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Alzheimer's Drugs Fall Short While Eggs Show Promise

healthApr 28, 2026·273 words·3 min read

This month brought two very different studies on Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia. The Cochrane Collaboration, a respected group that checks medical evidence, looked at 17 trials with more than 20,000 patients. It studied drugs that remove a harmful protein called beta amyloid from the brain. Researchers said the drugs slow memory loss but not enough to truly help patients.

The drugs are called donanemab and lecanemab. They were once seen as a big step forward. But the Cochrane team says the help is too small. The drugs can cause brain swelling and bleeding. They cost about £90,000 in the United Kingdom. Some experts disagree with this view. Eggs are useful because they have choline — a substance that the body uses to make a memory chemical called acetylcholine. Eggs also have vitamin B12.

Reactions are mixed. Doctor Edo Richard says he tells patients they will probably not benefit. But Cheryl Essam, whose husband joined a drug trial, says the drug gave them more time together. The UK's National Health Service (NHS) does not pay for the drugs. About one million people in Britain have dementia today.

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