Great news, these days, is taking hold in the world of medicine, and it is not about Covid.
In the US, in fact, the Food and Drugs Administration (Fda) has given the green light to a drug against Alzheimer's: Aducanumab.
.
«We are aware of the attention surrounding this approval - said Patrizia Cavazzoni, who heads the Fda's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research -. We know that the therapy has generated the "attention of the press, patients and many interested parties".
The innovative character of this treatment developed by Biogen lies in the fact that it is the first one that focuses on the course of the disease and does not limit itself to attacking the symptoms of dementia.
Previous attempts
The challenge to Alzheimer's is one of the toughest in recent decades, but also one that has so far given less encouraging results.
According to a 2018 study, in fact, it seems that at the time 400 failed clinical tests on humans, regarding potential therapies, and countless multinationals that had made the decision to completely abandon research in this field. Negative data and that in the last few years they do not seem to have improved.
The test of the drug Aducanumab itself was not successful initially, indeed it was considered to have failed at first.
, would be the first drug to intervene directly on the physiological mechanisms of the onset of the disease, ie the formation of beta-amyloid plaques on the brain.The promising tests showed a reduction in these plaques in patients with early symptoms of the disease such as memory loss and reasoning difficulties.
Diagnosis
Today the only way to make a certain diagnosis of Alzheimer's dementia is the identification of amyloid plaques in the brain tissue, which is only possible with an autopsy after the patient's death.
Previously, only a probable Alzheimer's diagnosis can be made, based on clinical tests (blood, urine, spinal fluid), neuropsychological tests to assess the level of memory and attention, the ability to solve problems, talk and count; and brain CT scans to identify any possible abnormalities.
