Overview
- The Cochrane review published Thursday pooled 17 trials with about 20,342 participants and found effects on thinking and daily function were absent or trivial after roughly 18 months.
- The drugs cleared amyloid protein from the brain on scans, yet the reviewers said this did not produce improvements patients or carers would notice.
- The analysis linked these antibodies to higher rates of brain swelling and bleeding known as ARIA, which can require regular MRI checks during treatment.
- Alzheimer’s Society, Alzheimer’s Research UK, and drugmakers Eisai and Eli Lilly disputed the pooled approach, arguing it mixes older failed antibodies with newer approved drugs that show modest benefits.
- NICE is reassessing whether the NHS should fund lecanemab and donanemab after manufacturers’ appeals, a decision that could reshape access and steer research priorities beyond amyloid-focused drugs.