Since there are almost no other treatments available for Alzheimer’s, the drug could still offer hope to patients. Last fall, pharmaceutical companies Eisai and Biogen reported on the basis of a study with almost 1800 patients that Lecanemab slows the decline of cognitive functions (such as memory and problem solving) by 27%. However, the study also found that lecanemab can cause serious side effects, including brain swelling and bleeding.
The drug does not cure Alzheimer’s, it only works in an early stage of the disease and it is also questionable whether its effect, namely the lowering of the amount of protein in the brain, is actually related to the development of Alzheimer’s. Scientifically speaking, this is still not a foregone conclusion. Alzheimer’s Nederland said last year that the drug companies’ findings are part of “a positive trend” in Alzheimer’s research.
American experts are divided on the drug. Including against The Washington Post doctors and researchers say that “this is the drug that has been sought after for decades”, but also that “the benefits to patients do not outweigh the risks”. The eighteen-month study conducted by the drug companies also concluded with the conclusion that “longer studies are needed,” according to The New York Times.
An estimated 1.5 million of the six million Alzheimer’s patients in the United States are in the early stages of the disease. The question is whether everyone can benefit from the drug, because it is expected to cost around $26,500 (€24,850) a year and it is not yet clear whether it will be reimbursed by Medicare, one of the largest health insurance programs in the United States. The drug is not yet available in Europe.
