It was once so common to be forgetful in old age that it was thought to be normal. But normal aging only includes things like tip-of-tongue memory loss and forgetting faces.

In the narrow window in which patients are aware of their disease, they have sought help in clinical trials. But enrolling enough participants to make these trials count is not easy.

In patients with early Alzheimer’s disease, donanemab resulted in a better composite score for cognition and for the ability to perform activities of daily living than placebo at 76 weeks, although results for secondary outcomes were mixed.

Donanemab, an investigational antibody that targets a modified form of beta amyloid, showed significant slowing of decline in cognition and daily function.

The Clinical Research Center staff presented their findings at the 13th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease Conference.

Dr. Weisman discusses COVID-19, Alzheimer’s disease, and clinical research with Jerry Rothkoff.