Making sense of controversy over the new Alzheimer’s drug

From the Yahoo Life website

Typically, the approval of a new drug designed to treat an otherwise untreatable condition would be cause for widespread celebration. That was not the case when the Food and Drug Administration approved aducanumab, a medication the agency called “the first therapy to target and affect the underlying disease process of Alzheimer’s.”

Typically, the approval of a new drug designed to treat an otherwise untreatable condition would be cause for widespread celebration. That was not the case when the Food and Drug Administration approved aducanumab, a medication the agency called “the first therapy to target and affect the underlying disease process of Alzheimer’s.”

Alzheimer’s is a debilitating disease that affects more than 6 million Americans and was the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020. The FDA’s approval of aducanumab last summer, though hailed by some Alzheimer’s advocacy groups, was met with intense criticism from some experts who raised questions about its effectiveness and potentially dangerous side effects.

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