*Corresponding author email: ccao@health.usf.edu Symbiosis Group Symbiosis www.symbiosisonline.org www.symbiosisonlinepublishing.com Alzheimer’s Disease and the Immune System Kyle Sutherland 1,2 , Tianchen Li 2 and Chuanhai Cao 1,2,3 * 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA 2 USF-Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33613, USA, 3Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa FL 33620 SOJ Neurology Open Access Review Article Introduction Aging and inflammation are a couple of the greatest factors and contributors to disease. When examining the top ten causes of disease-related death in the United States, a handful of those are progressed through low levels of chronic inflammation in the senior patients. Inflammation is a factor in heart disease, stroke, cancer, respiratory disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) [1- 6]. This level of chronic inflammation may be a result of cellular or mitochondrial dysfunction [7]. As the levels of inflammation, both acute and chronic, increase with the level of free radical production in the cell, which may in turn affect the function of the mitochondria. These effects of aging in turn increase inflammation in the body, which may also affect the progression of a person’s disease state. AD is a plight upon the elderly which trickles down to burden the rest of society. It is quickly becoming one of the most economically taxing diseases to developed countries [8,9]. It currently stands as the 6 th deadliest of diseases facing the US, and is continuing to rise without any substantial advances in treatment [10]. Of the 45 million aged persons living in the US, approximately 5 million of that number have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s [10]. This equates to 1 out of every 9 of the elderly population suffering from this disease. The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America reports that the life expectancy for these individuals is generally anywhere from 8-10 years, with fewer than 3 percent of people living past 14 years post-diagnoses [11,12]. This timeline, however, is variable from person to person, and depends on the patient’s age and overall health at the time of diagnoses. Some major factors of a person’s survivability are their overall health and level of inflammation throughout their disease progression. This review article will discuss the points of Alzheimer’s and inflammation, and will talk about possible immune therapies to treat the inflammation causing the progression of AD. Alzheimer’s Diseases an Age Related Disease Alois Alzheimer was the first to describe the hallmark pathologies within the brain of a demented patient in 1906, and these pathologies were later named after the psychiatrist who first described them, as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Although the history of this disease is more than 100 years, it has not been considered as major health issue until this century. It has developed into a problem for many nations. Although people are living longer lives, there is a larger population of elderly at risk for developing the disease. The patient population is increasing rapidly, and because of this so is the financial burden. AD is an aging related disease. The cases which are associated Abstract Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been known for over 100 years, but has only just become a pressing matter at the end of the 21st century. AD is a disease related to the aging of the individual, and has its burden over the population has continued to increase as medicine and technology are continuing to lengthen the lives of individuals. Changes in the body associated with aging, such as a weaker immune system, are causing the buildup of the protein associated with AD, amyloid beta (Aβ). Although the monomer forms of this peptide are a normal occurrence within the body, the oligomer or higher multi- unit forms of the peptide present problems to the neurons and local environment in the CNS. The molecules become toxic to the area, and they are flagged by the body to be cleared. Antibody production, opsonization, and phagocytosis by astrocytes and microglia cells in the brain have been shown to help clear this burden. However, this clearing process also can trigger pro-inflammatory pathways and secrete inflammatory cytokines, and this inflammatory response goes on to further promote the pathological changes associated with AD. One of the major progressors of AD is the dysfunction of the immune system caused by abnormal peptide folding in the CNS. Although the immune system of aged patients tend to be fragile with respect to function, acting through immune modulation and immunotherapy are currently seen to be some of the most beneficial techniques for age related diseases. In this review, we will discuss the relation of AD to age and the immune system, and then introduce the current options and treatments regarding immune modulation and immunotherapy. Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Neuroimmunology; Immune modulation; Immune therapy; Beta amyloid; Immunotherapy Received: October 02, 2014; Accepted: January 05, 2015; Published: January 22, 2015 *Corresponding author: Chuanhai Cao Ph.D, Department of Pharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA, USF-Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33613, USA; Department of Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa FL 33620, USA, E-mail: ccao@health.usf.edu