Some say it's if the treatment slows the progression of the disease by 20% or more; some say it's 25%; and some say it's 30-50%. Looking instead at the number of points of change people experience on the measures of cognitive ability paints a similarly confusing picture.
This is something the field of Alzheimer's research needs to work on: building a well-evidenced, well-reasoned consensus on what size of a difference really matters for patients' lives.
It's not enough to vaguely point to previous studies: you need to explain why you're claiming your drug will be beneficial - especially when the side effects can be quite serious.
Read Stuart's article on yesterday's study on donenemab, where he mentions a few questions about how big the effect has to be, to be "clinically meaningful".
Read here
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