They discover a drug that slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease

"The results of the test are impressive and represent a very important support for the amyloid hypothesis," says Jeff Cummings, director of the Lou Ruvo Center for Mental Health, Cleveland Clinic, Las Vegas.

I hope that the data set will be shared with the vast community of Alzheimer's disease and will contribute to the fight against this devastating disease. "With him, Lynn Kramer (director of Eisai Neurology) agrees, saying that" this is the first advanced-stage study with anti-amyloid antibodies that has achieved statistically significant results, which validates the amyloid hypothesis. "

Biogen, his vice president, Alfred Sandrock, said that" the prospect of being able to offer a treatment that alters the disease relevant to those who suffer This terrible disease is as exciting as it is instructive.These data point out that the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases might not be as unrealizable as it seemed. "

This confirms the thesis that attacking accumulations of Amyloid plaques in the brain can alter the course of the disease. The drug BAN2401 has shown that it can slow the effects of Alzheimer's disease by 30%. The partnership between Eisai and Biogen was aimed at achieving a deceleration target of 20% or more, but in 12 months instead of 18, making it difficult to directly compare results with the expectations imposed. "The study is robust enough to approach regulators to discuss next steps," added Kramer, on the possibility of converting this into a public access drug.

Work, which lasted 18 months, they participated In addition, the results were particularly surprising if one takes into account that there is a long history of bad experiences in terms of tests in the development of drugs to stop Alzheimer's disease. , including experiments with drugs that attack amyloid plaques. In fact, at least nine major advanced drug trials have failed in the past decade.

"This is the second test that showed a decrease in amyloid levels in the brain through PET imaging and other biomarkers. "Said María Carrillo, scientific director of the Alzheimer's Association." It also gives indications of relative effectiveness in cognitive testing, "he concluded.