This is one more step in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. However, the side effects of this medication do not allow all affected people to benefit from the treatment.
Alzheimer’s disease causes cognitive decline in affected people. This leads to memory loss and eventual dementia. The origin of this disease is still unknown, but the study of the brains of affected people has made it possible to develop a treatment that could slow the progression of the disease. A drug finally emerged from research laboratories: Leqembi. This was finally authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Thursday, November 14, reports Release.
This medication helps reduce the appearance of amyloid plaques, which form around neurons and ultimately destroy them. It is therefore only recommended for people who are not at an advanced stage of the disease. This treatment also has side effects that can be serious, such as bleeding in the brain. This is why the EMA has not yet authorized the use of this medicine. But “a re-examination concluded that the benefits outweigh the risks in a limited patient population”. People who are at risk of cerebral hemorrhage are therefore not eligible for the treatment, which must be administered once every two weeks intravenously.
The drug already authorized in several countries
Leqembi was developed by the Japanese pharmaceutical laboratory Eisai in collaboration with the American manufacturer Biogen. It was authorized in 2023 in the United States with restrictions similar to those given by the EMA. It has been authorized in Japan, China, Canada and Great Britain since last August. Its price was set by the Japanese laboratory at 26,500 US dollars (USD) per year.