Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Experimental Alzheimer's Drug Potential 'Game Changer' In Fight Against Disease
Los Angeles Times: Experimental Drug Reduces Protein Clumps And Slows Memory Loss In Early Alzheimer's
In the search for a treatment capable of changing the course of Alzheimer’s disease, new findings are offering a rare glimmer of hope: In a preliminary trial of subjects suffering from memory and thinking problems or diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s, a bioengineered medication called aducanumab has demonstrated the ability to clear accumulations of beta-amyloid proteins — a hallmark of Alzheimer’s — from the brain. And compared with subjects receiving a placebo medication, those who got monthly infusions of aducanumab in high doses appeared to experience less progressive loss in mental function. (Healy, 8/31)
NPR: Alzheimer's Drug Shows Promise Against Brain Plaques
An experimental drug dramatically reduced the toxic plaques found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, a team reports in the journal Nature. Results from a small number of patients who received a high dose of the drug, called aducanumab, hint that it may also be able to slow the loss of memory and thinking. "If that hint of a clinical benefit is confirmed, it would be a game changer in the fight against Alzheimer's disease," says Dr. Eric Reiman, executive director of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Phoenix. Reiman wrote a commentary that accompanies the study in Nature. (Hamilton, 8/31)
The Boston Globe: Biogen Data Supports Alzheimer’s Research
Biogen Inc. published findings Wednesday that backed up its report last year that an experimental compound slowed the mental decline of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Data from Biogen Inc.’s early studies, if confirmed in ongoing clinical trials, could offer “compelling support” for a longstanding theory on the cause of the neurodegenerative disorder, scientists from Biogen and their associates reported in a leading journal Wednesday. The article published in the journal Nature detailed preclinical studies on mice and an early-stage clinical trial with human patients given Biogen’s experimental drug called aducanumab. (Weisman, 8/31)
In other news on Alzheimer's research —
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Medical Researchers Hope For Another Boost In Funding
Nationwide, large chunks of the money this fiscal year went toward Alzheimer's research, an initiative to map the human brain and efforts to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria, among other things. Illinois researchers have received $648 million from the National Institutes of Health so far this fiscal year. Northwestern University in Chicago has so far received nearly $210 million; the University of Chicago nearly $138 million; and the University of Illinois at Chicago $92 million. (Schencker, 8/31)
