Alzheimer's 'wonder drugs' do not work, major study finds despite hopes of end to disease

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The Alzheimer's drugs claimed to slow down progression of the disease for the last two years until a new study proved they do not give patients meaningful benefit to quality of life.

Lecanemad and donanemab target a protein in the brain that was believed to be the root of Alzheimer's.

But, they were found to cause side effects such as brain swelling and even bleeding.

The drugs were approved by regulators in the US, Japan and the UK - but they were not available on the NHS.

One review author said the study showed it was "extremely important that we're honest" and it was key to "avoid giving people false hope".

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The UK regulator that licensed the drugs, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, will now assess the study's findings.

The findings challenge the long-standing idea that amyloid proteins were the key to curing the condition. It was thought the "sticky" proteins build up in the brain and create plaques that cause Alzheimer's

The study considered 17 studies and 20,342 patients and seven anti-amyloid drugs. Participants were tested on behaviour, memory and general brain function.

The drugs were rejected by the National Institutes for Health and Care Excellence for the NHS because the benefits did not meet the cost.

Medical communities have been split on the topic.

Professor Sir John Hardy, who led the amyloid theory and is a neuroscience expert at the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, said the study conflated different techniques.

He said: "For example, aducanumab works by removing existing plaques from the brain, whereas lecanemab primarily binds to soluble forms of amyloid to prevent plaques from forming in the first place."

Alzheimer's Research UK, amongst other charities, criticised the move to assess the anti-amyloid drugs together.