Introduce yourself to XVII Conferenza Clinical Trials for Alzheimer’s Disease CTAD 2024recently held in Madrid, data on the benefits of long-term administration of lecanemab. In particular, regarding the benefits of continuous treatment with lecanemab for people with Alzheimer’s disease at an early stage, the study data Clarity AD expand the results already illustrated in July 2024 during theAlzheimer’s Association International Conference AAICincluding further evaluations resulting from 3 years of continuous treatment with lecanemab in patients with low levels of brain amyloid at baseline. These data suggest that early initiation of lecanemab treatment may positively influence disease progression in early Alzheimer’s patients and provide long-term benefits.
Thanks to its dual mechanism of action, lecanemab is the only treatment for early AD available that supports neuronal function while also eliminating protofibrille highly toxic that continue to cause neuronal damage and death even after plaques have been removed from the brain. The quantification of these protofibrils in the human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is however complicated by their low concentration. Eisai researchers have therefore developed a new measurement method that highlights the link between protofibrils and biomarkers of neurodegeneration. As stated in the conference, thanks to this new technique it was possible to observe that protofibrils are more closely related to biomarkers of neurodegenerative disease, indicating a clear significant role of protofibrils in synaptic dysfunction during AD.
The Dr. David Watson, of the Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment Center, Florida, reported patients who continued to receive lecanemab treatment after the Phase II trial 201 and the Phase III study Clarity AD. A total of 136 patients participated in both studies at the Center and 66 patients chose to continue lecanemab therapy, with 13 patients on treatment for more than 5 years and 40 on treatment for more than 3 years; more than half of patients (15/24) continued treatment with lecanemab for more than 3 years. From the analysis of clinical data, the disease appears to have stopped in its initial stages. Furthermore, in a survey of 11 patients o caregiver of patients who have received treatment with lecanemab for more than 5 years, all participants said they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the therapy; 45-73% responded that treatment with lecanemab made them feel “more positive about their daily life, social activities, memory.”
