Alzheimer’s disease breakthrough ; new drug clears toxic proteins from brain

And, if the results are confirmed in larger clinical trials already under way around the world, one expert said it could be a “game-changer” for efforts to prevent Alzheimer’s.

One of the researchers, Professor Roger Nitsch, of Zurich University, described what they found when they scanned the brains of patients given either a placebo or three different doses of the antibody, called aducanumab.

“One year later, the images of the placebo group are basically unchanged. In the three doses groups, a very clear reduction in amyloid plaques is shown – the higher the dose, the larger the degree of reduction,” he said.

“In the 10mg dose group, after one year you can see no red on the image, meaning the amyloid has almost completely disappeared.

“Compared to other studies published in the past, the effect size of this drug is unprecedented.”

Commenting on the research in a separate Nature article, Professor Eric Reiman, of Arizona University, wrote: “If these preliminary cognitive findings are confirmed in larger and more-definitive clinical trials, which are now under way, it would provide a shot in the arm in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.