Intravenous Immunoglobulin Treatment is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Developing...

Intravenous Immunoglobulin Treatment is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Developing Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders

Results Presented at International Alzheimer's Symposium Suggest
Intravenous Immunoglobulin May Have Use in the Prevention of
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa.--(Business Wire)--
The risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders
(ADRD) may be reduced by about 40 percent in patients previously
treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) according to a study
presented today at the 10th International Hong Kong/Springfield
Pan-Asian Symposium on Advances in Alzheimer Therapy. The findings
were presented by Howard Fillit, M.D., clinical professor of
geriatrics, medicine and neurobiology at The Mount Sinai-NYU Medical
Center in New York, and executive director of the Alzheimer's Drug
Discovery Foundation. The study was based on Surveillance Data Inc.'s
(SDI's) HIPAA-compliant, longitudinal medical claims database.

IVIG -- an antibody product derived from human plasma and
FDA-approved to treat other conditions, but not Alzheimer's -- has
been found to contain antibodies that bind to beta-amyloid proteins,
the central component of the senile plaque in the brains of
Alzheimer's patients. In addition, early phase clinical studies
evaluating IVIG in Alzheimer's patients have suggested that IVIG
therapy may improve cognitive function. This study examined whether
there is epidemiological evidence of the effect of previous IVIG
treatment on the onset of ADRD.

The IVIG study was co-authored by Gregory Hess, M.D., M.B.A., vice
president and chief medical officer and Jerrold Hill, Ph.D. director
of outcomes research, of Surveillance Data Inc. (SDI), a leading
provider of real-time, localized illness tracking and healthcare
analyses for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Using SDI's
anonymized medical claims data, a retrospective case-controlled
analysis was conducted to evaluate the incidence of ADRD in an IVIG
treated vs. untreated population. A total of 847 cases treated with
IVIG were compared to 84,700 untreated controls matched by age,
gender, and other risk factors. The proportion of patients diagnosed
with dementia was 2.0 percent for treated cases and 4.2 percent for
untreated controls (p less than .002). The relative risk of developing
ADRD over time was 0.577 for treated patients vs. controls (p=.024),
indicating a 42 percent lower incidence rate of dementia in patients
treated with IVIG.

Hess explained, "Our increased understanding of the pathways
leading to the development of Alzheimer's disease has suggested that
there may be a potential protective effect of IVIG in the prevention
of ADRD. The exceptionally large number of elderly patients in SDI's
data warehouse made it possible to study the likelihood that IVIG
could lower the incidence of this devastating disease." Speaking to
the potential application of the study's findings, Fillit noted, "We
encourage additional research including adequate and well-controlled
clinical studies to confirm the benefits of IVIG in Alzheimer's
disease."

Study Design

In the study, patients were selected from 22 million patients in
the SDI data warehouse between 2000 - 2007, aged 65 or older and
without an ADRD diagnosis prior to IVIG treatment or prior to study
entry for controls. The analysis compared a total of 847 patients
treated with IVIG and 84,700 untreated controls matched by age, gender
and known ADRD risk factors: hypertension, hypercholesterolemia,
diabetes and chronic kidney disease. A Cox proportional hazards model
was estimated to assess the effect of IVIG treatment on the relative
risk of being diagnosed with ADRD over time. Research support for the
study was provided by Baxter BioScience.

An overview of the "Use of intravenous immunoglobulin is
associated with a reduced risk of AD and related disorders" study is
available at www.survdata.com or Click Here
(http://www.acmarketingpr.com/pr/releases.php?id=289145).

About Surveillance Data, Inc. (SDI)

Based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., SDI is a leading provider of
longitudinal patient-level data serving the pharmaceutical, biotech
and consumer healthcare industry with healthcare data since 1982.
SDI's 210 employees are dedicated to patient-level data collection,
analyses and reporting to advance medical and pharmaceutical care. SDI
takes a consultative approach, combined with expert study design and
analytical expertise to produce superior research analyses and
insights. Its current client roster features the top 20 companies in
the pharmaceutical/biotech industry, as well as government agencies.
For more information, visit www.survdata.com or call 610-834-0800.

About the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) is a public
charity established in 2004 to expand upon the programs initiated by
the Institute for the Study of Aging (ISOA), a private foundation
founded by the Estee Lauder family in 1998. The organization's sole
mission is to accelerate drug discovery research to prevent, treat and
cure Alzheimer's disease, related dementias and cognitive aging
through venture philanthropy. For more information about the ADDF,
visit www.alzdiscovery.org.

Technorati Tags

IVIG, IGIV, immunoglobulin, intravenous immunoglobulin,
alzheimer's, alzheimer's disease, alzheimer's disease and related
disorders, ADRD, surveillance data, surveillance data inc., SDI,
alzheimer's drug discovery foundation, Howard Fillit, Dr. Fillit, Greg
Hess, Gregory hess, Dr. Hess, Jerrold Hill, Jerry Hill, Dr. Hill,
beta-amyloid proteins, senile plaque, hong kong/sprinfield, health,
healthcare, healthcare data, market research, pharmaceutical

Amendola Communications for SDI
Jan Shulman, 480-664-8412, ext. 12
m: 602-206-4284
jshulman@acmarketingpr.com
or
Lindsey Karberg, 480-664-8412, ext. 20
m: 602-499-7796
lkarberg@acmarketingpr.com

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