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Alzheimer's drug modestly slows disease

30 November 2022
27953
2022-11-30 16:25

An experimental Alzheimer's drug modestly slowed the brain disease's inevitable worsening, researchers reported Tuesday. Japanese drugmaker Eisai and its U.S. partner Biogen had announced earlier this fall that the drug lecanemab appeared to work, a badly needed success after repeated disappointments in the quest for better Alzheimer's treatments. Every two weeks for 18 months, study participants received intravenous lecanemab or a dummy infusion.

Researchers tracked them using an 18-point scale that measures cognitive and functional ability. Those given lecanemab declined more slowly. Also, lecanemab recipients were 31% less likely to advance to the next stage of the disease during the study. The data was presented at an Alzheimer's meeting in San Francisco and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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