Scientists have raised controversy… America is offering a drug for “Alzheimer’s” after two decades of waiting

On Monday, the United States approved a drug called “Aduhelm” to treat Alzheimer’s patients, the first new drug against the disease in nearly two decades, and the first to treat cognitive decline associated with this condition.

According to Agence France-Presse, the decision was highly expected, but also controversial, because an independent expert panel set up by the Food and Drug Administration last November found insufficient evidence of the benefit of “Adohelm”.

“Adohelm is the first treatment directed at the underlying pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease and the presence of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain,” said Patricia Cavazoni of the Food and Drug Administration.

However, the decision falls under the FDA’s “expedited approval” pathway that you use when you believe a drug may provide a meaningful benefit over existing treatments but that there is still uncertainty about it.

Adohelm, a monoclonal antibody also known by its generic name, adkanimab, has been tested in two advanced human phase 3 trials known as phase III trials. The drug showed a reduction in cognitive decline in only one of them.

But in both studies, the drug convincingly demonstrated a reduction in the build-up of a protein called beta-amyloid in Alzheimer’s patients’ brain tissue.

One theory is that Alzheimer’s disease comes from the excessive accumulation of these proteins in the brains of some people as they age and their immune systems decline.