Question is, how pricey the drug will be.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Eli Lilly & Co. reported Wednesday that an experimental medication might slow mild Alzheimer’s if people take it early enough, according to the Associated Press.
The findings, presented Wednesday to a standing-room-only crowd of doctors and patients at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2015, suggest — on paper, at least — that the drugs may slow the decline of people who are treated early in the course of the disease, reported WebMD.
However, experts who were not involved in the studies say the drugs will likely be pricey, while their benefits appear to be minute — perhaps so negligible that people with Alzheimer’s might not notice improvements in their ability to think or function in their day-to-day lives.
The experimental medications target sticky protein pieces called beta amyloid in the brain. Beta amyloid forms telltale “plaques” that can be seen on brain scans of people with Alzheimer’s disease. The notion is that getting rid of some of these protein pieces might slow or even reverse the disease.
“These are not definitive reports that are going to lead to medications being approved tomorrow. What they represent is an important foundation for us moving forward,” said Dr. David Knopman of the Mayo Clinic, who has monitored some of Lilly’s data.
The hunt for an Alzheimer’s drug that could function as an effective cure has been a long and frustrating one. To date, the medication has only been able to temporarily alleviate the disease’s symptoms.
How am I going talk to my patients on Friday?” Knopman said at a news conference, per NBC News. “These results aren’t going to lead to something they can get next week. What you are hearing here represents solid advances.”