New drug could be Alzheimer's breakthrough Transcript

Speaker 1: (00:00) Well, an experimental drug has shown promising signs of slowing early stage Alzheimer's, according to drug makers. It could be a major breakthrough in a disease that more than six million Americans are living with, but the FDA still has to sign off on it. ABC's Reena Roy has more on how it works. Reena Roy: (00:17) A potential new weapon in the fight against Alzheimer's, the makers of a new injectable drug say it significantly slowed cognitive and functional decline in a large trial of about 1800 patients with early stage Alzheimer's. It slowed progress of the disease by 27% compared to a placebo. Speaker 3: (00:36) It's encouraging because we haven't had such promising data before. But it's important also to know that it's unclear if that translates into something truly clinically meaningful for patients and their families. Reena Roy: (00:49) The result of this trial seemingly proving the longstanding theory that the removal of sticky deposits of a protein from patients' brains can delay advance of the debilitating disease. But the data has not yet been peer-reviewed, and there were recorded side effects, including brain swelling and brain bleeds. Speaker 3: (01:07) This drug is probably not going to be a huge, groundbreaking game-changer, but it could very well be an important incremental change in the way we treat Alzheimer's and the options we have for these patients. Reena Roy: (01:20) Multiple drug makers have tried and failed to find an effective treatment for the disease that more than six million Americans are currently living with. It's a race against time, with that number expected to hit 12.7 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Reena Roy: (01:36) Early signs of Alzheimer's are often missed. Forgetting someone's name or an appointment is normal forgetfulness, but being unable to recall the name of your child, parent, or spouse, consistently forgetting appointments, and failing to keep track of time are concerning signs. When tasks like going to the store for a loaf of bread present a challenge, that should be a red flag. Speaker 4: (01:57) They never get there. They get lost. They forget why they went out. They come back without the loaf of bread. Reena Roy: (02:04) The makers behind this drug have submitted an application to the FDA for approval, and a decision is expected in January. Reena Roy, ABC News, New York.