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Alzheimer’s drug donanemab helps most when taken at earliest disease stage, study finds

But the drug, an antibody that attacks the protein amyloid, does not work as well in people with more advanced disease.
  1. Sara Reardon

    1. Sara Reardon is a freelance journalist based in Bozeman, Montana.

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An experimental drug can slow progression of Alzheimer’s disease in those who start taking it when the disease is still in its early stages. The drug, a monoclonal antibody called donanemab, does not improve symptoms. But among people who started taking it at the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s, 47% had no disease progression on some measures after one year, compared with 29% who took a placebo.

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Nature 619, 682-683 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02321-1

Updates & Corrections

  • Update 17 July 2023: This story has been updated with additional comment from scientists not involved in the research.

References

  1. Sims, J. R. et al. JAMA https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.13239 (2023).

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