{"id":3463,"date":"2026-07-15T08:09:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T08:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=3463"},"modified":"2026-07-15T08:09:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T08:09:57","slug":"new-experimental-alzheimers-drug-shows-potential-after-study-shows-slower-cognitive-decline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=3463","title":{"rendered":"New experimental Alzheimer\u2019s drug shows potential after study shows slower cognitive decline"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tau is one part of a\u00a0toxic duo\u00a0fueling Alzheimer\u2019s but prior attempts to develop drugs that can target the protein have failed. Two Alzheimer\u2019s drugs, lecanemab and donanemab, try to clear buildup of the\u00a0better-known amyloid protein\u00a0and can modestly slow cognitive decline.<\/p>\n

Read more U.S.-Russia space crew arrives at the ISS despite bitter space race past<\/a><\/p>\n

The new findings suggest Biogen\u2019s diranersen did more than lower tau levels. The study of about 400 people found signs that it also slowed cognitive decline, in one small subset enough to be comparable to amyloid therapy, according to results presented at the Alzheimer\u2019s Association International Conference in London. Biogen is planning a larger study to try to prove the drug\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is really quite promising if it were to hold up\u201d in that next-step testing, said Jessica Langbaum of the Banner Alzheimer\u2019s Institute in Phoenix, who wasn\u2019t involved with Biogen\u2019s study.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is early days,\u201d cautioned Dr. Reisa Sperling of Mass General Brigham, who also wasn\u2019t involved in the study. But \u201cI think it will reinvigorate interest and investment in lots of tau mechanisms, and the field needs that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of multiple novel attempts to fight the mind-destroying disease, including a possible tau vaccine, an experimental heart drug that might do double-duty for some people\u00a0at high risk\u00a0of Alzheimer\u2019s, and ways to help medicines more easily get across the so-called\u00a0blood-brain barrier.<\/p>\n

New approaches are needed to fight the leading cause of dementia<\/h4>\n

It\u2019s not clear exactly what causes Alzheimer\u2019s, which affects more than 7 million Americans and tens of millions worldwide. That sticky amyloid protein starts building up to form plaques in the brain about two decades before symptoms appear. But amyloid alone isn\u2019t enough to cause Alzheimer\u2019s. Many scientists believe that amyloid buildup eventually triggers an abnormal form of tau to form tangles in neurons, setting off symptoms.<\/p>\n

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Diranersen is what\u2019s called an antisense oligonucleotide that doesn\u2019t attack tau buildup but instead instructs a tau-producing gene to produce less.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you lower tau production, you are lowering the amount of the abnormal tau that needs to be cleared by the microglia, by the clearance mechanism in the brain. And so you are enabling the normal clearance mechanism to have more capacity to clear the tau,\u201d said Dr. Cath Mummery of University College London, who led the new study.<\/p>\n

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Today\u2019s anti-amyloid drugs are given through the bloodstream via infusions or injections. Diranersen is injected into the fluid surrounding the spinal cord, a straighter path to the brain.<\/p>\n

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Biogen\u2019s tau drug missed a key study goal \u2014 but was still encouraging<\/h4>\n

Biogen\u2019s study included people with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer\u2019s, randomly assigning them to different doses of diranersen or a placebo. Back in May, Biogen and partner Ionis Pharmaceuticals announced that the lowest dose \u2014 given every six months \u2014 had the strongest effect. That was a counterintuitive surprise and meant the study didn\u2019t meet its planned goal of showing that higher doses brought greater benefits.<\/p>\n

Read more Florida\u2019s big tax cut plan assumes a level of migration that has already collapsed 90%<\/a><\/p>\n

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Still, scientists had been anxiously awaiting details about how much that twice-a-year spinal shot really helped. Five of six different brain tests showed diranersen recipients\u2019 memory and other cognitive abilities still worsened but more slowly than those given dummy shots, Mummery said. In one test of the lowest dose, that translated to a 26% reduction in cognitive decline \u2014 \u201capproximately the same\u201d change seen in earlier tests of amyloid drugs, she said.<\/p>\n

Side effects included injection site pain and a temporary state of confusion that could appear a few days after the shot and last about a week, she said. But there were no signs of brain inflammation, which can affect recipients of anti-amyloid drugs.<\/p>\n

Alzheimer\u2019s researchers also target tau in a broad new study<\/h4>\n

The University of California, San Francisco, last week opened a first-of-its-kind study known as the Alzheimer\u2019s Tau Platform. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, it will test a variety of experimental anti-tau therapies against and in combination with today\u2019s amyloid treatments. First up is a vaccine called AADvac1 designed to train the immune system to recognize and fight a specific worrisome portion of the tau protein, said UCSF\u2019s Dr. Adam Boxer.<\/p>\n

The \u201cplatform\u201d approach will expand to locations around the country, allow addition of other tau drugs to test and include people with Alzheimer\u2019s-related protein buildup who aren\u2019t yet showing symptoms, he said.<\/p>\n

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Other studies hint at new ways of attacking Alzheimer\u2019s<\/h4>\n

Researchers told the Alzheimer\u2019s meeting that an experimental cholesterol-lowering drug called obicetrapib might do more than help heart health. They\u2019re exploring if it also might lower buildup of Alzheimer\u2019s-related proteins in people who carry a genetic risk for the disease.<\/p>\n

Why? That gene, called APOE4, also affects how the body processes cholesterol. Obicetrapib maker NewAmsterdam Pharma plans to begin a study soon to test if the drug\u2019s cholesterol effects also can mitigate the Alzheimer\u2019s risk in people carrying one or two copies of that gene.<\/p>\n

Companies also are trying to get Alzheimer\u2019s drugs into the brain faster and at higher volumes, by penetrating the protective lining meant to protect the brain from harm. Denali Therapeutics\u2019 CEO Ryan Watts describes it as \u201chitching a ride\u201d with iron that naturally gets into the brain. His company is pursuing drugs that target tau and amyloid using that \u201ctransport vehicle\u201d technology.<\/p>\n

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n

Read more The AI boom drove China\u2019s 27% export jump in June as AI and the Iran war reshape global trade<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A study on Biogen’s diranersen found it slowed cognitive decline and has promise in treating Alzheimer’s disease, researchers found.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alzheimers"],"yoast_head":"\nNew experimental Alzheimer\u2019s drug shows potential after study shows slower cognitive decline - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=3463\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New experimental Alzheimer\u2019s drug shows potential after study shows slower cognitive decline - 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