Burning questions left unanswered about the latest Alzheimer’s therapy

News of the first clearly successful clinical trial for a new Alzheimer’s disease treatment in two decades has brought hope, scrutiny, and skepticism to a field accustomed to disappointment. Whether that treatment is a meaningful advance or another false dawn depends on scientific details yet to be presented and corporate decisions still to be made.

Here are the burning questions left unanswered by the success of lecanemab, the latest Alzheimer’s treatment from Biogen and Eisai.

How well does it actually work?

Lecanemab met its primary endpoint by reducing patients’ cognitive decline by 27% compared to placebo. But the exact magnitude of that benefit leaves room for debate over just how meaningful the drug might be.

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