[Editorial] Alzheimer`s disease: expedition into the unknown (Lancet)

The topline results from EXPEDITION3, a trial of the amyloid ? antibody solanezumab in patients with mild Alzheimer`s disease, announced on Nov 23, 2016, sent shares in Eli Lilly (and other companies working on drugs to reduce amyloid ?, such as Biogen and Merck) plummeting. But the dementia research community was more phlegmatic. `Clearly, if all the stars aligned then the trial would have been positive`, said Lon Schneider of the California Alzheimer`s Disease Center. The announcement was disappointing, but perhaps not surprising.