Japanese drugmaker Eisai and its U.S. partner Biogen had announced earlier this fall that the drug lecanemab appeared to work, a badly needed bright spot after repeated disappointments in the quest for better Alzheimer's treatments.
Now the companies are providing full results of the study of nearly 1,800 people in the earliest stages of the mind-robbing disease. The data was presented at an Alzheimer's meeting in San Francisco and published in The New England Journal of Medicine. U.S. regulators could approve the drug as soon as January.
Every two weeks for 18 months, study participants received intravenous lecanemab or a dummy infusion. Researchers tracked them using an 18-point scale that measures cognitive and functional ability.
Those given lecanemab declined more slowly a difference of not quite half a point on that scale, concluded the research team led by Dr. Christopher van Dyck at Yale University.
That's a hard-to-understand change, but measured a different way, lecanemab delayed patients' worsening by about five months over the course of the study, Eisai's Dr. Michael Irizarry told. Also, lecanemab recipients were 31% less likely to advance to the next stage of the disease during the study.
"That translates to more time in earlier stages" when people function better, Irizarry said.
But doctors are divided over how much difference those changes may make for patients and families.
Denne historien er fra AppleMagazine #579-utgaven av AppleMagazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra AppleMagazine #579-utgaven av AppleMagazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
GOOGLE WINS LEGAL BID TO OVERTURN 1.5 BILLION EURO ANTITRUST FINE IN EU DIGITAL AD CASE
Google won a court challenge this week against a 1.49 billion euro ($1.66 billion) European Union antitrust fine imposed five years ago that targeted its online advertising business.
FACEBOOK OWNER META BANS RUSSIA STATE MEDIA OUTLETS OVER 'FOREIGN INTERFERENCE'
Meta said it's banning Russia state media organization from its social media platforms, alleging that the outlets used deceptive tactics to amplify Moscow's propaganda. The announcement drew a rebuke from the Kremlin.
CONGRESS TARGETS CHINESE INFLUENCE IN HEALTH TECH. IT COULD COME WITH TRADEOFFS
A California biotechnology company that helps doctors detect genetic causes for cancer is among those that could be cut out of the U.S. market over ties to China, underscoring the possible tradeoffs between health innovation and a largely bipartisan push in Congress to counter Beijing's global influence.
TECH BILLIONAIRE RETURNS TO EARTH AFTER FIRST PRIVATE SPACEWALK
A billionaire spacewalker returned to Earth with his crew on Sunday (15), ending a five-day trip that lifted them higher than anyone has traveled since NASA's moonwalkers.
INSTAGRAM MAKES TEEN ACCOUNTS PRIVATE AS PRESSURE MOUNTS ON THE APP TO PROTECT CHILDREN
Instagram is making teen accounts private by default as it tries to make the platform safer for children amid a growing backlash against how social media affects young people's lives.
LONGSHOREMEN AT KEY US PORTS THREATENING TO STRIKE OVER AUTOMATION AND PAY
Determined to thwart the automating of their jobs, about 45,000 dockworkers along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts are threatening to strike on Oct. 1, a move that would shut down ports that handle about half the nation's cargo from ships.
GOOGLE'S MILLISECOND AD AUCTIONS ARE THE FOCUS OF A MONOPOLY CLAIM
It happens in milliseconds, ideally, as you browse the web. Networks of computers and software analyze who you are, what you are looking at and buy and sell the advertisements you see on web pages.
CLEAN ENERGY: SHE FOUNDED A BUSINESS TO KEEP EV CHARGING STATIONS UP AND RUNNING
Kameale Terry saw it coming before almost anyone else did. She realized the expanding network of electric vehicle charging stations across the U.S. would need a workforce to maintain it.
NOT-SO-GREAT EXPECTATIONS: STUDENTS ARE READING FEWER BOOKS IN ENGLISH CLASS
Chris Stanislawski didn't read much in his middle school English classes, but it never felt necessary. Students were given detailed chapter summaries for every novel they discussed, and teachers played audio of the books during class.
GM OFFERING ADAPTERS TO HELP ELECTRIC VEHICLE OWNERS ACCESS TESLA CHARGERS
General Motors is now offering adapters to help its electric vehicle owners access Tesla chargers.
