Eli Lilly takes further steps in fighting Alzheimer’s

The results of a study involving anti-amyloid beta monoclonal antibody in the fight against Alzheimer’s have been released by Eli Lilly.

Interim results of Lilly’s Phase II study of LY2062430 have indicated that in patients suffering from mild to moderate degrees of Alzheimer’s disease, intravenously administering LY2062430 can raise the levels of amyloid beta in participants’ blood and cerebrospinal fluid, which will in turn dissolve amyloid plaques in the patients’ brains.

Medical director of Alzheimer’s disease research for Eli Lilly Eric Siemers stated that the illness is “complex” but that there is a “real need” for new treatments to be formulated.

“In addition to the biomarker results, we are particularly encouraged by the finding that patients who received the monoclonal antibody treatment over 12 weeks appeared to have no treatment-related side effects,” he said.

This news follows the announcement last week that new test could detect the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease, Web MD reported.

It was reported that although the results of the tests were not finalized, they were noted as marking significant progress in finding ways to identify the earliest stages of the disease.

According to Samuel Gandy, chairman of the medical and scientific advisory council to the Alzheimer’s Association, the results could prove “very useful for Alzheimer’s-prevention trials”.