Reimagining Alzheimer’s (Part 5): Setback For Potential Alzheimer’s Treatment
(Posted on Saturday, November 12, 2022)
This article is the fifth installment in my series on Alzheimer’s disease. Read more about Alzheimer’s disease in part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4 of the series.
In the last installment of my series on Alzheimer’s disease, I discussed a new experimental treatment for Alzheimer’s called lecanemab. This September, clinical trial results suggested that lecanemab could effectively decrease cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s patients. Unfortunately, it now seems that lecanemab may have played a role in the death of one of its clinical trial participants, introducing new skepticism as to whether the medication is safe for use.
While the death is still under investigation, this unfortunate event emphasizes that all medications come with their own risks that can be hard to predict. The death was mainly attributed to significant swelling and bleeding in the patient’s brain. The patient was regularly taking a blood thinning medication that may have exacerbated their symptoms.