Aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) is one of the pathological characteristics of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and a potential target for PD treatment. An immunotherapy drug called UB-312 has been developed to target aggregated forms of α-syn. UB-312 is a synthetic α-syn peptide conjugated to a T-helper peptide, which can induce antibodies against aggregated a-syn. A phase I trial was conducted to investigate whether UB-312 can reduce the concentration of α-syn in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 20 PD patients.
The CSF analysis revealed a 20% decrease in aggregated α-syn concentrations in patients treated with UB-312 compared to a 3% increase in the placebo group. Further tests showed an improvement in the activities of PD patients with detectable UB-312-induced antibodies in the CSF. Although this breakthrough study is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, it demonstrates that…
