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Vincent Marchesi, MD, PhD

Anthony N. Brady Professor Emeritus of Pathology
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Additional Titles

Director, Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine

About

Titles

Anthony N. Brady Professor Emeritus of Pathology

Director, Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine

Biography

I am a graduate of Yale College (BA 1957), Oxford University (D.Phil.1961)
and the Yale School of Medicine (MD, 1963). I trained in anatomical
pathology at Washington University (1963-65), spent a post-doctoral year at
Rockefeller University with George Palade, and served in the USPHS at the
NIH from1966 to 1972.

I was recruited to Yale by Lewis Thomas in 1972, and a
year later was named the Anthony N. Brady Professor of pathology and chair
of the department and Pathologist-in-Chief of the Yale New Haven Hospital.
In 1991 I became the Director of the Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine. I
am a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of
Medicine.

Appointments

Education & Training

MD
Yale University School of Medicine (1963)
PhD
Oxford University (1961)
BA
Yale University (1957)

Research

Overview

Alzheimer’s dementia is the result of a cascade of pathological processes that work in concert over many decades to reduce the number of functioning neurons of the human brain that are responsible for memory and other executive actions. Neuronal cell death is believed to be due to the accumulation of potentially toxic amyloid related peptides, referred to as Abeta 40 and 42, through either their excessive production or reduced clearance. Amyloid deposits can be removed from animal and human brains by specific antibody treatments, and clinical trials using this approach are now under way. Antibodies to fragments of amyloid abeta peptides are now recognized as biological agents with great therapeutic potential.

Two recent reports present evidence that naturally occurring auto-antibodies to abeta might be neuro-protective. In one study auto-antibodies to an aggregated form of abeta were found to be depressed in AD patients, but, paradoxically, elevated in normal, young adults. A second report describes a decrease in the incidence of AD in people treated with intravenous immunoglobulin preparations Both results are consistent with the idea that natural antibodies to abeta exist in all people and are depleted in advanced AD.

Contrary to these results, we have found that there is no clear correlation with levels of anti-abeta antibodies and the clinical status of the donor. Antibodies to a peptide fragment (p16-34) of abeta are elevated in many but not all individuals with advanced AD. We have found that intravenous immunoglobulin preparations also react with the p16-34 abeta fragment. If naturally occurring antibodies to abeta are indeed neuro-protective, as the available evidence suggests, it will be important to determine which epitopes of abeta induce the protective response, and, equally important, to identify the epitopes that might confer toxicity. The patho-physiological significance of auto-antibodies to amyloid abeta peptides is clearly a complicated question that deserves further study. auto-antibodies to amyloid abeta peptides
neuro-protective antibodies

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Alzheimer Disease; Autoantibodies; Cell Biology; Pathology; Protein Folding

Research at a Glance

Publications Timeline

A big-picture view of Vincent Marchesi's research output by year.
41Publications
2,301Citations

Publications

2008

2005

1998

1996

1995

1993

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • honor

    National Academy of Sciences

  • honor

    Institute of Medicine

Get In Touch

Contacts

Academic Office Number
Appointment Number

Locations

  • Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine

    Academic Office

    295 Congress Avenue, Ste BCMM 109

    New Haven, CT 06510

    Appointments

    203.737.2263