2023-11-05 05:53:00
New therapies against Alzheimer’s are about to be approved. A researcher at the Leipzig University Hospital explains that they can at least slow down the progression of the disease.
Applications are currently being submitted to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for approval of two new drugs that are intended to combat memory loss in dementia in old age. One of them has already been approved in the USA. This is a real milestone that has been waited for a long time, emphasizes neurologist Dorothee Saur, who works at the University Hospital Leipzig. To date, there are no effective therapies to influence the process of cognitive decline that occurs in dementia.
The two new therapies slow down the loss of brain and memory performance. “This happens when the administered antibodies stimulate the immune system so that it attacks and disposes of the existing amyloid deposits in the brain, the plaques,” explains Saur. “This can be easily understood with special PET brain scans – existing deposits disappear almost completely. However, so far this has not stopped the progression of the disease, only slowed it down significantly. But this makes a big difference for those affected: This could mean additional years of life with less restrictions mean.”
The new approach works mainly on people with a very early stage of dementia, said the expert. Using new methods, such as PET scans or cerebrospinal fluid diagnostics, doctors could begin treatment in this phase and slow the progression by up to 30 percent. This is a real advantage for patients because the brain functions, which are still largely intact, may not deteriorate so quickly. The effect would therefore be greatest for this group, so it is assumed that the therapies will be approved for early disease progression, even if the approval criteria are currently still open.
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