World News for Students of English

21-04-2026 07:00

A highly influential report has concluded that new Alzheimer’s drugs, once talked about as a breakthrough, are unlikely to provide meaningful benefits to patients.

These drugs work by clearing a sticky protein called amyloid from the brain. While clinical trials showed they could slow the disease for the first time in history, researchers now argue the impact is trivial and well below the level needed to improve a patient’s daily life. Moreover, the high cost of treatment, around 100,000 euros for an 18-month course, led the UK’s NHS to refuse funding.

Some scientists have criticized the report as flawed; however, the authors suggest that medical research should now shift its focus toward other characteristics of the disease rather than just the amyloid protein.

Difficult words: breakthrough (a very important discovery or success that helps solve a problem), trivial (something that is very small and not important), flawed (something that has a mistake or is not perfect).

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