Search
+
    The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    Hope for Alzheimer’s patients as researchers make breakthrough with Lecanemab drug that slows memory decline

    Synopsis

    It is an outcome of a trial on 1,795 people in early stages of the disease.

    Lecanemab drugiStock
    Lecanemab will revolutionise the way Alzheimer’s is treated around the world.
    Ageing is inevitable and so are the degenerative conditions that follow. While some 100 years ago, things may have been difficult in treating such conditions. With the advancement in science and medicine, there have been numerous breakthroughs in the management and treatment of several degenerative conditions.

    As of today, according to a rough estimate over 50 million people around the world are believed to be suffering from Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. After years of research and subsequent letdowns, it seems scientists have finally found a breakthrough. Researchers have found a new drug to slow down the decline of the brain in those suffering from Alzheimer’s. The new drug is giving hope to new ways of treating the condition.

    Alzheimer’s Research UK, a dementia research charity based in the UK in its research found that Lecanemab dissolves the clumps of a protein known as beta-amyloid that is the main cause of the condition. The organisation has hailed the new drug as momentous in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

    A New Beginning
    Professor John Hardy who has been working on amyloid for over three decades said that it was historic and that he was optimistic about the latest breakthrough. Hardy in an interview with BBC said that the world was looking at the beginning of Alzheimer’s therapies. For researchers and scientists, this is a big moment as they have been witnessing successive failures in their effort to find a viable treatment for the neurodegenerative disease.

    At present, patients are prescribed drugs that help them to manage the symptoms. However, with Lecanemab, the way Alzheimer’s is treated is about to change. Essentially, it is an antibody similar to the ones that the human body makes to combat viruses.

    Attacking Amyloids
    Lecanemab has been created to inform the immune system to clear amyloid from the brain. According to researchers, Amyloids occupy spaces between neurons in the brain and plaques that lead to Alzheimer’s. The latest breakthrough is an outcome of a large-scale trial that involved 1,795 volunteers in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.

    The results of the trial were later presented at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease conference. According to researchers, it is no miracle cure. The disease continues to impact brain power, however, Lecanemab slowed down the decline by around a quarter in 18 months of treatment.
    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in