Feb 27, 2014 – No Amyloid Help

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TWO ANTIBODIES TO HELP CLEAR A PLAQUE MATERIAL IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE DON’T HELP, ELIZABETH TRACEY REPORTS

In Alzheimer’s disease, the so-called amyloid hypothesis puts forward the idea that accumulation of this material may result in nerve cell death and dementia, but now two new studies using drugs known as antibodies to deplete amyloid haven’t helped. Constantine Lyketsos, an Alzheimer’s expert at Johns Hopkins, describes the research.

LYKETSOS: The two papers in the New England Journal each looked at two randomized trials for two drugs, bapinuzumab and solenuzamab . Both strategies basically inject antibodies that have been made in animals, and the antibodies go into the brain and they grab some version of the amyloid. In general they found that in people with dementia the disease progression or the disease symptoms are not helped by these drugs relative to placebo. :30 Lyketsos says the drugs may not have been used early enough in the disease so those studies are underway. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.