Di new medicine wey dey fight Alzheimer disease

Results wey comot today confam say di medicine donanemab, wey dem praise as important achievement for di fight against Alzheimer, disease wey dey make pesin thinking slow, reduce by one-third.

Mike Colley wey be 80-years-old na one of di few patients for UK wey take part for di global trial wey dem publish now for di journal JAMA.

E dey collect infusion evri month for one clinic for London and e say im be "one of di luckiest pipo you go ever meet."

Di antibody treatment dey help for di early stages of di disease.

E dey work for Alzheimer disease, no be for oda types of dementia like vascular dementia.

Dat na becos dem design am to clear comot one of di key features of Alzheimer disease – one substance dem call amyloid – di amyloid dey build up for di spaces wey dey between brain cells.

Mike and im family bin notice say e dey get problems wit im memory and decision making not long before e begin di trial.

Im son, Mark, wey siddon wit am bin tok say e dey very hard to watch for di beginning: "To see am dey struggle to process information and solve problems bin dey very hard.”

Oga Mike wey follow BBC tok, say: "I feel more confident evri day."

Donanemab, di medicine wey Eli Lilly develop dey work di same way as lecanemab, di medicine wey companies Eisai and Biogen develop. Lecanemab bin create headlines around the world dem prove say e fit slow down di disease.

Although e dey promising, these drugs no dey cure di disease.

Brain swelling na common side-effect for up to one-third of di patients wey take part for di donanemab trial.

For most, dem no get any symptoms.

Two volunteers, and possibly anoda patient bin die sake of dangerous swelling for di brain.

Side effects and risks of treatment

For di donanemab trial, researchers bin examine 1,736 pipo wey dey within di age of 60 to 85 wit early-stage Alzheimer.

Half of dem receive monthly infusion of di treatment and dem give di oda half were one fake medicine, wey also dey known as placebo, for 18 months.

Di findings show say:

E be like say di medicine get meaningful benefit, at least for some patients

Di pipo wey dem give di medicine bin retain more of dia day-to-day lives, dem fit discuss current events, answer di phone or pursue dia hobbies

Di speed of di disease, judged by wetin pipo still fit do day-to-day, bin dey slow by about 20-30% overall - and by 30-40% for one set of patients researchers thought more likely to respond

Some side effects dey and patients go need to dey aware of di risks of treatment

Half of di patients on donanemab bin dey able to stop di treatment afta one year because e don clear enough brain deposits.

Amyloid na just one part of di complex picture of Alzheimer and e neva clear if di treatment go continue to make more difference for a long time, experts tok.

Di effect of di medicine no too dey clear, but di results provide further confirmation say removing amyloid from di brain fit change di course of Alzheimer, and help pipo wey dis disease affect if dem dey treated at di right time, dem tok.

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