Alzheimer’s disease impacts the lives and mental cognition of over 6.2 million people in the United States alone with not many choices when it comes to treatment, until now. The United States FDA approved the use of a new drug, Aduhelm (aducanumab), that can help patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and is the first approved treatment for Alzheimer’s over the last two decades.
Cleveland Clinic conducted the multicenter clinical trial directed by Dr. Babak Tousi and the new miracle drug is made by the biotechnology company Biogen. The drug manufacturer has experience controversy in the past throughout their drug development history with some Alzheimer’s disease specialists claiming the risk of serious side effects outweighs the benefits of the drug.
The FDA is requiring Biogen to conduct a new large clinical trial to demonstrate the drug’s benefits with right to rescind approval for the drug in the future. Patients who currently have access to the new drug are receiving it through intravenous infusion.
The Aduhelm medicine works using a protein compound that functions as an antibody targeted against plaques found in the brain affected by Alzheimer’s. The plaques are made of beta-amyloid protein that is believed to disrupt cell-to-cell communication while triggering inflammation leading to the disruption of cell-to-cell communication while triggering inflammation led to the destruction of the brain cells.
According to the research, Aduhelm helps to reduce the beta-amyloid levels resulting in the slow decline in patients with early Alzheimer’s dementia. Aduhelm can treat millions of people suffering from Alzheimer’s through a monthly infusion and the drug maker will require a response from a community while dispensing the medication and monitor for safety among users.
The clinical trials for Aduhelm might seem simple but can become more complex with real-world implementation. People with Alzheimer’s are implored to have an honest talk with their family and physician on the potential benefits, risks, and cost of treatment. Some of the major side effects of this new drug include tiny bleeding in the brain and brain swelling.
The complexity of treating Alzheimer’s disease makes it difficult to discover a treatment or possible cure for this brain deteriorating disease as there is a lot of progress to make but this one drug can be the future of treating Alzheimer’s. The research for this article was sourced from ABC News Go.
