After decades of unsuccessful research, two new drugs and a pioneering blood test have recently given people with Alzheimer’s hope of fighting back against the debilitating disease — but questions remain about their effectiveness.
Any path toward a cure also remains elusive for Alzheimer’s, which accounts for about 70 percent of dementia cases worldwide and is a leading cause of death among the elderly.
EFFECTIVENESS
Photo: AFP
Billions of US dollars have been spent trying to find a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease over decades, but those efforts have stubbornly fallen short — at least until recently.
Eli Lilly’s donanemab and Biogen’s and Eisai’s lecanemab are the first treatments proven to significantly slow the progression of Alzheimer’s.
However, the expensive treatments are only modestly effective, and work only for people at an early stage of the disease.
There could also be serious side effects, including potentially deadly brain hemorrhages. That has sparked a debate about whether the benefits of the drugs outweigh the risks, leading to national health regulators taking different stances.
Lecanemab, which is sold under the brand name Leqembi, has been approved in many countries, including the US.
However, French health authorities advised the state-run insurance system not to reimburse payment for the drug.
It followed in the footsteps of the UK’s state-run health service, whose spending watchdog said this year that the new Alzheimer’s drugs did not show enough benefits given their price.
DIAGNOSIS
Another debate roiling Alzheimer’s research revolves around how to diagnose the disease. The standard method has required an invasive and expensive lumbar puncture, which could rule out some more at-risk patients.
A simple blood test that detects “biological markers” of the disease has recently been developed.
US authorities have authorized the test since May, but Europe has not yet approved any Alzheimer’s blood test, one of which is the subject of a recently launched national clinical trial in the UK.
The question is whether the blood test would ever be enough by itself to confidently diagnose the disease.
The US’ Alzheimer’s Association last year changed its criteria to say that biomarkers alone were sufficient, while most specialists in Europe think a thorough clinical exam would still be needed to confirm a person’s cognitive and functional decline.
PREVENTION
One area of consensus is what makes people more at risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease and dementia more broadly.
Nearly half of all cases are linked to factors such as obesity, smoking, drinking alcohol, physical inactivity and hearing loss, according to an expert review in The Lancet last year.
There is an increasing amount of research seeking to determine whether programs encouraging people to exercise and eat better are effective at fighting Alzheimer’s, but so far the randomized controlled trials have shown limited to no effects on cognitive decline or dementia, Richard said.
A Journal of the American Medical Association study found that the cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s patients slowed slightly after undergoing two years of intensive support to be healthier.
For people with Alzheimer’s and their families, this progress might not look like much, but compared with where things were a few years ago, “it’s already huge,” French epidemiologist Cecilia Samieri said.
She said she believed that only trials lasting 10 to 15 years could really show how effective such interventions could be against long-developing diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
COMFORT WOMEN CLASH: Japan has strongly rejected South Korean court rulings ordering the government to provide reparations to Korean victims of sexual slavery The Japanese government yesterday defended its stance on wartime sexual slavery and described South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese compensation as violations of international law, after UN investigators criticized Tokyo for failing to ensure truth-finding and reparations for the victims. In its own response to UN human rights rapporteurs, South Korea called on Japan to “squarely face up to our painful history” and cited how Tokyo’s refusal to comply with court orders have denied the victims payment. The statements underscored how the two Asian US allies still hold key differences on the issue, even as they pause their on-and-off disputes over historical
BEIJING FORUM: ‘So-called freedom of navigation advocated by certain countries outside the region challenges the norms of international relations,’ the minister said Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun (董軍) yesterday denounced “hegemonic logic and acts of bullying” during remarks at a Beijing forum that were full of thinly veiled references to the US. Organizers said that about 1,800 representatives from 100 countries, including political, military and academic leaders, were in Beijing for the Xiangshan Forum. The three-day event comes as China presents itself as a mediator of fraught global issues including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Addressing attendees at the opening ceremony, Dong warned of “new threats and challenges” now facing world peace. “While the themes of the times — peace and development —
BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS: A prosecutor said they considered the risk of Hak-ja Han tampering with evidence to be very high, which led them to seek the warrant South Korean prosecutors yesterday requested an arrest warrant for the leader of the Unification Church, Hak-ja Han, on allegations of bribery linked to the country’s former first lady and incitement to destroy evidence. The move came a day after the 82-year-old was questioned over her alleged role in bribing former first lady Kim Keon-hee and a lawmaker. Founded in 1954 by her late husband, Sun Myung Moon, the Unification Church has long been the subject of controversy and criticism, with its teachings centered on Moon’s role as the “second coming” and its mass weddings. Followers are derisively referred to as “Moonies.” However, the church’s
Decked out with fake crystal chandeliers and velvet sofas, cosmetic surgery clinics in Afghanistan’s capital are a world away from the austerity of Taliban rule, where Botox, lip filler and hair transplants reign. Despite the Taliban authorities’ strict theocratic rule, and prevailing conservatism and poverty in Afghanistan, the 20 or so clinics in Kabul have flourished since the end of decades of war in the country. Foreign doctors, especially from Turkey, travel to Kabul to train Afghans, who equally undertake internships in Istanbul, while equipment is imported from Asia or Europe. In the waiting rooms, the clientele is often well-off and includes men
RSS