"Paradoxical” Cerebral Volume Changes in Anti‐Amyloid Immunotherapy Trials
Nick C Fox, Arnaud Charil, Pallavi Sachdev, Hongmei Niu, Michael C. Irizarry, Steven Hersch, Larisa Reyderman · 2025
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Description
Nick Fox and co-authors examine, in a 2025 paper, an odd brain change seen in trials of anti-amyloid antibody treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The drug lecanemab binds the soluble clumps of amyloid that build up in the disease. In two trials, it slowed decline over 18 months compared with placebo, a statistically firm gain.
Yet treated brains also lost volume faster, or their fluid spaces grew, a pattern dubbed pseudo atrophy. It looks like worsening, though it may reflect amyloid leaving rather than tissue dying. The team compared MRI volume changes in a large trial between drug and placebo arms. In a smaller scan subgroup, they linked the shrinkage to changes in amyloid and tau markers. The aim was to judge the brain impact of the effect, and whether it should worry clinicians.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Nick C Fox, Arnaud Charil, Pallavi Sachdev, Hongmei Niu, Michael C. Irizarry, Steven Hersch, Larisa Reyderman |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2025 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 2 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |