Alzheimer’s is a neurological disorder that leads to the death of brain cells. It is the most common form of dementia (memory loss). Common symptoms of early Alzheimer’s include forgetting names, losing items, being unable to make decisions, and more. As the disease worsens, the symptoms become far more serious. The person loses function of their cognitive memory, fails to respond well to their environment, and undergoes a drastic personality change.,
Aducanumab, also known as aduhelm, is a medicine that is to be taken in the case of mild Alzheimer’s. Biogen, a biotech firm in Massachusetts known for manufacturing this drug, developed it for the sole purpose of trying to combat the disease. Although it failed the first round of trials in March 2019, they observed improvement in the progression of particular patients taking the medication, and it was soon submitted for approval in 2020.
Upon deliberation, the advisory committee of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) decided to oppose the approval of aducanumab due to a lack of sufficient evidence of its beneficial factors. However, the FDA approved it due to its ability to dissolve protein clumps (amyloid plaques) that cause disruption in the neurons’ functioning in the brain, which was considered a potential cause of Alzheimer’s. Although it was successful in lowering the protein build-up, it did not improve the cognitive abilities of the patients who took it, leading to mixed reactions regarding the approval.
Like many other pharmaceutical endeavors, there were many cons that came with the development of this drug. Aducanumab is only effective in certain cases when the cause of Alzheimer’s is amyloid plaques. Another disadvantageous aspect of the drug is its cost At around 50,000 dollars per year, its price prevented accessibility to many groups of people. It also contains risky side effects such as headaches, changes in vision, nausea, delirium, bleeding in the brain, allergic reactions, etc.
Can aducanumab be used to cure Alzheimer's? In its current state, it seems unlikely that the medicine has the ability to completely cure the disease. Although aducanumab itself hasn’t been successful in treating Alzheimer’s, it has paved the way for many efficient and cost-effective treatments of this deadly disease.
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