As FDA considers new Alzheimer’s drug, a case study details safety concerns

Investigators on Wednesday released the first detailed case report about a patient who died after receiving lecanemab, providing a new glimpse into safety concerns surrounding the closely watched experimental Alzheimer’s drug.

An unpublished version of the report was previously written about by Science in November, one of three deaths from the lecanemab trials revealed by Science and STAT. But the published version, in the New England Journal of Medicine, will allow doctors to evaluate the case as they consider whether and how to use a treatment that could be approved by the FDA as soon as this week.  

This “will have greater impact on clinicians because it is peer-reviewed and published in the New England Journal,” said Lon Schneider, an Alzheimer’s expert at University of Southern California, who was not affiliated with the work.

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