if I had been told the truth. The bride is always beautiful, as they say in the Talmud. Having subsequently accompanied a dear friend on her journey after she was diagnosed with an incurable brain disease, I know that doctors involved in the diagnostic stages are sometimes reluctant to share bad news. It ultimately comes down to the neurologist in charge. In my friend’s case, it happened to be Professor Ben-Hur.

    One in nine people aged 65 and over develops Alzheimer’s disease. Neither of my parents had it. But then again, my father died at 63. I have no symptoms, which of course I have checked with Dr. Google several times.

    What would be the point of knowing? But today, around carrots in Tehina, Ben-Hur shares his news. It turns out that the century-old vaccine used to tuberculosis shows promising results in slowing down Alzheimer’s disease.

    According to the official publication of the brain division and neurology department of Hadassah Medical Organization, the theory is that the BCG vaccine could activate systemic and brain immune cells to protect the brain from Alzheimer’s disease.

    The BCG vaccine was used as early as 1921 to prevent tuberculosis. Israeli newborns routinely received the vaccine as part of Israel’s public health initiative to prevent tuberculosis, when it was more common in Israel. Today, only high-risk babies are vaccinated, and even for them the vaccine has limited effectiveness against tuberculosis.

    Previous studies, conducted at Hadassah, Hebrew University and other centers around the world, have shown that administration of the BCG vaccine can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by strengthening the immune system, thus making it more efficient.

    So, shouldn’t we all take it?

    This, of course, is exactly why there is a clinical trial. This is the world’s first clinical trial to directly test the effectiveness of the BCG vaccine in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. It would be truly astonishing if we in Israel had proof of this.

    I call and make an appointment.

    Potential participants must be cognitively intact, so I must take a cognitive test. Tip #1: You do the blood test first while fasting, so if, like me, you need that first cup of tea before you head out into the world, make your cup of joe.

    I roll up my sleeve and the blood is sent for evaluation. I drink my coffee and take the cognitive test. Tip #2: You may want to practice counting backwards by sevens. Except for my insistence that bananas – over which borei pri ha’adama, the fruit of earthly blessing, is recited – are not really fruit, it’s going well.

    My examiner declares me mentally fit.

    In a few weeks I will know the results of the blood tests. The clinical trial will evaluate whether BCG vaccination reduces the level of phosphorylated tau protein and other biomarkers in the blood and thus helps prevent the development of dementia. A decrease in the level of phosphorylated tau protein in the blood will be an indication of a reduced risk of developing dementia in the coming years. In addition, my blood will be used for basic research aimed at identifying systemic factors causing the disease, in order to develop additional drugs.

    If – God forbid – I show the biomarkers associated with the likely development of Alzheimer’s disease, I will receive three doses of the vaccine, which has minimal side effects.

    My sister and I spent part of the summer when I was 10 with an aunt who was soon after diagnosed with tuberculosis. Aunt Lucile was hospitalized in a sanitarium in Connecticut. We have never had any side effects from the inoculation or contracted tuberculosis, so the injections do not scare me.

    Follow-up includes additional blood tests and cognitive tests. I’ll let you know how I get on.

    Here’s what excites me. We are a country at war on seven fronts. Many injured soldiers require medical evacuation and innovative treatment. When I wake up each morning and say the prayer to thank God for still being alive, I add an extra thank you for not having to spend a night in a shelter because of the last sword of Damocles hanging over my head. our heads.

    Here are our Israeli researchers who are still working hard, juggling their daily work with demanding medical and non-medical roles within the IDF.

    Taking the test is of course personal, but it also means being Israeli and wanting to help repair the world. 

    To join the studies: call 055-220-4061 for messages or email [email protected].

    The writer is director of public relations for Israel at Hadassah, the Zionist Women’s Organization of America. His latest book is A daughter of many mothers.



    Umito
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