Experimental Alzheimer’s Drug Slows Cognitive Decline
The experimental Alzheimer’s disease drug lecanemab slowed cognitive decline in some people with early Alzheimer’s disease but also caused serious side effects in some patients, according to new results from a late-stage clinical trial.Lecanemab is in a family of medicines designed to clear the brain of plaques formed by the buildup of a protein known as beta-amyloid, which is thought to play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.The new results, published November 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), offer a more detailed look at the effectiveness and safety of the drug two months after its developers, the drugmakers Biogen and Eisai, released preliminary findings from this 18-month clinical trial highlighting that lecanemab slowed cognitive decline by 27 percent.“In persons with early Alzheimer’s disease, lecanemab reduced…