alzheimers news-will this be the one

ALZHIEIMERS NEWS-WILL THIS BE THE ONE

we may be getting closer now to some treatments

in the amyloid theory of alzheimers something happens in the brain so that amyloid accumulates as amyloid plaques which kills brain cells
then
not long after this starts happening tau protein in the nerve cells starts unwinding to form tangles which also kills brain cells
then
an inflammatory response occurs to this brain cell damage that causes even more damage
then
eventually this all progresses all over the brain

this is what happens in alzheimers

the hope is that removing amyloid will slow down the disease

enter
aduhelm or aducanumab and lecanemab and gantenerumab and donanemab
they all attack the amyloid and remove it from the brain hoping they each will slow down the disease progression

first entry was my drug biogens aduhelm or aducanumab
in studies there were two major ones one study showed it didnt work very well
the other study showed when the highest dose was used that it slowed cognitive decline by about 22%

the problem was that biogen did things all wrong trying to get it on the market
they it seemed to use their influence to get it approved by the fda
they it seemed to have tried to get it approved before studies were finished that would show if that higher dose worked like that small arm of the study showed it did

they made a lot of folks uncomfortable the way they did it including me
i said before it just smelled bad

now i have been on aduhelm for 18 months of placebo and for about 20 months of the real drug with most of that being the higher dose

if it works my amyloid pet scan should show that most if not all of the measurable amyloid plaque in my bran is now gone

so if it does its job it removes the amyloid plaque but does it slow down memory loss
my study i am in now called the embarks study and other similar studies will show if it does
i finish this study around july of next year
the results will be published not long after that

my guess is that it will show a slow down of memory decline of about 22%

so in summary this drug does what its suppose to do biogen just hasnt finished the job of doing the research to the end
that happens next year
we will know for sure then

now enter lecanemab
biogen and eisai are doing the research but this time eisai is doing the roll out like it should be done
this week its reported that it seems to slow down memory decline by 27%
it will seek fda approval in january
it seems since they are doing the roll out of the drug like it should be done that it will get approval by the fda early next year

is it better than the aduhelm 
yes 5% better
does it have the same side effects
yes it has aria side effects or microbleeds as a side effect maybe a little less than biogen
most patients with aria have no symptoms
in the studies i have had umpteen mris to rule out microbleeds and i have none

there is a lot of excitement in the air over lecanemab
it will probably get approved
its possible that medicare and insurances will pay for it
it will probably be a drug that those who want it will start early in the disease
eg
if it was available in 2010 i would have been on it for 12 years

coming soon next year is
roche gantenerumab
lilly donanemab

its looking like lecanemab may win the battle
aducanumb or aduhelm will probably drop out for the reasons mentioned above and since its slightly about 5% less effective than lecanemab
aducanumab also has more aria
aducanumab is given once a month as an infusion 
lecanemab is given twice a month as an infusion

all this ranking could change as the results of aducanumab and gantenerumab and donanemab studies are in next year

would i swap to lecanemab
yes 
but
i will take the one that seems to work the best and has the least side effects and the easiest treatment regimens
it may not be aduhelm or aducanumab

there seems to be an excitement again in the alzheimers world


you can join and or donate to our organicgreendoctor walk team for the santa barbara walk to end alzheimers on saturday november 5th

the organicgreen doctor