The drug donanemab, an antibody against the beta-amyloid protein that accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer's, slows memory loss and cognitive decline if administered early in the disease. But 24% of the participants who have received it have suffered cerebral edema or microhemorrhages, which have been symptomatic in one out of four cases.
These are the main conclusions of a phase 3 clinical trial presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference held in Amsterdam and published in the journal JAMA. The complete results of the clinical trial confirm the preliminary data that the Eli Lilly company had advanced in May.
Donanemab becomes the second drug that demonstrates clear efficacy in slowing the progression of Alzheimer's after lecanemab, which also acts against the beta-amyloid protein and has already been authorized in Europe and the US since January.
The prospect of slowing the progression of Alzheimer's, something that until now had been impossible, opens a new era in its treatment, JAMA magazine points out in an editorial.
Both drugs are administered by intravenous injection and carry a risk of cerebral edema and microhemorrhages, which will make it necessary to monitor patients who receive them with neuroimaging techniques.
According to the results presented in JAMA , donanemab has slowed the progression of Alzheimer's symptoms by 35% -on average- in the 822 volunteers who have received it for 18 months. Because the design of the clinical trials of donanemab and lecanemab have been different, the results of the two drugs cannot be directly compared.
