The Fundació Pasqual Maragall describes the results presented today at a congress in San Francisco as a “very important step”
“It’s a very important step in the world of alzheimer“. Scientists have confirmed the efficacy of lecanemab, the drug of the Japanese pharmacist Eisai that reduces the worsening of symptoms by up to 27% of this disease. On October 8, the company released a press release explaining the results of a clinical trial around this drug. But it was necessary to know the details of the final result that would be presented at a conference on Alzheimer’s at the end of November in San Francisco.
The Pasqual Maragall Foundation, a benchmark in Alzheimer’s research and treatment, applauds the results of this research. “It is only the beginning because the changes are modest, and you have to do longer clinical trials. but it is a very important step forward.” points to EL PERIÓDICO, from the Prensa Ibérica group, the director of the entity, Arcady Navarro. Lecanemab, whose results are “clinically relevant” and that “must be approved” by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is the “First drug that truly modifies the course of the disease”. This is its importance. “There were already medications to treat the symptoms, but this one really slows down the cognitive decline,” Navarro values.
However, the scientists also call for further research on this drug, since it can lead to a risk of dangerous side effects for certain patients, according to other data presented in San Francisco. Lecanemab has been associated with a type of brain inflammation in 12.6% of trial patients, a side effect previously seen with similar drugs.
However, the full results of this advanced clinical study (Phase III) conducted in nearly 1,800 people followed for 18 months confirmed a 27% reduction in cognitive impairment in patients treated with lecanemab. This ratio “statistically significant” according to the two groups it had already been announced at the end of September.