Alzheimers Dement (NY)

How long do Alzheimer's treatments extend independence?

February 24, 2025

Patients with mild baseline impairment may achieve an additional 10-13 months of independence with treatment, while those with greater impairment experience more modest benefits, according to a new model. The findings provide a framework for contextualizing the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) score for clinical decision-making with disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia.

Study details: This study, conducted at the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center, evaluated the impact of DMTs on the progression of the CDR-SB in patients with very mild or mild AD. Participants (N = 282) were aged ≥60 years, had a clinical diagnosis of AD, and biomarker-confirmed amyloid pathology. Mixed-effects logistic and ordinal regression models were used to analyze the relationship between CDR-SB scores and independence in instrumental and basic activities of daily living.

Results: Over an average follow-up of 2.9 years, for individuals with a baseline CDR-SB score of 2, treatment with lecanemab extended independence in instrumental activities of daily living by 10 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 4-18 months), and treatment with donanemab extended it by 13 months (95% CI, 6-24 months).

Source:

Hartz SM, et al. (2025, February 13). Alzheimers Dement (N Y). Assessing the clinical meaningfulness of slowing CDR-SB progression with disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39949872/