S5‐04–01: Nonpharmacological interventions in dementia

validated not only by autopsy studies, but also by cognitive testing and AD-biomarkers of patients enrolled in an active immunization trial. Over the past several years the testing of a variety of anti-A immunotherapeutic approaches in numerous APP transgenic and primate models produced several positive outcomes in pathological and behavioral measures, as well as highlighted the differential effects that antibody epitope, effector function and clearance pathways exert on these efficacy measurements. Methods: APP transgenic mice were passively immunized with a number of anti-abeta antibodies which differed in their epitope recognition sites. Following 6 months of chronic administration, the brains of the mice were histologically assessed for a number of pathologic features that resemble AD. In more acute treatment paradigms, other mice were behaviorally evaluated using the contextual fear conditioning (CFC) test. Results: The cumulative result of these enabling studies has been the advancement of several AD immunotherapies into clinical candidates, including some which have progressed to advanced stages of clinical trials. This overview will discuss emergent issues and recent progress related to development of A immunotherapeutics, with emphasis on the use of preclinical animal models that have proven invaluable to this process. Conclusions: Abeta immunotherapeutic approaches offer promise as potentially novel treatments for AD, and in addition reveal important insights to mechanisms of disease and intervention.