Hope rises again for a drug to slow Alzheimer’s disease
Hopes are rising again for a drug to alter the course of
Alzheimer's disease after decades of failures. An experimental therapy slowed
mental decline by 30 percent in patients who got the highest dose in a
mid-stage study, and it removed much of the sticky plaque gumming up their
brains, the drug's makers said Wednesday.
The results have been highly anticipated and have sent the
stock of the two companies involved soaring in recent weeks.
The drug from Eisai and Biogen did not meet its main goal in
a study of 856 participants, so overall, it was considered a flop. But company
officials said that 161 people who got the highest dose every two weeks for 18
months did significantly better than 245 people who were given a dummy
treatment.
There are lots of caveats about the work, which was led by
company scientists rather than academic researchers and not reviewed by outside
experts. The study also was too small to be definitive and the results need to
be confirmed with more work, dementia experts said. But they welcomed any
glimmer of success after multiple failures.
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