Re:New research links potentially toxic fat-protein complexe...
by ABetaMale on Tuesday November 30, 2021 @09:21PM
(#29399928)
Amyloid-targeting drugs have not failed. There are currently three — aducanumab (phase 2 trial successful, one of two phase 3 trials successful), donanemab (successful phase 2 trial), and lecanemab (promising phase 2 trial which technically failed but which showed a 64% Bayesian posterior probability of being at least 25% better than placebo) — that have shown a tendency to a roughly ~20-35% reduction in the pace of cognitive decline compared to placebo.
That said, amyloid is very upstream in the causal chain, which begins about 15-20 years before clinically detectable symptoms. It's believed by some (including myself) that amyloid therapy would be preventative at that early stage, but you won't do much better than a ~35% slowdown at the stage Alzheimer's is typically diagnosed. At that stage, tau therapy is more promising, since it's the more proximate cause of neurodegeneration.
That said, amyloid is very upstream in the causal chain, which begins about 15-20 years before clinically detectable symptoms. It's believed by some (including myself) that amyloid therapy would be preventative at that early stage, but you won't do much better than a ~35% slowdown at the stage Alzheimer's is typically diagnosed. At that stage, tau therapy is more promising, since it's the more proximate cause of neurodegeneration.