{"id":90,"date":"2023-01-05T19:20:08","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T19:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/?p=90"},"modified":"2023-01-05T19:20:08","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T19:20:08","slug":"controversial-new-alzheimers-drug-gives-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/?p=90","title":{"rendered":"Controversial New Alzheimer\u2019s Drug Gives Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new controversial drug entering its next phase of clinical trials shows real promise for Alzheimer\u2019s patients.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Researchers say the drug, lecanemab<\/a>, is the first of its kind that is designed to actually slow, if not reverse, the processes that cause the memory-robbing disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers and doctors alike are \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d about the new drug saying it could be a major breakthrough in Alzheimer\u2019s treatment, but it is not without some risks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The long-awaited trial data, which was published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, comes about two months after drugmakers Biogen and Eisai announced that lecanemab had been found to reduce cognitive and functional decline by 27% in their Phase 3 trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the first drug that has been shown to reverse or reduce dementia symptoms; other drugs used to treat Alzheimer\u2019s thus far, have been able to slow the build-up of plaque in the brain, and slow the progression of the disease, but did not show a return of function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Alzheimer\u2019s Association said in a statement that it welcomes and is further encouraged by the full Phase 3 data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese peer-reviewed, published results show lecanemab will provide patients more time to participate in daily life and live independently. It could mean many months more of recognizing their spouse, children, and grandchildren. Treatments that deliver tangible benefits to those living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer\u2019s and early Alzheimer\u2019s dementia are as valuable as treatments that extend the lives of those with other terminal diseases,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on the Phase 3 results, \u201clecanemab has the potential to make a clinically meaningful difference for people living with the early stages of Alzheimer\u2019s disease and their families by slowing cognitive and functional decline,\u201d Dr. Lynn Kramer, chief clinical officer of Alzheimer\u2019s disease and brain health at Eisai, said in a news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there were those in the trial that experienced \u201cadverse effects.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 6.9% of the trial participants in the lecanemab group discontinued the trial due to adverse events, compared with 2.9% of those in the placebo group. Overall, there were serious adverse events in 14% of the lecanemab group and 11.3% of the placebo group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most common adverse events in the drug group were reactions to the intravenous infusions and abnormalities on their MRIs, such as brain swelling and brain bleeding called amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, or ARIA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people who get ARIA may not have symptoms, but it can occasionally lead to hospitalization or lasting impairment. And the frequency of ARIA appeared to be higher in people who had a gene called APOE4, which can increase the risk of Alzheimer\u2019s disease and other dementias. ARIA \u201cwere numerically less common\u201d among APOE4 noncarriers, the researchers wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company aims to file for approval of the drug in the United States by the end of March, according to its news release. The US Food and Drug Administration has granted lecanemab \u201cpriority review.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf and when this drug is approved by the FDA, it will take clinicians some time to be able to parse out how this drug may or may not be effective in their own individual patients,\u201d especially since carriers of the APOE4 gene could be at higher risk of side effects, said Dr. Richard Isaacson, adjunct associate professor of neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine, who is not involved in studying lecanemab or its development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile this study is certainly encouraging, how this translates to clinical practice, real-world clinical practice, remains to be seen,\u201d he said of the Phase 3 trial data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the best news to emerge from the trial is that it proves at least that Alzheimer\u2019s can indeed be treated, and it opens the door to other such treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new controversial drug entering its next phase of clinical trials shows real promise for Alzheimer\u2019s patients. Researchers say the drug, lecanemab, is the first of its kind that is designed to actually slow, if not reverse, the processes that cause the memory-robbing disease. Researchers and doctors alike are \u201ccautiously optimistic\u201d about the new drug saying it could be a major breakthrough in Alzheimer\u2019s treatment, but it is not without some risks.\u00a0 The long-awaited trial data, which was published last week […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conditions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions\/91"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthnews.zone\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}