A treatment for Alzheimer’s disease turned down for National Health Service (NHS) use has been shown to keep patients’ memory stable for as long as four years, according to new research.
Lecanemab, a drug already approved by the United Kingdom’s (UK) medicines regulator, was found to delay the progression of dementia significantly when given at the earliest stages of the illness, according to The Independent report.
Alzheimer’s disease also known as senile dementia is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions due to the accumulation of protein in the brain cell.
Patients taking part in the latest trial reported either no decline at all, or in some cases, improvements in their cognitive ability.
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The four-year study, involving 478 people, recorded an average dementia score rise of just 1.75 points over the whole period – a progression normally seen within a single year.
Among those with low levels of tau, the brain protein linked to worsening Alzheimer’s, more than half showed no decline after four years, while two-thirds maintained or improved their memory.
Despite the findings, both lecanemab and a similar drug, donanemab, remain unavailable on the NHS after being rejected on cost grounds, with health officials saying the benefits did not outweigh the expense.
Professor Christopher Van Dyck of Yale School of Medicine, who led the study, said the results underline the value of the “time saved” for patients. “You will get worse over time, but it will take longer to get there,” he said.
Charities described the data, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Toronto, as a breakthrough.
Dr Sheona Scales of Alzheimer’s Research UK said, “This is the first wave of disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer’s and, while the progress is encouraging, there are still many pieces of the puzzle we don’t yet have.”
Almost one million people in the UK live with dementia, a figure expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040, intensifying pressure on the NHS to make new treatments available.
