3 ms·

Did someone try to remove amyloid plaque from the brain of an Alzheimer's patient and see what happens? I've heard of studies that disproved the amyloid theory.

by msie 4y ago

JPLeRouzic 4y ago
There were at least 17 unsuccessful clinical trials (phase II and III) that tried to do that: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=Alzheimer+Disease&term=amyloid&cntry=&state=&city=&dist=&Search=Search&recrs=h&phase=2 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=Alzheimer+Diseas...
phnofive 4y ago
As far as I can tell, no therapy has been successful in removing or preventing specifically either or both of beta and tau amyloid without secondary effects that washed out any prospective benefit. The amyloid hypothesis is of course disputed, but largely because stopping whatever causes plaque formations could prevent or lessen the impact of Alzheimer's has proven so difficult and would ultimately provide little benefit to those already suffering with the disease.
- phnofive 4y ago
  The closest we've come to removing plaques, I should mention, is aducanumab, which does seem to reduce beta, but has little to no effect on even slowing cognitive decline, much less stopping or reversing it. Nonetheless, the FDA has approved this drug, paving the way for Biogen to charge $56K a year for the treatment. https://n.neurology.org/content/98/15/619 https://n.neurology.org/content/98/15/619
pedalpete 4y ago
No idea why you are being downvoted. Yes, removing the plaque has been tried and has so far been unsuccessful at improving Alzheimer's. The way I picture it (and I'm not an expert, still learning about this stuff myself) is to look at amyloid plaque as a clog in a pipe between nerve cells. Now picture the blockage putting a crack in the pipe. You can clear the blockage, but you still have a cracked pipe, so anything you send down the pipe will spill out. We have no way of fixing the broken pipe, so we must prevent the build up of the plaque in the first place.
wmurmann 4y ago
Checkout Annovis Bio, starting phase 3 soon I believe. They've had some success in Parkinson's disease.

Did someone try to remove amyloid plaque from the brain of an Alzheimer's patient and see what happens? I've heard of studies that disproved the amyloid theory.

by msie 4y ago

Did someone try to remove amyloid plaque from the brain of an Alzheimer's patient and see what happens? I've heard of studies that disproved the amyloid theory.

JPLeRouzic 4y ago

There were at least 17 unsuccessful clinical trials (phase II and III) that tried to do that: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=Alzheimer+Disease&term=amyloid&cntry=&state=&city=&dist=&Search=Search&recrs=h&phase=2 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=Alzheimer+Diseas...

phnofive 4y ago

As far as I can tell, no therapy has been successful in removing or preventing specifically either or both of beta and tau amyloid without secondary effects that washed out any prospective benefit. The amyloid hypothesis is of course disputed, but largely because stopping whatever causes plaque formations could prevent or lessen the impact of Alzheimer's has proven so difficult and would ultimately provide little benefit to those already suffering with the disease.

phnofive 4y ago
The closest we've come to removing plaques, I should mention, is aducanumab, which does seem to reduce beta, but has little to no effect on even slowing cognitive decline, much less stopping or reversing it. Nonetheless, the FDA has approved this drug, paving the way for Biogen to charge $56K a year for the treatment. https://n.neurology.org/content/98/15/619 https://n.neurology.org/content/98/15/619

pedalpete 4y ago

No idea why you are being downvoted. Yes, removing the plaque has been tried and has so far been unsuccessful at improving Alzheimer's. The way I picture it (and I'm not an expert, still learning about this stuff myself) is to look at amyloid plaque as a clog in a pipe between nerve cells. Now picture the blockage putting a crack in the pipe. You can clear the blockage, but you still have a cracked pipe, so anything you send down the pipe will spill out. We have no way of fixing the broken pipe, so we must prevent the build up of the plaque in the first place.

wmurmann 4y ago

Checkout Annovis Bio, starting phase 3 soon I believe. They've had some success in Parkinson's disease.