US FDA okays first new Alzheimer's drug in nearly 2 decades
Jun 08, 2021
Washington [US], June 8 : The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug for Alzheimer's, the the first new medicine against the disease in almost two decades.
"The US Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the use of the experimental drug Aducanumab for early phases of Alzheimer's disease -- despite an FDA advisory committee concluding last year that there is not enough evidence to support the effectiveness of the treatment," the CNN reported.
Aducanumab is the first new drug for the disease in 18 years which is developed by the American company Biogen and Japanese firm Eisai, NHK World reported.
It targets plaques in the brain that researchers believe can affect cognition. Aducanumab is the first medication to tackle the disease process rather than just treating symptoms of dementia.
According to FDA regulators, clinical trials left them with some uncertainties regarding clinical benefits. They asked Biogen to conduct another trial. That process is expected to take years.
Meantime, patients will be able to take the drug. It is to mention that over 6 million Americans live with Alzheimer's disease.
In Japan, more than six million people are estimated to have dementia, and 60 to 70 per cent of them are believed to have Alzheimer's disease. The number of patients is expected to grow as the population ages.
A study conducted by the researchers at The Pennsylvania State University finds evidence of sleep-dependent low-frequency (<0.1 Hz) global brain activity in the clearance of Alzheimer's disease-related toxin buildup.
According to researchers, the findings could serve as a potential imaging marker for clinicians in evaluating patients. The research has been published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Xiao Liu and colleagues.
This neuronal activity was more strongly linked with cerebrospinal fluid flow in healthy controls than higher-risk groups and patients.
The development of Alzheimer's is believed to be driven by the buildup of the toxic proteins amyloid-b and tau in the brain.
