If you have been keeping an eye on the news lately Donanemab will not be a new name to you. Donanemab is the latest break through drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s. In the last year two new drugs, namely Lecanemab and Donanemab, have been released and are believed to work in the same way to slow down the reduction in memory and thinking abilities of persons living with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Donanemab rather than just relieving the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, targets one its root causes and treatment using disease-modification.
Donanemab is delivered intravenously to patients. The immunotherapy drug initiates an immune response by the body’s own immune system resulting in its ability to recognise and remove amyloid protein build-ups, as seen in Alzheimer’s disease. These protein build-ups are thought to be toxic to brain cells, resulting in the affected cells disease and eventual death. From the results taken from people already treated with Donanemab, Three-quarters of the people had results showing successful amyloid protein build-up being cleared from their brains by the end of the trial. The UK’s drugs watchdog has begun evaluating the drug for possible NHS use following the results in the JAMA journal.
The Donanemab trial examined one thousand seven hundred and thirty-six people, with early-stage Alzheimer’s, between sixty and eighty-five years of age. Trial participants were separated into two halves, the first of which received treatment via monthly infusion of the drug and the other half were treated using a placebo. The trial findings showed that the drug seemed to have a meaningful benefit for some patients. Trial subjects who had earlier disease and less brain amyloid at baseline gained larger benefit, in terms of clearance seen on brain scans. The diseases pace in those treated with the drug, based on people’s day-to-day capabilities, was reduced by between twenty to thirty percent overall however a few people had a reduction of disease pace by at least forty percent. Half of patients on Donanemab were able to cease treatment after a year, as brain deposits of amyloid protein had sufficiently cleared.
Although extremely promising, treatment using Donanemab is not without risk and potential side effects identified in the drug trial included brain swelling, which affected up to a third of patients, for most this resolved without resulting symptoms. However, two/ three volunteers died because of critical swelling of the brain. Amyloid protein deposits are only a part of Alzheimer’s disease, and it remains unclear if the treatment will continue to make a difference over a longer period.
For more information follow the links below:
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2807533
- https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/blog/what-is-donanemab-alzheimers-drug
- https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lillys-donanemab-significantly-slowed-cognitive-and-functional