Aducanumab: Rising Star in Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorder for the elderly. Early-onset Alzheimer's is rare that develops before age 65, primarily genetically influenced. Generally, the patients older than age 65 who account for a large proportion among the whole patients suffer from late-onset Alzheimer’s. The patients with late-onset Alzheimer’s have to fight against a series of frustrating symptoms, such as memory loss, poor language skills, unstable emotions, and no self-care ability, which may lead to numerous troubles or burden for themselves and the family members.

There is no denying that Alzheimer cannot be completely cured now, but there are still drugs for treatment to reduce cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's patients over time. For example, cholinesterase inhibitor and memantine, two types of drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), can temporarily improve memory impairment and enhance logical reasoning ability. However, the connections between neuron cells and neurons in the brain are still irreversibly damaged.

Fortunately, on Oct. 22, Biogen and its partner Eisai announced Aducanumab, an early Alzheimer's drug, which may become the first drug to treat the Alzheimer’s if successfully listed for marketing. It’s reported that the accumulation of amyloid beta in the brain is beneficial to improve the clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. The patients treated with high doses of aducanumab had an obvious reduction in cognitive decline and a significant benefit in cognitive and functional measures such as memory, orientation, and language. Patients will also benefit from daily activities such as personal financial management, housework, and independent travel. If available, over 50 million families worldwide are likely to be relieved from the miserable disease.

Now that Alzheimer is such a tough disease, how can we prevent from it? Firstly, regular exercises, such as walking, swimming, cycling, ball games, mountaineering, etc., are indispensable to improves cardiovascular function, thereby reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Second, head protection is required to avoid external force injuries during sports or other accidents. Third, positive social relationships also help reduce the risk, especially during the senior year. Then sustained participation in multiple intelligent activities can maintain the brain in a relatively active state, enhancing the memory ability of the old. At last, mental health plays a significant role in preventing Alzheimer’s because, to some extent, mental health can affect physical health. Constantly high stress can damage the brain. Exercise, meditation, warm baths, or other activities will help release stress to maintain the brain health.

Aducanumab did surprise the biotechnology field with the ability to slow disease progression. But it is worth mentioning that there still no curable drug exists for Alzheimer’s, which means more efforts are needed to the research and drug development in this field. In order to support the Alzheimer’s research, Creative Biolabs, a leader of recombinant antibody (rAb) discovery and manufacturing, providing a series of high-quality therapeutic antibodies including but not limited to APP antibodies, Beta-amyloid antibodies, AChR antibodies, APOE antibodies, Tau Antibodies, BACE1 antibodies, SNCA antibodies, TERM2 antibodies, etc. More information can be reached at https://www.creativebiolabs.net.