As 'harvest time' arrives for Alzheimer's, neuroscientist reflects on next steps for drug development

While the new drugs have been welcomed by patients and their caregivers, one key concern for this new class of monoclonal antibodies has been the side effects, which are referred to as ARIA-E for swelling in the brain and ARIA-H for bleeding in the brain. These are, of course, serious, but Fillit says they are highly manageable. The most common side effects, according to Fillit, are headaches, confusion and dizziness, which affect about 20% of patients.