31 January 2018 - - Dublin, Ireland-based clinical-stage biotech company United Neuroscience (UNS) plans to develop a vaccine for the prevention of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects people with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including athletes who participate in contact sports as well as military personnel and victims of domestic violence, the company said.
Repetitive brain trauma leads to the build-up of tau aggregates and degeneration of brain tissue. Currently in studies in animal models of CTE, UNS's synthetic peptide vaccine is designed to train the body to generate antibodies toward tau aggregates.
Data suggest that these changes may begin early and progress for years or decades after the last brain trauma, eventually leading to symptoms of CTE: memory loss, depression, suicidal thoughts, explosive or aggressive behavior, and walking and speaking difficulties.
The antibodies generated naturally by UNS's vaccine can recognize aggregated tau and inhibit or help remove tau aggregates. UNS expects to initiate its first clinical studies related to CTE next year.
UNS is dedicated to the development of best-in-class immunotherapeutics for the brain. A global company headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with operations in Taiwan and the US, UNS was founded to address the social and economic burden of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases and seeks to rapidly advance candidates into and through clinical trials with the goal of delivering breakthrough treatments to patients.