Connect with us

Published

on

A new drug has been found to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s, with experts hailing it as a “turning point” in the fight against the disease.

Donanemab was found to slow “clinical decline” by up to 35%, allowing people with Alzheimer’s to continue performing day-to-day tasks such as shopping, housekeeping, managing their finances and taking medication.

Following the findings of a trial of the drug, Alzheimer’s Research UK said “we’re entering a new era” where the disease “could become treatable”.

The health spending watchdog in England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), is already assessing whether the drug can be used in the NHS.

Meanwhile, Alzheimer’s Society said treatments such as donanemab could one day mean the disease is comparable to long-term conditions such as asthma or diabetes.

The charity believes this “could be the beginning of the end for Alzheimer’s disease”.

Donanemab works by removing plaques of a protein called amyloid that build up in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s.

Scientists have published the final results of a trial, known as TRAILBLAZER ALZ-2, examining the safety and efficacy of the drug, manufactured by US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly.

Researchers examined almost 1,800 people with early-stage Alzheimer’s, with half given a monthly infusion of donanemab into the bloodstream and the other half given a placebo over 18 months.

The study concluded, after 76 weeks of treatment, donanemab slowed clinical decline by 35.1% in people with early Alzheimer’s whose brain scans showed low or medium levels of a protein called tau.

When the results were combined for people who had different levels of this protein, there was a 22.3% slowing in disease progression.

Side effects

The researchers found among a small number of people there were some serious side effects such as brain swelling.

Meanwhile, three deaths in the donanemab group and one in the placebo group were considered “treatment related”.

The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and presented to the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam.

Eli Lilly said some taking the drug would be able to finish the course of treatment in six months once their amyloid plaque cleared.

It said treatment with donanemab reduced amyloid plaque on average by 84% at 18 months, compared with a 1% decrease for participants given a placebo.

Some 47% taking the drug who had early-stage disease and low or medium levels of tau were found to stall the disease for a year.

It comes after trials showed another drug called lecanemab slowed progression of Alzheimer’s symptoms by 27% in patients in the early stages of the disease. The drug was approved for use in the US earlier this month.

Alzheimer’s drugs offer hope but remain out of reach in UK

The NHS is nowhere near ready to provide the first effective Alzheimer’s drugs to the huge numbers of people who need them.

Estimates by Alzheimer’s Research UK suggest 720,000 people in the UK would meet the treatment criteria used in the clinical trials of lecanemab and donanemab.

These drugs work best when given at the very first stages of Alzheimer’s, or earlier still when patients have what doctors call mild cognitive impairment.

But that needs a diagnosis the NHS just can’t deliver at the scale needed.

Read Thomas Moore’s analysis here.

‘It is possible to slow down the disease’

Dr Mark Mintun, group vice president of neuroscience research and development at Eli Lilly and president of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, said: “People living with early, symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease are still working, enjoying trips, sharing quality time with family – they want to feel like themselves, for longer.

“The results of this study reinforce the importance of diagnosing and treating disease sooner than we do today.”

Read more:
TV presenter reveals she has Alzheimer’s at age of 62
Bruce Willis’s family praised after star’s diagnosis

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

November 2022: Inside a lab working on Alzheimer’s treatment

Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This is truly a turning point in the fight against Alzheimer’s and science is proving that it is possible to slow down the disease.

“Treatments like donanemab are the first steps towards a future where Alzheimer’s disease could be considered a long-term condition alongside diabetes or asthma – people may have to live with it, but they could have treatments that allow them to effectively manage their symptoms and continue to live fulfilled lives.”

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

He added: “Diagnosis will be key to the access of any new treatments.

“We can’t have a situation where treatments are approved for use in the UK but people aren’t diagnosed early or accurately enough to be eligible.

“We need early, and accurate, diagnoses available for everyone and the NHS ready to roll out treatments such as donanemab and lecanemab if and when they are approved in the UK.”

Continue Reading

UK

‘Rapper’ who murdered schoolboy recalled to prison after ‘boasting about his violent crime’, Probation Service says

Published

on

By

'Rapper' who murdered schoolboy recalled to prison after 'boasting about his violent crime', Probation Service says

The man who served 14 years in jail for the murder of schoolboy Jimmy Mizen has been recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions.

It follows reporting in The Sun newspaper that Jake Fahri, 35, was a drill rapper releasing music under the name TEN, who conceals his identity with a balaclava, and was played on BBC 1Xtra.

A Probation Service spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Jimmy Mizen’s family who deserve better than to see their son’s murderer shamelessly boasting about his violent crime.”

Jimmy’s father Barry told Sky News: “We’re not gloating or anything, in a way it’s quite sad.”

His son bled to death after Fahri threw an oven dish at him in a south London bakery on 10 May 2008.

The dish shattered on his chin and severed an artery in the schoolboy’s neck.

Fahri was 19 when he was given a life sentence in 2009 with a minimum term of 14 years and was released on licence in June 2023.

More from UK

His music was played on BBC 1Xtra less than 18 months later, the Sun reported, adding that DJ Theo Johnson named him an “up-and-coming star”.

Undated Family handout photo of 16-year-old Jimmy Mizen. Comedian Harry Hill will today present the keys of two minibuses in memory of the murdered schoolboy. Just days before the anniversary of the teenager's death on May 10, Hill will hadn over the keys of the "Jimmybuses" which will help Scouts travel around the UK.
Image:
Jimmy Mizen. Pic: PA

Jimmy’s father earlier said he and his wife Margaret were “stunned into silence” when they were told about Fahri’s music, which often features violent themes.

In one song, which appears to reference Jimmy’s death, he raps about “sharpening” a blade.

“Judge took a look at me, before the trial even started he already knows he’s gonna throw the book at me,” the lyrics say.

Another track includes the lines: “See a man’s soul fly from his eyes and his breath gone… I wanted more, it made it less wrong. Seeing blood spilled same floor he was left on.”

The BBC has said the artist’s tracks do not feature on any BBC playlists, and that a track which appeared to reference Jimmy’s death had never been played on its channels.

A spokesman for the broadcaster added there were “no further plans to play his music”, adding: “We were not aware of his background and we in no way condone his actions.”

Read more from Sky News:
Madeleine McCann suspect ‘won’t face charges for foreseeable future’

Suspected burglar found hiding under bed

A Probation Service spokesperson said: “All offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions. As this case shows, we will recall them to prison if they break the rules.”

Jimmy’s parents founded the Mizen Foundation after their son’s death. The charity helps young people in London who are escaping violence.

Mr Mizen said: “It appears that if he’s been recalled to prison, he must’ve breached his licence conditions

“What happens next, we’ve absolutely no idea.”

Continue Reading

UK

Madeleine McCann suspect won’t face charges for foreseeable future, prosecutor tells Sky News

Published

on

By

Madeleine McCann suspect won't face charges for foreseeable future, prosecutor tells Sky News

The man suspected of abducting Madeleine McCann won’t face any charges in the foreseeable future, a prosecutor has told Sky News.

German drifter Christian B, who cannot be fully identified under his country’s privacy law, is expected to be freed from an unrelated jail sentence this year while police in three countries continue to search for evidence against him.

Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said: “There is currently no prospect of an indictment in the Maddie case.

“As things stand, the accused Christian B’s imprisonment will end in early September.”

Madeleine, aged three, was asleep with her younger twin siblings in the family’s Portuguese rented holiday apartment before mother Kate discovered her missing at around 10pm on 3 May, 2007.

Her parents were dining nearby on the complex with friends and taking turns to check on all their sleeping children every half an hour.

A man, who is a suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in Portugal, stands next to his lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher at his trial on unrelated sexual assault charges in Braunschweig, Germany, October 2, 2024. Christian B., is charged with three counts of aggravated rape and two counts of sexual abuse of children in Portugal between June 2007 and December 2000. Moritz Frankenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Image:
Christian B at his trial on unrelated sexual assault charges in Germany last year. Pic: Reuters

Madeleine’s disappearance has become the world’s most mysterious missing child case.

Philipp Marquort, one of Christian B’s defence lawyers, welcomed the prosecutor’s pessimism about bringing charges.

He said: “This confirms the suspicions that we have repeatedly expressed, namely that there is no reliable evidence against our client.

“We regret that we have not yet been granted access to the investigation files. We have not yet been able to effectively counter the public prejudice arising from statements made by the prosecutor’s office.”

Christian B, 47, is in jail and coming to the end of his sentence for the rape of an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz, the Portuguese resort where Madeleine disappeared.

In October, he was acquitted on a series of rape and indecent assault charges after a non-jury trial in Germany, in which several references were made to his status as the main suspect in the Madeleine case.

Read more from Sky News:
MP admits punching man
Hollyoaks star dies aged 46
Russian drone shot down near PM’s Ukraine visit

File photo dated 30/04/17 of Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal seventeen years ago. They have released a statement on the 17th anniversary of her disappearance, saying "the absence still aches". Earlier this week, it was confirmed that up to a further ..192,000 has been granted by the Home Office for the Scotland Yard investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. Issue date: Friday May 3, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLICE Portugal. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire....
Image:
Kate and Gerry McCann. Pic: PA

The prosecutor said he was awaiting the court’s written judgment before launching an appeal against the acquittal. He believes the trial judges were biased against the prosecution.

If successful, he could apply for a new arrest warrant for Christian B to keep him in custody until a retrial with new judges.

He said: “We hope that the Federal Court of Justice will decide before the end of the accused’s imprisonment. If the Federal Court follows our legal opinion, we could apply for a new arrest warrant for the accused’s offences, so that the accused would then remain in custody beyond September 2025.

Mr Marquort said the defence team would oppose the prosecution’s appeal against the acquittal.

Prosecutor Mr Wolters has said in the past that he believes Madeleine is dead and that Christian B was responsible for her death. The suspect denies any involvement.

The case against Christian B is purely circumstantial; he’s alleged to have confessed to a friend that he abducted Madeleine, he has convictions for sex crimes against children, he was living in the area at the time, his mobile phone was close by when the young girl vanished and he re-registered one of his vehicles the next day.

The prosecutor won’t say what evidence he has to convince him Madeleine is dead, but he admitted he is still trying to find forensic evidence to link Christian B to the girl.

Christian B is acquitted of sex attacks not related to the Madeleine McCann case
Image:
Christian B coming to the end of his sentence for the rape of an elderly woman

Jim Gamble, former head of the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, said he had expected the prosecutor to charge Christian B soon.

“He’s implied the whole way through that he has something more than the public are aware of,” he said.

“He’s made fairly definitive statements about whether Madeleine is alive or dead so you would expect their strategy to have been to charge him sooner rather than later.

“From what he’s said today I wonder if we’re witnessing the re-positioning of something to manage the disappointment that’ll come.”

Mr Wolters, who is based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, is investigating the case with the help of Portuguese police and detectives from Scotland Yard.

Continue Reading

UK

Man arrested after death of woman and two-year-old girl found with serious injuries in Ashford, Surrey

Published

on

By

Man arrested after death of woman and two-year-old girl found with serious injuries in Ashford, Surrey

A man has been arrested after the death of a woman in her 20s and a two-year-old girl was found with serious injuries in Surrey.

The man, in his 30s, has been detained on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, Surrey Police said.

Officers went to a property in Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, at 1.15pm on Thursday following a report of concern for safety.

The woman and child were found at the address with serious injuries and despite treatment from paramedics, the woman died at the scene.

The child was taken to hospital.

Officers said the victim and the suspect were known to each other.

Read more from Sky News:
‘Rapper’ who murdered schoolboy recalled to prison
Jamie Theakston reveals he’s cancer free

A forensics officer at the scene at Imtech House on Woodthorpe Road in Ashford, Surrey, after a woman in her 20s died and a two-year-old girl was found with serious injuries. A man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Picture date: Friday January 17, 2025.
Image:
Pic: PA

An investigation, led by the Surrey and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, is under way and inquiries remain ongoing, police said.

Senior Investigating Officer DCI Kimball Edey said specialist officers “are working around the clock to gather as much information as possible,” and that the force’s “thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims at this unbelievably difficult time”.

Continue Reading

Trending