2023-05-04 14:56:04
Donanemab is able to slow the onset and progression of symptoms in early Alzheimer’s disease according to the Eli Lilly laboratory. The latter will apply for a marketing authorization.
New hope for a better life with Alzheimer’s disease. The British pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly announced on Wednesday that its drug called “donanemab” had passed the necessary tests to validate its effectiveness in limiting the evolution of the disease in early-stage patients by around a third, reports the BBC. The company announces that it will apply for a marketing. In less than a year, this is the second treatment declared capable of significantly slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
Antibodies that target the brain
The drug contains antibodies like those that cause the body to attack a virus, but those in donanemab are designed to attack “amyloid plaques” that form in the brain and appear as characteristic brown spots seen in CT scan images. specialized, details Eli Lilly in a press release.
These spots that form around neural connections are partly responsible for the cognitive degeneration caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Their elimination makes it possible to reduce the deterioration of the patient’s condition.
This process had guided the development of lecanemab, the first drug to have proven in November 2022 its effectiveness in limiting the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. However, he presented a risk of cerebral hemorrhage multiplied by two.
In testing for donanemab, 1,734 people with early Alzheimer’s, that is, without significant impairments, received a monthly infusion of the drug until plaques disappeared from medical images.
Regain of cognitive abilities
On average, disease progression was slowed by 29%, and by 35% for a subgroup of people identified as more likely to respond positively to treatment. Test participants were also able to regain some of the abilities that had deteriorated, such as being able to discuss recent events, being able to drive or pursue a hobby. These improvements were not seen in people with more advanced disease.
Brain swelling was detected in a third of patients, although the majority did not give rise to symptoms, or only very mild ones. However, two volunteers died. A third person lost his life at the end of the tests, without a causal link being able to be established with the drug administered.
However, these results remain very encouraging for specialists. “The decades-long battle to find life-changing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease is changing,” Cath Mummery, clinical head of the cognitive disorders center at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, shares with the BBC. of the United Kingdom, in London.
Eli Lilly has announced that it will seek marketing authorization from UK health authorities in the coming months.
These discoveries are however counterbalanced by the persistent difficulty of massive screenings: only 1 to 2% of patients suffering from a form of dementia are tested to identify if it is Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, donanemab is ineffective for other forms of dementia.
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