Revista Goiana de Medicina
Eficácia e segurança dos anticorpos anti-amiloide na doença de Alzheimer inicial
By Paulo Henrique Luis da Silva Júnior and Yanley Lucio Nogueira.
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease has historically been treated with symptomatic drugs, without consistent modification of its biological course. The recent approval of anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies has changed this landscape, especially for patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia associated with amyloid pathology. This systematic review without meta-analysis assessed evidence on the efficacy and safety of lecanemab and donanemab in early Alzheimer’s disease. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials evaluating these drugs in biomarker-confirmed Alzheimer’s disease were included. The synthesis followed PRISMA 2020 and SWiM recommendations, grouping findings by drug, trial phase, cognitive-functional outcomes, biomarkers, and adverse events. Four clinical trials met eligibility criteria. Lecanemab and donanemab reduced amyloid burden and slowed cognitive-functional decline in phase 3 studies, although the absolute magnitude of benefit was moderate. The main adverse events were amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, infusion-related reactions, and rare hemorrhagic events, with higher risk among ApoE ε4 carriers. The findings suggest a real but limited therapeutic advance, restricted to carefully selected patients and dependent on biomarker confirmation, serial magnetic resonance imaging, and healthcare infrastructure able to recognize and manage treatment-related adverse events.



