Alzheimer’s Drug lecanemab Shows Limited Impact on Brain Waste Clearance, New Study Finds
Tokyo, Japan – A recently published study casts doubt on a key mechanism believed to drive the effectiveness of lecanemab, one of the most promising drugs for slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU) have found the drug doesn’t significantly improve the brain’s glymphatic system – the network responsible for clearing waste products, including amyloid plaques – despite it’s demonstrated ability to slow cognitive decline in early-stage patients.
The findings, published in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, add to a growing body of evidence suggesting amyloid plaques may not be the primary cause of Alzheimer’s, but rather a consequence of the disease process. This challenges long-held assumptions about treatment strategies focused solely on plaque removal.Alzheimer’s disease affects over 6.7 million Americans,and with an aging global population,finding effective treatments is a critical public health priority.
The study utilized magnetic resonance imaging to assess the glymphatic system in a small group of individuals undergoing lecanemab treatment. While the drug has been shown in past trials to slow the progression of alzheimer’s, notably when administered early, the OMU research indicates this benefit isn’t linked to improved waste clearance. This aligns with previous research demonstrating that simply clearing plaques doesn’t substantially improve Alzheimer’s symptoms.
“In the future, we want to look at factors like age, the stage of the disease, and degree of lesions in the white matter to further understand the relationship between changes in the glymphatic system due to lecanemab treatment and the outcome of treatment,” says Oura, a researcher at OMU. ”This will help understand the best way to administer treatment to patients.”
Researchers are now focused on expanding the study to include a larger participant pool and investigating lecanemab’s effects at different stages of the disease and with longer treatment durations. The focus is also shifting towards earlier detection of dementia, with new tests emerging that aim to identify signs of the disease with high accuracy.
