Researchers have conducted promising clinical trials of a new experimental drug that may represent a “new dawn” for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the newspaper.Guardian“.
The clinical trials of the drug “Likanimab”, which was developed by two American and Japanese companies, encouraged the researchers, who praised the result.
The drug showed its ability to reduce the decline in general mental skills in Alzheimer’s patients by 27 percent over 18 months – a modest, but significant result.
“This is the first drug that offers a real treatment option for Alzheimer’s patients,” said Bart de Strober, director of the Dementia Research Institute at University College London.
The results of the clinical trials, which included 1,800 patients, were published on Tuesday in the medical journal “.New England Journal of Medicine“.
The finding comes following decades of failure in the field and has emboldened experts to argue that Alzheimer’s disease – which affects 30 million people worldwide – is treatable.
“While the clinical benefits seem somewhat limited, they are expected to become more pronounced over time,” Strober added.
Licanimab is an antibody treatment that removes beta-amyloid clumps that build up in the brain.
“I think it confirms a new era for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Nick Fox, clinical neuroscience professor and director of the Center for Dementia Research at UCLA.
He pointed out that this era comes following 20 years of serious work on anti-amyloid immunotherapies by scientists.
For decades, efforts to stop or slow the progression of dementia have failed, costing drug companies billions of dollars and forcing some to leave the field altogether.
According to the “Guardian”, it is expected that the positive results of this drug will lead to a new generation of drugs that provide better control of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr Richard Oakley, of the Alzheimer’s Society UK, said the findings might be a “game changer”.
He continued, “There is still a long way to go before we can see likanimab available… We must not forget that licanimab can only be given to people with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease who have amyloid in their brain, meaning people with other types of dementia, or In the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease, they cannot benefit from this drug.”
