Ivan Koychev

A new study conducted over 25 years with data from 2,766 older women, who were in good cognitive health at the start, shows that high blood levels of the p-tau217 protein were strongly associated with future mild cognitive impairment and dementia. In its press release, the University of California (United States), where the authors work, stated that ‘a new blood biomarker can predict a woman's risk of developing dementia up to 25 years before symptoms appear.’ The study is published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended not granting marketing authorization for Leqembi™ (lecanemab) for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) considers that its effect in delaying cognitive decline does not outweigh the risk of serious side effects associated with the drug, in particular swelling and possible bleeding in patients' brains. Leqembi™ was approved in 2023 in the United States.

Drugs to treat erectile dysfunction may be associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to an observational study of nearly 270,000 men, published in Neurology. The research does not prove that these drugs reduce the risk of Alzheimer's, but only shows an association.

In a press release last May, Eli Lilly announced positive results from a phase 3 trial of donanemab antibody therapy to treat early-stage Alzheimer's disease. Now, the study, which included 1,736 people in eight countries over an 18-month period, is published in the journal JAMA and shows that, in some cases, clinical progression of the disease was slowed.