Cochrane Review: Anti-Amyloid Drugs Offer No Clinical Benefits for Alzheimer's

A comprehensive review published Thursday has concluded that anti-amyloid drugs, long promoted as potential breakthroughs for Alzheimer's disease, provide no meaningful clinical benefits to patients despite successfully reducing brain plaques, while posing risks of brain swelling and bleeding.

The analysis, conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration and involving data from 17 randomized controlled trials with more than 20,000 participants, focused on seven monoclonal antibody treatments targeting amyloid beta proteins. These proteins accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia affecting millions worldwide. The trials, lasting about 18 months, included patients aged 70 to 74 on average, primarily those with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage dementia. Among the drugs examined were lecanemab, marketed as Leqembi by Biogen and Eisai, and donanemab, sold as Kisunla by Eli Lilly. Both received approval from U.S. and European Union regulators in recent years, but state-run health systems in the UK and France have declined coverage due to doubts over efficacy, high costs, and safety concerns.

Researchers found that while the drugs cleared...