A new study reveals that the side effects of Lecanemab can be controlled, according to researchers at Washington University (Washu) in the United States. The results of this study are retroactively published in “Jama Neurology”.
It must be remembered that the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023 from LECANMAB – a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, according to clinical trials, showed a slight slowdown in the development of the disease – was enthusiastic.
However, during clinical trials, there were side effects (inflammation and cerebral bleeding), which were born doubts between some patients and doctors about treatment.
This is the reason why the University of Researchers in Washington in Saint -Louis began studying the harmful effects associated with the treatment of Lecanemab on their clinical patients and discovered that the important harmful effects were rare and controlled. The work focused on 234 patients with moderate or very moderate Alzheimer’s disease who received Likanimab batches at the Washo Medical Memory Diagnostic Center, a clinic specialized in treating patients with dementia.
Creating with the results of carefully controlled clinical trials, researchers discovered that only 1 % of patients have suffered from serious side effects that require hospitalization. Patients in the initial stage of Alzheimer’s disease with very slight symptoms provided the lowest risk of complications, according to researchers, which helps to inform patients and clinical professionals during talks about the risk of treatment.
“This new category of drugs in early Alzheimer’s disease is the only approved treatment that affects the development of the disease,” says Dr. Barbara Joy Sneider, Professor of Neuroscience and the lead author of the study.
“However, fear about the potential side effects of the drug can delay treatment. Our study shows that the Oshu Medical Clinic Clinic has the infrastructure and experience needed to manage patients and their presence safely who take Likanimab, including the few who may be exposed to serious side effects, which open the way for more clinics to manage patients that are sure for patients.”
LECANMAB is a treatment for antibodies that removes the amyloid plaque proteins, which prolongs an independent life in 10 months, according to a recent study led by medical researchers in Washo. Since the amyloid accumulation is the first step of the disease, doctors recommend the medicine for people in the initial stage of Alzheimer’s disease, with slight or very simple symptoms. The researchers discovered that only 1.8 % of patients with very slight alzheimer’s symptoms have developed negative symptoms due to treatment, compared to 27 % of patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease.
“It is possible that patients with moderate Alzheimer’s symptoms will get the greatest benefit and low risk of negative effects of treatment,” says Snider, who directed LECANMAB clinical trials in Washo Medicine. “The frequency and evasion can delay patients, in turn increases the risk of side effects. We hope the results will help rethink between doctors and patients about the risk of the drug.”
Doubts about the Lecaneemab caused by a side effect known as an amydid image deformities (ARIAD). These anomalies, which usually affect a very small area of the brain, appear in brain explorations and indicate inflammation or bleeding. In clinical trials with Lecaneemab, 12.6 % of ARIA participants and most cases were without symptoms and a solution without interference. A small percentage (about 2.8 % of treated participants) witnessed symptoms such as headache, confusion, nausea and dizziness. Estimates indicate that accidental deaths have been associated with LECANMAB at 0.2 % of patients treated.
The Memory Diagnostic Center began to treat patients with Lecanemab in 2023, after receiving total approval of the Food and Drug Administration. Patients receive drugs through injection every two weeks in leakage centers. As part of the care of each patient, Washo Medical Doctors regularly get advanced brain monitoring images, allowing to detect bleeding and inflammation with great sensitivity. Lecaneemab is suspended in patients with symptoms of Arian or Aria without symptoms, and the few patients with severe ARIAD receive the treatment of steroid in the hospital.
When analyzing the results of their patients, the authors noticed that the size of the side effects coincided with clinical trials: most of the ARIA cases were in the clinic without symptoms and were only discovered through high -allergic brain explorations used to monitor brain changes. Of the 11 patients who have suffered from Aryan symptoms, the effects were resolved to a large extent within a few months and no patient died.
“The majority of patients receiving Lecanemab are tolerant with the medicine well,” Dr. Susan Shendler, a professor participating in neuroscience and the main author of the study. “This report can help patients and health professionals better understand the risk of treatment, and who are minors in patients with very slight symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.”
JCP
