Alzheimer's disease slowed down by a third with this new breakthrough medicine

In a breakthrough development, a new medicine called donanemab has been shown to have the capability to slow down by a third the progression of Alzheimer's, the most common type of dementia. This is the second medicine which has by now slowed down the pace of Alzheimer's disease.

As per CDC, the disease can seriously affect a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. It starts off with mild memory loss but as it grows, it leads to loss of a person's ability to hold conversations and respond to the environment.

This new drug is developed by the company Eli Lilly and the firm claims that donanemab is effective in decreasing the pace of the disease's growth by a third.

Earlier this year, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Leqembi (lecanemab-irmb), a medicine which gained much traction last year, for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

“Alzheimer’s disease immeasurably incapacitates the lives of those who suffer from it and has devastating effects on their loved ones,” Billy Dunn, MD, director of the Office of Neuroscience in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research had said.

The new medicine from Eli Lilly also works in a similar manner to that of Leqembi.

Both Leqembi and donanemab, the two breakthrough medicines for the treatment of a disease which results in memory problems and disrupts daily life,work as antibodies.

Normal antibodies attack the viruses but these medicines have a difference in how they function. Both medicines are engineered in such a way as to clear sticky gunk from the brain, called beta-amyloid.

"The decades-long battle to find treatments that change Alzheimer's disease is changing," said Dr Cath Mummery, the clinical lead for the cognitive disorders clinic at the UK's National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.

"We are now entering the time of disease modification, where we might realistically hope to treat and maintain someone with Alzheimer's disease, with long-term disease management rather than palliative and supportive care."

Side effects of donanemab

Brain swelling is the most commonly seen side effect of the medicine donanemab. The volunteers in the research of the medicine included a total of 1,734 people. As part of the procedure, the medicine was infused on a monthly basis till distinctive plaques were cleared from the brain.

Though the future of Alzheimer's treatments is making headways through astounding feats like these, Lilly said the incidence of serious brain swelling in the donanemab study was 1.6 per cent. Two volunteers lost their lives because of the condition and a third death was also reported to have died after an incident of serious brain swelling.

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The research on the medicine showed that the pace was slowed by 29%. However, in some other cases, it slowed even to 35 per cent.

Another change which was observed was that people who had taken the medicine were able to discharge certain activities in a more efficient manner. They were able to discuss current events and also drive or carry out their hobbies.

"We are encouraged by the potential clinical benefits that donanemab may provide, although like many effective treatments for debilitating and fatal diseases, there are associated risks that may be serious and life-threatening," Eli Lilly Group vice-president of neuroscience research and development, Dr Mark Mintun, said.

But the medicine is yet not approved, something that the company said they are working towards accomplishing.

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