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For the first time in 20 years: a new drug for Alzheimer's has been approved

After many years of medical research, an American pharmaceutical company has been able to develop a new drug that slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, and not just relieves symptoms.

This is how it works

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• Alzheimer's

• dementia

Walla!

health

Monday, 07 June 2021, 19:04 Updated: 19:40

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For almost 20 years, no new drug for Alzheimer's has been approved, despite hundreds of studies in the field, which has caused quite a bit of despair to those suffering from the disease and their families.

Today (Monday), this dismal continuum was broken when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug that is supposed to slow the progression of the disease.

Studies have shown that the drug aducanumab lowers the rate of clinical withdrawal in early-stage Alzheimer's patients.

The drug targets amyloid - a protein that forms abnormal lumps in the brains of people with Alzheimer's that can damage cells and cause dementia.

It is not a drug that cures the disease, those that can provide a significant benefit to patients with early Alzheimer's, such as slowing down cognitive decline, maintaining long-term memory and improving quality of life.

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To the full article

The American pharmaceutical company Biogen has been working on the drug Aducanumab for quite some time.

In March 2019 she discontinued research on the drug after disappointing experimental results.

But a few months later, following a new analysis of a larger data set, she surprised the world of health when she announced that she had developed a drug for Alzheimer's, which she intends to submit to FDA approval.

It should be noted that approval today is given through an accelerated approval program, which allows for earlier approval of a cure for a serious or life-threatening illness even though further research may be needed.

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The new drug is given by intravenous infusion to treat early Alzheimer's disease.

And it was developed for patients with mild cognitive impairment, rather than severe dementia.

Emergency clearance is given for the drug.

Patient receives the drug during the experiment (Photo: AP)

"The mechanism by which the new drug works is that it can reduce the accumulation of amyloid proteins in brain cells, thereby reducing the cognitive impairment that causes the accumulation of these proteins and the advanced degenerative process and irreversible cognitive decline," explains Dr. Idan Goren, Walla!'S GP. .

According to him, in contrast to currently available drugs that help slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, the hope is that aducanumab can make the pathological process underlying the disease. "during the first trials of the medicine were produced conflicting results, and still can not determine that universally removing these proteins inevitably returns Fully cognitive function, "explains Dr. Goren," but if aducanumab can really reverse the process - then it is a revolutionary treatment. "

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