Alzheimer’s Drug Trials Yield Disappointing Results

Waltham, MA—In separate clinical trials, two experimental drugs for Alzheimer’s disease have proven ineffective for patients with mild-to-moderate dementia. According to studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine, neither bapineuzumab nor solanezumab improved patients’ ability to think and solve problems or conduct activities of daily living. The drugs were intended to help patients with Alzheimer’s disease by clearing the amyloid beta protein plaques that accumulate in their brains, which are thought to contribute to cell death and memory loss. Further research is needed to evaluate whether these types of antiamyloid medications might be useful for earlier disease intervention or prevention.

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