In a promising development for Alzheimer’s disease treatment, Lilly drug from Eli Lilly and Company has been found to slow Alzheimer’s progression of the disease by 35% in a clinical trial. The drug, called donanemab, works by targeting a protein called amyloid beta, which is believed to play a key role in the development and progression of Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. It is the most common cause of dementia, a condition that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, and existing treatments only provide limited relief of symptoms.
The Lilly drug was able to slow cognitive decline in early-stage Alzheimer patients.
Donanemab is an antibody that targets a specific form of amyloid beta called N3pG. This form of amyloid beta is believed to be particularly toxic to brain cells, and is present in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. By targeting N3pG, donanemab aims to remove this toxic protein from the brain, and thereby slow the progression of the disease.
The clinical trial of donanemab involved 257 participants with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Half of the participants received monthly infusions of the drug for 18 months, while the other half received a placebo. The trial was designed to test the drug’s ability to slow cognitive decline, as measured by a standard test called the Integrated Alzheimer Disease Rating Scale (iADRS).
The results of the trial were highly promising. The group that received donanemab showed a 32% reduction in cognitive decline compared to the placebo group. When the researchers looked specifically at the subset of participants who had higher levels of amyloid beta in their brains at the start of the trial, they found that donanemab reduced cognitive decline by 35%.
It comes after trial results published last year showed that lecanemab.
These results are particularly significant because they suggest that donanemab is able to target the underlying biology of Alzheimer’s disease, rather than just treating the symptoms. The fact that the drug was able to slow cognitive decline in early-stage Alzheimer patients is also encouraging, as early intervention is believed to be key to successful treatment of the disease.
The trial was not without its limitations. The sample size was relatively small, and the trial only lasted for 18 months. Further research will be needed to confirm the drug’s effectiveness and safety over a longer period of time, and in larger groups of patients.
Despite these limitations, the results of the trial are cause for cautious optimism. Donanemab represents a new approach to Alzheimer treatment that targets the underlying biology of the disease. If further research confirms the drug’s effectiveness and safety, it could represent a significant breakthrough in the fight against Alzheimer’s.
