Rare Side Effects From Lecanemab Use in Alzheimer's Patients Documented in Real-world Settings
While there's currently no known cure for dementia, a well-known type called Alzheimer's disease, new medications are being introduced to help manage symptoms and slow its progression. One such medication is lecanemab, authorized by the U.S. FDA in 2023, which carries the potential for side effects that can sometimes be serious, like amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) – cases of swelling or bleeding in the brain.
In November 2022, the Clarity AD phase 3 clinical trial reported very low percentages of participants experiencing ARIA, estimating just 0.8% for ARIA-E (edema/effusion) and 0.7% for ARIA-H (hemorrhage/hemosiderin deposition). New research has reconfirmed these findings, showcasing that significant adverse events (including ARIA) were rare and manageable for individuals in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease.
For this study, researchers recruited 234 people with early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease, aged around 74 years, who received lecanemab at the outpatient specialty memory clinic. Lecanemab, an antibody protein, was designed to recognize and target certain types of amyloid proteins – misfolded proteins that can form clumps called plaques in the brain and interfere with brain activity.
Although it didn't reverse memory loss, this drug was found to significantly slow down its progression in a large clinical trial. Researchers also observed a reduction and sometimes clearing of amyloid plaques in the brain of these individuals treated with lecanemab for 18 months. In the recent study, a mere 1.8% of participants at the earliest stage of Alzheimer's disease experienced symptoms of ARIA, contrasting the 27% of participants with mild Alzheimer's disease. Notably, all patients who experienced symptoms had them disappear within a few months, and no deaths were reported.
Further studies are needed to identify factors that increase the risk for developing ARIA, helping physicians provide more personalized treatment recommendations for eligible patients. Researchers should examine these findings in a larger patient sample and extend the observation time for accurate assessment of ARIA occurrence.
The benefits of lecanemab need to be weighed against the potential serious side effects when prescribing the drug to patients. A careful evaluation of the patient's disease stage, overall health, and risk factors is essential before treatment decisions are made. It is crucial to identify patients that are most likely to benefit and least likely to experience serious side effects.
- New medications, such as lecanemab, are being developed to manage symptoms and slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, a neurological condition among seniors that is a type of dementia.
- Lecanemab, an antibody protein, targets certain amyloid proteins, which can form plaques in the brain and interfere with brain activity, contributing to health-and-wellness problems like Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.
- In a recent study, participants in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease experienced rare and manageable adverse events like ARIA (amyloid-related imaging abnormalities), which can potentially result in swelling or bleeding in the brain, when treated with lecanemab.
- While lecanemab, though not reversing memory loss, was found to significantly slow down its progression in a large clinical trial, it's essential for medical professionals to balance the drug's benefits against potential serious side effects when prescribing it to patients.
- Future research should focus on identifying factors that increase the risk for developing ARIA and examine these findings in a larger patient sample, extending the observation time for accurate assessment of ARIA occurrence to make more informed treatment decisions for eligible patients.
