What next for Alzheimer's treatment?
Inside Health
BBC
4.4 • 575 Ratings
🗓️ 5 November 2024
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The first drugs to slow Alzheimer's progression have been making headlines around the world. For researchers in the field, the arrival of these two therapies called Lecanemab and Donanemab is testament to decades of advancements in the field of Alzheimer's research because for the first time they go further than modifying the symptoms and have been shown in trials to slow down cognitive decline. For patients and families these treatments offer hope that the amount of quality time they'll have together could be lengthened.
Around the world regulatory bodies are weighing up their effectiveness, safety and cost. In the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved Lecanemab and Donanemab for use but the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) rejected them for use in the NHS on the basis the benefit to patients did not outweight the cost, although they could still be available privately.
Presenter James Gallagher examines the decision with Professor of Public Health Carol Brayne from the University of Cambridge and neuroscientist Professor Tara Spires-Jones from the University of Edinburgh. Then, looking forward, he meets scientists searching for future treatments including Dr Emma Mead, chief scientist at the Alzheimer's UK Drug Discovery Institute at the University of Oxford, Dr Ashvini Keshavan, co-lead of University College London's ADAPT blood biomarker trial, Selina Wray, Professor of Molecular Neuroscience and Alzheimer's Research UK Senior Research Fellow at University College London, and UK Dementia Research Institute Emerging Leader Dr Claire Durrant.
This programme was produced in partnership with The Open University.
Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Tom Bonnett Editor: Holly Squire
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, you're about to listen to a BBC podcast, and I'm Ed Gamble, host of another BBC podcast, |
| 0:05.4 | The Traitors Uncloaked. But my show is available only on BBC Sounds, just like Ellis and John's |
| 0:10.6 | Saturday bonus episodes, the Pop Top Ten podcast with Scott Mills and Ryland, and comedy specials |
| 0:16.2 | from the likes of Harriet Kemsley, Susie Ruffel and Rommas Shranger Nathan. However, and maybe I'm biased, it's really all about the traitors uncloked. |
| 0:24.3 | So for a whole bunch of exclusive scoops and podcasts, listen only on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:29.4 | Hello there and welcome to the Inside Health podcast. I'm James Gallagher. |
| 0:33.4 | We're going to spend the whole of today focusing on Alzheimer's disease. |
| 0:37.2 | I think we're at a crucial moment in understanding and treating this devastating disease, |
| 0:42.7 | and the need is great. |
| 0:44.7 | The Office for National Statistics ranks dementia, and that includes Alzheimer's, |
| 0:49.6 | as the number one cause of death. |
| 0:52.9 | But at the same time, regular inside health listeners will know there are now therapies |
| 0:57.4 | that actually slow down the progression of the disease, and showing this was possible was |
| 1:02.9 | a huge breakthrough. |
| 1:05.0 | It's a very exciting time in Alzheimer's research. |
| 1:08.4 | We're seeing a slowing of disease progression. In early symptomatic |
| 1:12.6 | Alzheimer's disease, this may mean that you're able to have more time where you're still |
| 1:17.4 | able to enjoy your family and your hobbies and the activities that you love. Now, that kind of |
| 1:22.6 | trial data coming out led to hope these drugs would soon be available, as we reported last year. |
| 1:28.5 | For over a decade, we've had four licensed drugs that we can give to people with Alzheimer's. |
| 1:33.4 | They boost the brain cells that are there, but they don't stop the progression of the disease itself. |
| 1:39.9 | I hope that we will be offering these drugs and make sure people who need and could benefit receive them. |
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