Hopes Fade for New Alzheimer’s Drugs After Review

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Paris: Drugs once hailed as a breakthrough in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease do not provide meaningful benefits to patients, according to a major review released on Wednesday, though some experts disputed the findings.

The review by Cochrane—widely regarded as a leading authority in evidence analysis—examined drugs designed to target amyloid plaques, protein buildups found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

Scientists have long believed removing these plaques could slow or prevent the most common form of dementia, which affects millions worldwide.

After decades of failed research, two anti-amyloid drugs—lecanemab and donanemab—were initially welcomed as potential game changers.

Both treatments have been approved in the United States and the European Union in recent years. However, concerns over their effectiveness, high cost, and side effects—including increased risks of brain swelling and bleeding—have led countries such as the UK and France to withhold public funding.

The new Cochrane review analysed data from 17 clinical trials involving more than 20,000 people with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia. The studies, conducted over approximately 18 months, evaluated seven anti-amyloid drugs.

Lead author Francesco Nonino said that while some trials showed statistically significant results, they did not translate into “clinically meaningful” improvements for patients.

Researchers noted that brain scans confirmed the drugs successfully removed amyloid plaques.

Co-author Edo Richard said the findings challenge the belief that plaque removal alone benefits patients and suggested future research should explore other causes of Alzheimer’s.

Not all experts agreed. John Hardy, who helped develop the amyloid hypothesis in the 1990s, criticised the review for combining data from newer drugs with older ineffective treatments, saying this distorted the results.

Australian neuroscientist Bryce Vissel said the review does not rule out a role for amyloid in Alzheimer’s, but shows that the current generation of anti-amyloid drugs has not fulfilled expectations.