New medications for Alzheimer’s disease – which are not yet approved in some countries – have shown for the first time that clinical decline can be slowed with comparable effectiveness to approved medications for breast and lung cancer, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis in reducing disability, according to a new analysis.
The analysis is included in a series of papers published in The Lancet which look at the current clinical landscape in Alzheimer’s disease. BRC-supported clinicians at UCL and UCLH Prof Nick Fox, Prof Cath Mummery and Prof Olga Ciccarelli contributed to the series.
People with AD face many disabilities, including but not limited to cognitive and memory problems, difficulties with everyday tasks, progressive loss of independence, and isolation. A priority for many families of patients with AD is to preserve functional independence and reduce time spent with disability. The analysis highlights that in addition to the devastating impact on patients and families there is a tremendous economic burden due of dementia.
The analysis finds that the drugs lecanemab and donanemab – anti-amyloid antibody medications which can slow progression of AD, and which have been approved by medical regulators in some countries but not all – reduced clinical decline by 27-35% in 18 month trials.
The authors say these new medications are just the beginning of a new era in the diagnosis and treatment of AD, which will also involve the use of new blood tests to improve diagnosis in dementia.
The series also highlights the impact of healthy lifestyle changes in preventing AD before symptoms start. The authors point out that, as most cases of AD develop in people considered at low or normal risk, there is a need to improve the environments in which people live, work, and grow old: for example, by taxing and restricting marketing on alcoholic and sugary drinks, creating walkable and cyclable neighbourhoods, providing occupational noise protection and helmet mandates.
The series of papers were launched at an event at Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Switzerland.
Read the Lancet Series on the new clinical landscape in Alzheimer’s Disease.
Image credit: pikselstock / Adobe Stock
