Daily News | The FDA approved the first Alzheimer’s drug that may really work. A Penn physician explains why you probably can’t get it, yet.
, the first drug clearly shown to slow the progress of the debilitating brain disease.
Studies suggest the drug is modestly beneficial for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, allowing them to retain more of their memory and thinking skills than people who don’t take the drug. As with any drug, there is a risk of side effects — in this case, swelling and bleeding in the brain. Last year, in evaluating another costly antibody-based drug called Aduhelm, Medicare ruled it would cover this class of drugs only for patients participating in clinical trials. That’s because Aduhelm had been shown only to reduce levels of abnormal proteins — without any clear impact on outward symptoms.
Or a person could theoretically pay cash for the drug, but it won’t be cheap. Analysts have estimated it will cost $10,000 to $30,000 for a year of treatment.In a study published in November, people who took the drug for 18 months experienced less decline in brain function than those who took a placebo.
“Half a point on that scale at a very early stage can be the difference between having minimal issues on memory and brain function to requiring assistance at home,” he said. “There’s good reason to believe that while it’s not a home run, it definitely could impact people in their day-to-day lives.”People who take lecanemab can experience swelling and bleeding in the brain. In the most cases, this effect is so slight that the patient is unaware, Wolk said.
Such safety questions are likely to be closely watched after this month, when the drug-maker reported that one person died after taking the drug. Physicians are of mixed opinion how much, if any, the drug contributed to her death.For now, the drug is limited to patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia.People with mild cognitive impairment have some memory or thinking problems, but not enough to impact their day-to-day lives.
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