A sweeping new analysis seems to throw cold water on a once-promising approach to fighting Alzheimer's. A major review of 17 clinical trials involving more than 20,000 people concludes that anti-amyloid drugs deliver little benefit to patients—and raise safety concerns, reports Scientific American. The medications have touted as potential game-changers on the theory that they could clear beta-amyloid plaques from the brain, which are hallmarks of the disease, per the Guardian.
"Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that these drugs make no meaningful difference to patients," says Francesco Nonino of the IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna in Italy, lead author of the Cochrane review. What's more, the review found an increased risk of brain swelling and bleeding. The drugs target beta-amyloid proteins, which can be detected before symptoms appear, and have been a big new interest of drug developers. The new review casts doubt on how effective they are, though the New York Times reports that some in the field are critical of how researchers conducted their work.
The review lumped together a slew of different anti-amyloid drugs, including four that never performed well. "The problem with the review is the mix of ingredients," Jason Karlawish of the Penn Memory Center at the University of Pennsylvania tells the newspaper. "They took some of the rotten ingredients and mixed it in with the fresh food, and the result is a stinky stew." Generally, however, Cochrane reviews have a "gold-standard" reputation, notes Scientific American.
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