Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab hailed as momentous breakthrough

Lecanemab – the first drug to slow the destruction of the brain in Alzheimer’s – has been hailed as a momentous breakthrough. 

The research breakthrough shows a new era of drugs to treat Alzheimer’s – the most common form of dementia – is possible. 

But the medicine only has a small effect and it’s debated on how much impact it will have on the daily lives of those suffering from Alzheimer’s. 

The drug works in the early stages of the disease, so many people will miss out without a revolution in spotting it. 

Lecanemab attacks the sticky gunge – called beta-amyloid – that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.

However, it marks a significant moment in medicine and has created optimism amongst experts. One of the world’s leading researchers behind the whole idea of targeting amyloid 30 years ago, Prof John Hardy, said it was “historic” and was optimistic “we’re seeing the beginning of Alzheimer’s therapies”.

Prof Tara Spires-Jones, from the University of Edinburgh, said the results were “a big deal because we’ve had a 100% failure rate for a long time”.

For a medical field full of duds, misery and frustration, some see these preliminary outcomes as a victorious defining moment.

Alzheimer’s Research UK said the findings were “momentous”.