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A new study conducted worldwide shows that a new drug, donanemab, would be effective in combating the cognitive disorders present in Alzheimer’s disease. A new hope for all those affected by this pathology.
This is a new step forward in research against Alzheimer’s disease. On July 17, the pharmaceutical company Lilly presented its latest results concerning its molecule, donanemab, which is expected to fight against cognitive decline in patients affected by this dementia.
A 35% slowdown in cognitive disorders
Donanemab is therefore an antibody which is administered intravenously every 4 weeks. According to the study reported by the laboratory, the results of which are published in the journal JAMA, the drug would make it possible to eliminate a protein which accumulates in the brain of patients, and which generates the well-known cognitive disorders in Alzheimer’s.
Indeed, 1736 patients aged 60 to 85 participated in this work. The group was made up of people with mild cognitive impairment and people with mild-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Half of the participants received a monthly injection of donanemab and the other half a placebo molecule. According to the conclusions established by the scientists, the molecule would make it possible to slow down the cognitive decline of the patients by 35%, when it is administered sufficiently early. However, it is important to emphasize that the patients studied had a low to medium level of lesions (Tau proteins) in the brain.
Necessary monitoring of side effects
The use of this drug has several positive effects, such as a reduction in the level of abnormal tau protein in the blood, a decrease in neurological inflammation, measured in the blood, and a reduction in brain amyloid plaques.
On the other hand, serious side effects were observed in the study participants: migraines, infusion-related reactions, hemorrhages and cerebral oedemas. These were mostly mild and generally asymptomatic, but it is not excluded that serious and life-threatening events may occur. The founder of the laboratory, Eli Lilly, however, asked the US drug administration, the FDA, to approve donanemab. The FDA could issue its response by the end of 2023.
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