Long-awaited clinical trial results for a compound called lecanemab indicate that it can significantly slow cognitive decline in people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.
Lecanemab
Affecting nearly a million people in France, the disease ofAlzheimer is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by a progressive loss of memory and certain key cognitive functions affecting patient autonomy. If its exact causes remain discussedit is estimated that the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain plays a major role in its development.
Lecanemab, produced by the pharmaceutical companies Biogen in the United States and Eisai in Japan, has been specially formulated to eliminate clumps of this toxic brain cell-damaging protein, and has recently been found to offer promising results, detailed in the New England Journal of Medicine.
In clinical trials involving 1,800 subjects between the ages of 50 and 90 who were diagnosed with an early form of the disease, researchers found that taking it as an intravenous infusion every two weeks led to a slowing cognitive decline of 27% within 18 months. Although the disease continued to progress in the participants who received the treatment, it did so much more slowly than in those who received a placebo.
Their level of dementia was determined using a clinical scale assessing symptoms such as memory loss, as well as the ability to solve simple problems and live independently. Brain scans and blood tests revealed that amyloid protein levels had dropped so significantly in patients taking lecanemab that some technically no longer met the diagnostic threshold for Alzheimer’s disease.
“It is the first drug that offers a real therapeutic option to patients with Alzheimer’s disease”
Coming after decades of failed attempts to find a way to halt the progression of this condition, this breakthrough raises many hopes.
« It is the first drug that offers a real therapeutic option to patients with Alzheimer’s disease “, estimated Bart De Strooper, director of the British research institute on dementia at University College London (UCL). ” While the clinical benefits seem somewhat limited at this stage, they can be expected to become more apparent over time.. »
It should be noted, however, that subjects who received the treatment had higher levels of inflammation and brain bleeding, prompting several researchers to advise against its use in patients taking blood thinners. While one patient died from a cerebral hemorrhage during the study, Eisai said the safety profile of lecanemab was well established and no increased risk of death could be identified. highlighted.