This Drug Could Potentially Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

Clinical trials are underway for a drug that could potentially prevent Alzheimer’s long before it kicks in. Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine are studying the effects of an experimental antibody called remternetug.

The drug was developed by pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. It is designed for genetically predisposed people to develop Alzheimer’s and its study focuses on young people aged 18 and up.

Remternetug targets amyloid beta, a protein that forms plaque in the brain. The presence of plaque is one of the key hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Other recently approved drugs, like donanemab, also target amyloid plaque, since that seems to be what you attack if you want to chip away at Alzheimer’s.

Researchers Are Testing A New Drug That Could Potentially Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

The downside of a lot of modern Alzheimer’s treatments is that patients can use them until they are already diagnosed and suffering the symptoms. This new medication aims to be preventative, stopping the formation of plaque in the brain long before a patient shows any signs of the disease—up to 20 years before symptoms usually develop.

The trial will involve 240 participants whose family histories have known genetic mutations linked to early-onset Alzheimer’s. They will be monitored for two years and given randomized doses of either remternetug or a placebo.

The trial will wrap up by 2034. So don’t expect to see commercials for it featuring people holding hands on boardwalks and grandparents hugging their grandchildren for quite a while.