On Epiphany, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease or for patients with mild cognitive impairment. This drug, lecanemab, moderately slows the rate of cognitive decline in a way that is noticeable to patients.
The Hospital Universitari General de Catalunya, through the Clinical Research Unit (UDIC) led by Dr. Ernest Balaguer, has participated in the phase 2 and phase 3 trial of this drug. In both we have patients who have been receiving the medication openly for years.
Lecanemab is marketed under the name Leqembi and has been developed by the companies Esai and Biogen. In the third phase of clinical trials, it was observed that the drug achieved a 27% slowdown in cognitive decline after 18 months.
Leqembi eliminates insoluble aggregates of beta-amyloid protein, patients who received this treatment recorded a significant reduction in beta-amyloid plaque, as demonstrated by amyloid PET. The accumulation of amyloid beta in the brain is a precursor of Alzheimer’s disease.
