Reacción a "Reactions: Alzheimer's drug donanemab shows positive results in phase III trial, says drugmaker Eli Lilly"

This press release from Eli Lilly and Company sounds very promising. While the full data have not been shared with the scientific community, meaning we can’t yet judge how robust they are, the company reports that their drug donanemab slowed decline in people with early Alzheimer’s disease.  The effects are very similar to other recently reported trials of drugs that act on the same target, showing remarkable consistency in the ability to slow cognitive decline in early Alzheimer’s disease by around 30-35% with drugs that lower amyloid levels.  It is important to note that there were rare serious side effects of the treatment with brain swelling and small strokes that seem to have contributed to the death of 3 of the participants in the trial. Regulators will have to decide whether the benefits of treatment outweigh these risks.

This positive result and the two recent similar successful trials are very welcome good news after decades of clinical trial failures. This is an excellent example of how fundamental neuroscience research into the brain changes that cause Alzheimer’s can be translated into effective treatments.