Winter 2022 -2023 In the latest St. Barnabas Faith & Works Magazine article, Dr. Joseph Maroon discussed recent advances in Alzheimer’s treatments including the recent pharmaceutic medications that have been the news. In the article, entitled, The Latest Alzheimer’s Advances in Prevention and Treatment, on page 9, he discusses Aducanumab and Lecanemab.

In September 2021, we wrote extensively about FDA’s partial approval of Aducanumab, the first new Alzheimer’s drug in 18 years. We also voiced concerns that Aducanumab, although able to reduce brain plaques (called amyloid plaques) associated with Alzheimer’s disease, it mostly failed to produce significant clinical improvements in memory, cognition or other brain function measures.

The other drug, Lecanemab, was thought to be more promising as Dr. Maroon explained:

Recently, a Phase 3 clinical trial using a new drug called Lecanemab reported that this medication could help slow the rate of cognitive decline in early Alzheimer’s cases by 27% after 18 months treatment…… the study with Lecanemab showed that by starting this drug earlier there might be both plaque and cognitive improvements.

Finally, Dr. Maroon discussed ongoing research at the University of Pittsburgh, and other centers:

Researchers showed the use of special blood cleansing machines, a process called plasmapheresis, to remove abnormal proteins from the plasma part of the blood that build up in the brain. In addition, they found that removing these circulating proteins resulted in improved memory and cognitive function.

Read the entire article from St. Barnabas Faith & Works, Winter 2023 HERE