From Our Neurons to Yours
Why new Alzheimer's drugs don't work | Mike Greicius, Stanford University School of Medicine
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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Mike Greicius criticizes the new Alzheimer’s drugs for their minimal clinical benefits and potential harmful side effects for patients.
- There is growing optimism for future Alzheimer’s therapies targeting tau proteins and genetic factors, shifting focus away from amyloid plaques.
Deep dives
Concerns About New Alzheimer's Treatments
Recent developments in Alzheimer's treatment include the introduction of three new drugs aimed at eliminating amyloid plaques in the brain, which have been linked to the disease. However, concerns have been raised about their effectiveness, particularly by neurologist Mike Gratius, who asserts that the clinical improvements observed in trials are minimal and may not reflect real benefits for patients. For instance, the reported changes on clinical outcome measures were between a quarter and two-thirds of a point, far less than the one to two-point change necessary for clinicians to note a significant difference in patient condition. Gratius believes that the drugs may be ineffective, and even harmful, given the serious side effects linked to their use.
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