Breakthrough treatment for Alzheimer's disease

This clinical trial provides important information for readers, patients and medical practitioners.

Antibody drugs such as therapeutic agents for rheumatoid arthritis are being actively developed all over the world. In addition to the primary tumor, brain metastases have also regressed by treatment with antibody drugs such as nivolumab and pembrolizumab, which are immune checkpoint inhibitors. In other words, it is possible that the antibody drug acts on the brain metastases.

Highly water-soluble substances or large molecules such as protein are difficult to penetrate the Blood-brain barrier (BBB). On the other hand, by a number of transporters that are expressed in the brain capillaries, nutrients (glucose, amino acids, nucleotides, etc.) selectively penetrate the blood-brain barrier. There has been a long-standing debate about the permeability of antibody drugs to the BBB.

Donanemab, an antibody that targets a modified form of deposited Aβ have been shown to permeate BBB and act on deposited Aβ. This clinical therapy is a very epoch-making medical advance.

Dr. Hayashi T and Konishi I
National Hospital Organization Kyoto Medical Center

Doctor specializing in cancer treatment/Cancer Genome Medicine/Emerging infectious diseases

New Engl J Med. Published on May 06, 2021. by Kyoto@takumah