White people may benefit most from the promise of new Alzheimer's drugs

2023-07-31 16:16:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Innovative treatments for Alzheimer's disease that work by removing a toxic protein called amyloid beta from the brain may benefit whites more than black Americans, whose disease may be caused by other factors, leading Alzheimer's experts told Reuters.

The two drugs, Leqembi, from partner biotech firms Eisai and Biogen, and an experimental treatment developed by Eli Lilly, donanemab, are the first to offer real hope for slowing the fatal disease for the 6.5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's.

Although black, elderly Americans have twice the rate of dementia than whites, they were screened from clinical trials of these drugs at a higher rate, according to interviews with 10 researchers as well as 4 Eisai and Lilly executives.

The prospective black volunteers with early symptoms of the disease did not have enough amyloid in their brains to qualify for the trials, the 10 researchers explained.

Hispanics, who experience dementia at one and a half times the rate of whites, were also ruled out at a somewhat higher rate because of low amyloid, although the issue was not as pronounced as for people of color, five of the researchers said. .

Growing evidence of a disparity around amyloid, a defining characteristic of Alzheimer's, is raising questions among some scientists about who will benefit from two new treatments, the first ever shown to slow the rate of cognitive decline, researchers said.

About 20% of older people of color are estimated to have Alzheimer's or another dementia, double the rate of white people and over 14% of Hispanics.

Some researchers are questioning whether black patients are experiencing dementia due to causes other than Alzheimer's or whether the disease manifests differently in different populations that have higher rates of chronic conditions.

The disparity in beta amyloid is adding to the evidence that some parts of health may not work the same in different populations as in white people.

A spokesman for the US Food and Drug Administration said the agency was aware of the possible exclusion of some African-Americans from the new treatments because of insufficient levels of amyloid./ CNA.al