Lots of ‘breakthroughs’, still no cure. Do the new dementia drugs bring us any closer?
- December 10, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Lots of ‘breakthroughs’, still no cure. Do the new dementia drugs bring us any closer?
Subject :Science and Technology
Context-
What is Dementia?
- Dementia is an umbrella term to describe a group of conditions characterised by a loss of brain function; this includes the ability to remember, plan and make decisions.
- In Australia, dementia is the second leading cause of death. For women, it’s the leading cause of death.
- Older age is the greatest risk factor for dementia. But dementia is not an inevitable or normal consequence of ageing.
- Up to 70 per cent of all dementia is attributed to Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer first described as an “unusual disease of the cerebral cortex” in 1906.
- In Alzheimer’s disease, Amyloid protein builds up in the brain, which further triggers the development of Tau (a protein) which induces memory loss.
- Beyond amyloid and tau, a range of other biological, genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors can also contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
- Other types of dementia include vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy body disease.
- Because Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, most “dementia breakthroughs” often refer to “breakthroughs” in Alzheimer’s.
Two new drugs-
- Two drugs that have received a lot of attention in recent weeks are aducanumab (marketed as Aduhelm) and lecanemab.
- Both drugs showed a substantial reduction in amyloid in the brain. But whether this reduction in amyloid resulted in a meaningful benefit in memory and thinking is less clear.
- The Food and Drug Administration in the United States granted accelerated approval for aducanumab as it thought the drug would improve or slow Alzheimer’s symptoms.
- Lecanemab resulted in a 27 per cent slower decline in memory and thinking ability.
Major concerns about the drugs
- Side effects include- Brain swelling and small brain bleed as detected on brain scans.
- High cost of drugs- Aducanumab costs US$28,200 (A$42,000) per patient per year.