The drug is directed to the amyloid plates that accumulate in the brain years before the appearance of the symptoms.
An experimental treatment showed promising initial results for Reduce the risk of dementia related to him Alzhelles In asymptomatic patients who will predictably develop neurodegenerative disease. The researchers followed a small group of 22 patients with genetic mutations which cause the overproduction of amyloid in the brain.
One of the characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease is that Amyloid protein Adera and model the plates in the brain. According to the new results published in The magazine “Lancet Neurology”When the 22 patients took An anti -meliloid drug Called Gantetennerumab for eight years, they saw how His risk of developing symptoms went from 100% to about 50%.
“All the participants in this study were destined to develop Alzheimer’s diseaseAnd some of them have not yet done so, “said Randall Bateman, professor of neurology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Washington (USA) and one of the authors of the study.
“To give (patients) the best opportunity to remain cognitively normal, we continued the treatment with Another anti -frago antibody Hoping to never develop symptoms, “added Bateman. The results suggest that early treatment could delay the appearance of Alzheimer’s symptoms.
An experiment with “exciting” results
Los cognitive benefits Were observed among patients who received the treatment for eight yearsWhile others, treated only for two or three years, have not shown an appreciable improvement. This suggests that, to be effective, the preventive therapy It may be necessary for years before someone develops symptoms.
Charles Marshall, professor of clinical neurology at Queen Mary in London (United Kingdom), described the results of the study of “very exciting” In a declaration, but highlighted two limits of the study.
“The first is that it was a secondary evaluation of A Relatively small number of people They were treated for a long time and, therefore, the results are not as sure as they would have been if they had been the main result of the process, “he said.
“The other limitation is that Gangennerumab is not even like that effective Like other amyloid reduction treatments currently available, which suggests that We could do even better What these results suggest, “added Marshall.
The review of the drug to prevent Alzheimer’s
Him Gantetenerumab was suspended in 2022 Because he was unable to slow down the symptoms of the most common forms of Alzheimer’s disease In an essay with over 1,900 participants. Further searches are needed to evaluate the Potential of anti -amyloid drugsThe best duration of the treatment and its effects on the non -genetic forms of the disease, as well as on possible side effects.
Anti -amyloid drugs, for example, have been related to Side effects As anomalies in cerebral scanners and blocked swelling. Although most of these side effects are resolved by themselves, some can become serious. In the essay, Two participants had to stop taking drugs Due to side effects, but no potentially fatal adverse effects occur, the researchers said.
