Is lecanemab the Alzheimer's drug that will finally make a difference?

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December 8th, 2022

This illustration made available by the National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health depicts cells in an Alzheimer’s affected brain, with abnormal levels of the beta-amyloid protein clumping together to form plaques, brown, that collect between neurons and disrupt cell function. Abnormal collections of the tau protein accumulate and form tangles, blue, within neurons, harming synaptic communication between nerve cells. An experimental Alzheimer’s drug modestly slowed the brain disease’s inevitable worsening, researchers reported Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022 - and the next question is how much difference that might make in people’s lives. Japanese drugmaker Eisai and its U.S. partner Biogen had announced earlier this fall that the drug lecanemab appeared to work, a badly needed bright spot after repeated disappointments in the quest for better Alzheimer’s treatments. (National Institute on Aging, NIH via AP)

A drug that offers a small benefit to Alzheimer’s patients is making a big splash with doctors who treat the disease.

The drug, a monoclonal antibody called lecanemab, dominated last week’s Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease meeting in San Francisco.

At the meeting, researchers presented results of a study of nearly 1,800 people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Those who got lecanemab for 18 months experienced 27% less decline in memory and thinking.

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