A safer Alzheimer’s drug

Alzheimer; News from the web:

In 2018, a research group led by David Holtzman, M.D., at Washington University in St. Louis developed an antibody drug in collaboration with Denali Therapeutics that showed promise as a potential Alzheimer’s disease therapy. Now, the team has returned with mouse data suggesting the drug prospect might be a safer option than Biogen’s much-hyped aducanumab.

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Improving apathy in Alzheimer patients with brain stimulation

Alzheimer; News from the web:

Twenty Veterans with Alzheimer’s disease and apathy took part in a pilot study. Half received repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a type of brain stimulation. The others received sham stimulation, basically a placebo.

Through patient and caregiver interviews, the VA team documented “significantly greater improvement” in apathy levels in those who received brain stimulation compared with the control group. The positive effects continued up to three months.

Besides improvements in apathy, the researchers also noted “significantly greater improvement” in memory, attention, and cognition in the rTMS patients compared with the sham treatment group.

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FDA does not approve new Alzheimer’s drug

Alzheimer; News from the web:

Government health advisers sharply criticized a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug on Friday, concluding there wasn’t enough evidence that the experimental drug slowed the brain-destroying disease.

The panel of outside experts for the Food and Drug Administration agreed that a pivotal study in patients failed to show “strong evidence” that the drug worked. The experts warned of multiple “red flags” with the data, which did not initially show any benefit until another analysis with later results.

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