PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

The serious risks and high costs of monoclonal antibodies may outweigh the benefits for patients with Alzheimer dementia

Researchers performed a meta-analysis of randomized trial studies that compared the use of amyloid-reducing monoclonal antibodies (MABs) in patients with Alzheimer dementia at a dose consistent with that used in Phase 3 or FDA approval trials with the use

2024-01-22
(Press-News.org) Researchers performed a meta-analysis of randomized trial studies that compared the use of amyloid-reducing monoclonal antibodies (MABs) in patients with Alzheimer dementia at a dose consistent with that used in Phase 3 or FDA approval trials with the use of a placebo. Their purpose was to evaluate clinically meaningful benefits and harms of MABs to these patients. For inclusion in this meta-analysis, the RCT studies had to include adult participants with cognitive impairment or Alzheimer disease of any severity and report at least one clinically relevant benefit or harm to participants after at least one year. The research team identified 19 such publications that evaluated the effects of 8 different MABs on a total of 23,202 participants. Neither the results of any single study nor the results of all combined studies showed quantitative evidence that MABs improved cognitive or day-to-day functional abilities beyond the measure of minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs). Conversely, the studies indicated that MABs consistently cause statistically significant harms and could increase patients’ risk of serious harms such as cerebral edema, hemorrhage, serious adverse events, and death. Additionally, these drugs are prohibitively expensive ($26,500 to $28,200 per year) and require regular MRI monitoring.

What We Know: The theory that amyloid deposition is part of the causal pathway in the development of Alzheimer dementia has led to the development of MABs to reduce amyloid deposition. FDA approval of these drugs was based primarily on improvements to laboratory measures such as medical imaging and biomarkers. However, the failure of MABs to provide clinically significant improvement in patient-oriented outcomes such as reduced mortality or morbidity has resulted in controversy. Previous systematic reviews evaluating the efficacy and harms of using MABs to target amyloid did not include recent studies that were critical to drug approval, and some included Phase 1 and 2 trials that used different doses from those used in later trials and did not interpret the findings in the context of minimal clinically important differences for patient outcomes.

What This Study Adds: Although lab-based evidence shows that MABs may be a promising treatment for Alzheimer dementia, focusing on actual patient outcomes can provide a greater understanding of the potential benefits and harms of using MABs. This meta-analysis of recent clinical trials involving over 20,000 participants with Alzheimer dementia or similar cognitive impairments suggests that MABs have not been shown to lead to clinically significant improvements in cognitive or functional abilities and could potentially cause serious harm to patients taking these drugs.

Clinically Important Benefits and Harms of Monoclonal Antibodies Targeting Amyloid for the Treatment of Alzheimer Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Mark H. Ebell, MD, MS, et al.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA

PRE-EMBARGO LINK (Link expires at 5 p.m. EDT Jan. 22, 2024)

PERMANENT LINK

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Annals of Family Medicine January/February 2024 Tip Sheet

2024-01-22
EHR Workload Continues to Grow for Primary Care Physicians The study evaluated recent trends in primary care physicians’ (PCPs) electronic health record (EHR) workload. Prior to and early in the COVID-19 pandemic, PCPs spent more time in the EHR and received more messages than physicians in other specialties, but it is unclear if the pandemic further accelerated the growth of PCPs’ EHR workload. Researchers observed EHR usage of 141 academic PCPs practicing family medicine, internal medicine, and general pediatrics within the University of Wisconsin-Madison health system, which ...

A quality improvement intervention links high-risk prenatal patients at safety-net health centers with primary care

2024-01-22
Researchers assessed the development and implementation of a quality improvement learning collaborative’s (QILC) intervention to link high-risk prenatal patients with primary care. The aims of the study were twofold: to identify any quantitative impact of the intervention on postpartum and primary care utilization for high-risk prenatal patients and to explore the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) participants’ experiences of working with a QI collaborative. Using information from patients’ charts and/or ...

A new drug candidate can shrink kidney cysts

A new drug candidate can shrink kidney cysts
2024-01-22
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), the most common form of polycystic kidney disease, can lead to kidney enlargement and eventual loss of function. The disease affects more than 12 million people worldwide, and many patients end up needing dialysis or a kidney transplant by the time they reach their 60s. Researchers at MIT and Yale University School of Medicine have now found that a compound originally developed as a potential cancer treatment holds promise for treating ADPKD. The drug works by exploiting kidney cyst cells’ vulnerability to oxidative stress — a state ...

Bone marrow adipocytes provide early sign of progression from MGUS to multiple myeloma

Bone marrow adipocytes provide early sign of progression from MGUS to multiple myeloma
2024-01-22
A new research perspective was published in Oncotarget's Volume 15 on January 16, 2024, entitled, “Bone marrow adipocytes provide early sign for progression from MGUS to multiple myeloma.” Multiple Myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematological malignancy and is characterized by clonal expansion of malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow. In spite of recent advances in the field of MM, the disease has remained incurable. MM is preceded by a premalignant state known as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), with a risk of progression to MM of 1% per year. Establishing a scalable approach that refines ...

Dr. Blagosklonny’s battle with cancer (Part 1)

Dr. Blagosklonny’s battle with cancer (Part 1)
2024-01-22
On January 3, 2024, Mikhail V. Blagosklonny M.D., Ph.D., from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center published a new brief report in Oncoscience (Volume 11), entitled, “My battle with cancer. Part 1.” “In January 2023, diagnosed with numerous metastases of lung cancer in my brain, I felt that I must accomplish a mission. If everything happens for a reason, my cancer, in particular, I must find out how metastatic cancer can be treated with curative intent. This is my mission now, and the reason I was ever born. In January 2023, I understood the meaning of life, of my life. I was born to write this article. In this article, I argue that monotherapy with ...

Don’t blame the sharks: Research led by UMass Amherst reveals why more hooked tarpon are being eaten

Don’t blame the sharks: Research led by UMass Amherst reveals why more hooked tarpon are being eaten
2024-01-22
In wave-making research recently published in Marine and Coastal Fisheries, a team of researchers, led by biologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has quantified the rate at which great hammerhead sharks are eating Atlantic tarpon hooked by anglers at Bahia Honda, Florida—one of the prime tarpon fishing spots in the Florida Keys. Called the “depredation rate,” the team found that 15.3% of tarpon that were hooked by anglers and fought for more than five minutes were eaten while still on the line. But the researchers also show that this is not necessarily a sign that the ecosystem is out of balance. To the contrary, increased reports ...

Shallow soda lakes show promise as cradles of life on Earth

Shallow soda lakes show promise as cradles of life on Earth
2024-01-22
Charles Darwin proposed that life could have emerged in a “warm little pond” with the right cocktail of chemicals and energy. A study from the University of Washington, published this month in Communications Earth & Environment, reports that a shallow “soda lake” in western Canada shows promise for matching those requirements. The findings provide new support that life could have emerged from lakes on the early Earth, roughly 4 billion years ago. Scientists have known that under ...

Computing with the power of light

2024-01-22
The exponential demand for high computing power is far exceeding the capabilities of current electronic systems; however, engineers at the University of Pittsburgh are shining a light on new solutions.  Nathan Youngblood, principal investigator and assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, received a $552,166 Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a $449,240 award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) through its Young Investigator Program (YIP) to continue his pioneering work in phase-change materials and optical computing.  “Dr. ...

Cholangiocarcinoma: New organ-on-chip aims at accelerating research and personalized medicine

Cholangiocarcinoma: New organ-on-chip aims at accelerating research and personalized medicine
2024-01-22
Milano, January 22nd 2024 – It is only a few centimeters in size and can be held between two fingers, but in the micro-channels carved inside it, it’s hidden a three-dimensional and highly faithful model of a biliary tract cancer called cholangiocarcinoma, complete with its tumor microenvironment. This 3D model is built starting from a sample of patient’s cancer cells and thus it represents a patient-specific "organ-on-chip": a technology made possible only through a multidisciplinary approach that merges biomedicine, physics and engineering. The innovative prototype is the result ...

Bioengineered material developed to rapidly stop bleeding in patients on blood thinners

2024-01-22
More than 11 million people in the United States take anticoagulation or antiplatelet medications, such as heparin or aspirin, to treat serious conditions like heart attack and stroke. However, these medications also put patients at risk of life-threatening bleeding in the case of injury or during surgery. To improve strategies for reducing blood loss, a team led by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, developed a porous material that maximizes blood absorption and effectively activates clotting mechanisms, even in patients on anticoagulation or ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

Mission accomplished for the “T2T” Hong Kong Bauhinia Genome Project

[Press-News.org] The serious risks and high costs of monoclonal antibodies may outweigh the benefits for patients with Alzheimer dementia
Researchers performed a meta-analysis of randomized trial studies that compared the use of amyloid-reducing monoclonal antibodies (MABs) in patients with Alzheimer dementia at a dose consistent with that used in Phase 3 or FDA approval trials with the use