Researchers Take Another Look at a Promising Alzheimer’s Disease Drug
Responsive Home Care keeps you up to date with Alzheimer’s disease treatment news.
After 16 long years with no truly viable Alzheimer’s disease drug, there is some optimism on the horizon, in a stunning reversal on the previously-rejected antibody therapy, aducanumab. The latest research uncovers that high doses of this medication do, actually, lessen cognitive decline at the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s.
According to Rebecca Edelmayer, director of scientific engagement at the Alzheimer’s Association, “It could be a game-changer for the field. It could be one of the first disease-modifying therapies approved for Alzheimer’s disease.”
Biogen, the manufacturer of aducanumab, has found substantial benefits for dementia patients in a number of areas: activities of day to day living, memory, language, and orientation. Biogen stated its plans to obtain regulatory approval in the U.S., with a longer-term goal of launching the medication globally.
With an estimated request for approval from the FDA as quickly as early 2020, the drug is slated to possibly become the first treatment option to actually reduce the clinical decline of Alzheimer’s. At the same time, it should open doors to other treatment options that impact amyloid beta plaques, joining other trials that target the immune system, inflammation, blood vessels, and synaptic cell health. As discovering the most effective treatments for the disease is a complex endeavor, it is very likely that a variety of these approaches will be necessary, according to Edelmayer.
The next challenge? Persuading the FDA to approve the drug after previous unsuccessful trials. If approved, aducanumab will first be offered to individuals who had signed up for previous clinical trials, and hopefully, soon open to other people dealing with the challenges of Alzheimer’s as well.
When it comes to the nearly 6 million senior Americans fighting Alzheimer’s (and that number is expected to more than double in the next 30 years), and also the family who care for them, these most recent findings may possibly be life-changing, as there are presently just minimally successful symptom-management medications available. Even as we wait for a treatment, we at Responsive Home Care are able to help dementia patients through highly skilled, trained, and qualified caregivers who utilize innovative therapeutic approaches that center on each person’s distinct strengths and making sure that each individual is living to the fullest.
For more information on effective Alzheimer’s care which helps maximize total wellbeing in the comfort of home, reach out to the dementia care experts at Responsive Home Care at 954-486-6440 and learn more about how our team provides the kind of senior care Hollywood, FL and surrounding area families recommend most.
