{"id":518247,"date":"2022-11-30T03:59:53","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T00:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/drug-slows-alzheimers-but-can-it-make-a-real-difference\/"},"modified":"2022-11-30T03:59:53","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T00:59:53","slug":"drug-slows-alzheimers-but-can-it-make-a-real-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/drug-slows-alzheimers-but-can-it-make-a-real-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"#Drug slows Alzheimer&#8217;s but can it make a real difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35b23a3f9f1\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a35b23a3f9f1\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/drug-slows-alzheimers-but-can-it-make-a-real-difference\/#Drug_slows_Alzheimers_but_can_it_make_a_real_difference\" >Drug slows Alzheimer&#8217;s but can it make a real difference?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Drug_slows_Alzheimers_but_can_it_make_a_real_difference\"><\/span>Drug slows Alzheimer&#8217;s but can it make a real difference?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>An experimental Alzheimer\u2019s drug modestly slowed the brain disease\u2019s inevitable worsening, researchers reported Tuesday \u2014 but it remains unclear how much difference that might make in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n<p>Japanese drugmaker Eisai and its U.S. partner Biogen had announced <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/health-2e51397597577d49d6d5f82bc0042871\" data-ylk=\"slk:earlier this fall\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">earlier this fall<\/a> that the drug lecanemab <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared to work, a badly needed bright spot after repeated disappointments in the quest for better Alzheimer\u2019s treatments.<\/p>\n<p>Now the companies are providing full results of the study of nearly 1,800 people in the earliest stages of the mind-robbing disease. The data was presented at an Alzheimer\u2019s meeting in San Francisco and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. U.S. regulators could approve the drug as soon as January.<\/p>\n<p>Every two weeks for 18 months, study participants received intravenous lecanemab or a dummy infusion. Researchers tracked them using an 18-point scale that measures cognitive and functional ability.<\/p>\n<p>Those given lecanemab declined more slowly \u2014 a difference of not quite half a point on that scale, concluded the research team led by Dr. Christopher van Dyck at Yale University.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a hard-to-understand change, but measured a different way, lecanemab delayed patients\u2019 worsening by about five months over the course of the study, Eisai\u2019s Dr. Michael Irizarry told The Associated Press. Also, lecanemab recipients were 31% less likely to advance to the next stage of the disease during the study.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat translates to more time in earlier stages\u201d when people function better, Irizarry said.<\/p>\n<p>But doctors are divided over how much difference those changes may make for patients and families.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is unlikely that the small difference reported in this trial will be noticeable by individual patients,\u201d said Dr. Madhav Thambisetty of the National Institute on Aging, who noted he wasn\u2019t speaking for the government agency.<\/p>\n<p>He said many researchers believe a meaningful improvement would require at least a difference of a full point on that 18-point scale.<\/p>\n<p>But Dr. Ron Petersen, an Alzheimer\u2019s expert at the Mayo Clinic, said the drug\u2019s effect was \u201ca modest one but I think it\u2019s clinically meaningful\u201d \u2014 because even a few months\u2019 delay in progression could give someone a little more time when they\u2019re functioning independently.<\/p>\n<p>The trial is important because it shows a drug that attacks a sticky protein called amyloid \u2014 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/health-us-news-ap-top-news-dementia-mo-state-wire-fde3a18768624e3a887ae8e78c3b8ef4\" data-ylk=\"slk:considered one of several culprits\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">considered one of several culprits<\/a> behind Alzheimer\u2019s \u2014 can delay disease progression, said Maria Carrillo, chief <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> officer for the Alzheimer\u2019s Association.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe all understand that this is not a cure and we\u2019re all trying to really grasp what it means to slow Alzheimer\u2019s, because this is a first,\u201d Carrillo said.<\/p>\n<p>But any delay in cognitive decline early on could be meaningful for \u201chow much time we have with our loved ones in a stage of disease where we can still enjoy family and outings, vacations, bucket lists,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Amyloid-targeting drugs can cause side effects that include swelling and bleeding in the brain, and lecanemab did as well. One type of this swelling was seen in about 13% of recipients. Eisai said most were mild or asymptomatic.<\/p>\n<p>Also, two deaths have been publicly reported among lecanemab users who also were taking blood-thinning medications for other health problems. Eisai said Tuesday the deaths can\u2019t be attributed to the Alzheimer\u2019s drug.<\/p>\n<p>But Mayo\u2019s Petersen said if lecanemab is approved for use in the U.S., he\u2019d avoid prescribing it to people on blood thinners at least initially.<\/p>\n<p>And Thambisetty said the death reports raise concern about how the drug may be tolerated outside of research studies \u201cwhere patients are likely to be sicker and have multiple other medical conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Food and Drug Administration is considering approving lecanemab under its fast-track program, with a decision expected in early January. If approved, it would be the second anti-amyloid drug on the market.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly all treatments available for the 6 million Americans with Alzheimer\u2019s \u2014 and millions more worldwide \u2014 only temporarily ease symptoms. Scientists don\u2019t yet know exactly how Alzheimer\u2019s forms but one theory is that gunky amyloid buildup plays a key role, although drug after drug that targets it has failed.<\/p>\n<p>In a contentious move last year, the FDA <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/science-government-and-politics-business-health-2147d824af9cfde629041d83d9ca7a8d\" data-ylk=\"slk:approved the first amyloid-targeting drug\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">approved the first amyloid-targeting drug<\/a>, Biogen\u2019s Aduhelm, despite lack of evidence of better patient outcomes. Insurers and many doctors have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/business-health-medicaid-medication-medicare-78842ee6a557f85861e4e980d96c29d3\" data-ylk=\"slk:hesitated to prescribe the pricey drug\" class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\">hesitated to prescribe the pricey drug<\/a> \u2014 another reason experts have anxiously awaited word of how well the newer lecanemab may work.<\/p>\n<p>If the FDA approves lecanemab, patients and their families will need a voice in deciding whether it\u2019s worth the hassle of IV infusions and the risk of side effects for the chance of at least some delay in progression, Petersen said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to stop the disease in its tracks\u201d with just amyloid-targeting drugs, he added, saying it will take a combination of medications that target additional Alzheimer\u2019s culprits.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers are preparing to test lecanemab with other experimental drugs, and how it works in high-risk people before they show the first signs of memory problems.<\/p>\n<p>______<\/p>\n<p>The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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An experimental Alzheimer\u2019s drug modestly slowed the brain disease\u2019s inevitable worsening, researchers reported Tuesday \u2014 but it remains unclear how much difference that might make in people\u2019s lives. Japanese drugmaker Eisai and its U.S. partner Biogen had announced earlier this fall that the drug lecanemab&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":518248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/ynxJu5S8Q9mNpzb5PkF67w--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD05MTA-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ap.org\/d513027d3e0128e3a1a0ed5ee1d31f7c","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-518247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}