Drugs that could be the "first" to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease have been unveiled.
Researchers revealed the the promising results of studies into the use of solanezumab and aducanumab.
Results suggest that if given to patients early enough, the antibody therapies will be able to slow cognitive decline.
Interim results from a safety study of Biogen's aducanumab, in people with very early stage Alzheimer's disease, show that the drug reduces the amount of the amyloid plaques in the brain, with an increasing effect as the dose increases.
The discovery was announced at the Alzheimer's Association International conference in Washington DC, USA, which saw studies of three alternative antibody therapies presented.
More than a quarter of people on the higher doses experienced headaches and a third to a half experienced abnormalities on a brain scan.
Long-term analysis of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly's solanezumab reports that people with mild Alzheimer's disease, who have taken the drug for 3.5 years, show some benefits in cognition compared to those who have only taken it for two years.
Alzheimer's Society's head of research, Dr Doug Brown, said: "Today's findings strongly suggest that targeting people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease with these antibody treatments is the best way to slow or stop Alzheimer's disease.
"These drugs are able to reduce the sticky plaques of amyloid that build up in the brain, and now we have seen the first hints that doing this early enough may slow disease progression.
'After a decade of no new therapies for dementia, today's news is an exciting step forward.
"We will have to wait for the ongoing trials to finish to know the full risks and benefits of these drugs. If they are positive, these drugs will be the first identified to directly interfere with the disease process and slow the progression of Alzheimer's.'
Referring to aducanumab, he warned that although the results leaned towards a treatment that could slow the disease, the drug was not without side effects.
In relation to solanezumab, Dr Brown added: "It's good news that some people have been receiving the antibody for over three years and it appears to be having beneficial effects.
"The current trial has finished recruiting participants, so in just 18 months we may get an exciting first look at the final results."
About 225,000 people will develop dementia this year - a rate of one every three minutes.
Alzheimer's Society research shows that 850,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia, and that in less than 10 years, one million people will be living with dementia.
This is expected to soar to two million by 2051.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel