By MARILYNN MARCHIONE February 10, 2020
Two
experimental drugs failed to prevent or slow mental decline in a study of
people who are virtually destined to develop Alzheimer’s disease at a
relatively young age because they inherited rare gene flaws.
The
results announced Monday are another disappointment for the approach that
scientists have focused on for years -- trying to remove a harmful protein that
builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, the leading cause of dementia.
“We
actually don’t even know yet what the drugs did” in term of removing that
protein because those results are still being analyzed, said study leader Dr.
Randall Bateman at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
But
after five years on average, the main goal of the study was not met — people on
either of the drugs scored about the same on thinking and memory tests as
others given placebo treatments.
More
than 5 million people in the United States and millions more worldwide
have Alzheimer’s. Current
drugs only temporarily ease symptoms and do not alter the course of the
disease.
The
study tested solanezumab by Eli Lilly & Co., and gantenerumab by Swiss
drugmaker Roche and its U.S. subsidiary, Genentech. Both drugs gave
disappointing results in some earlier studies, but the doses in this one ranged
up to four to five times higher and researchers had hoped that would prove more
effective.
The
study was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Aging, the Alzheimer’s
Association and some foundations.
It
involved about 200 people in the United States, Europe and elsewhere with flaws
in one of three genes.
“If you
get one of these genetic mutations you’re almost guaranteed to get
Alzheimer’s,” typically in your 30s, 40s or 50s, said Dr. Eric McDade, another
study leader at Washington University.
People
like this account for only about 1% of Alzheimer’s cases, but their brain
changes and symptoms are similar to those who develop the disease at a later
age. That gives a unique chance to test potential treatments.
“We
know everyone will get sick and we know about what time that is” in their
lives, Bateman said.
Most
study participants already had signs of the harmful protein in their brain even
if they were showing no symptoms when the study started.
The
were given either a gantenerumab shot, an IV of solanezumab or fake versions of
these treatments every four weeks. The drugs made no difference in a
combination score of four memory and thinking tests compared to placebo
treatments.
Side
effects were not disclosed, but “there’s no evidence of any drug-related deaths
in the trial,” McDade said.
Details
will be given at a medical meeting in April.
Solanezumab
is being tested in another study to see if it can slow memory loss in people
with Alzheimer’s.
Full Coverage: Health
Gantenerumab
also is being tested in two other large experiments that are expected to give
results in two to three years.
It’s
unclear whether the results will affect views on aducanumab, another
experimental drug whose makers say it can remove the harmful protein and slow
mental decline. Results on it have been mixed, and the companies have said they
will seek federal approval for it soon. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen
is developing it with a Japanese company, Eisai Co. Ltd.
Marilynn
Marchione can be followed on Twitter: @MMarchioneAP
The
Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is
solely responsible for all content.
No comments:
Post a Comment