A new drug to fight Alzheimer’s disease

Donanemab is making headlines right now as a drug that appears to slow memory and thinking decline in people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Donanemab is a disease-modifying treatment. This means that instead of just relieving the symptoms, it can also address the root cause. In addition to donanemab, another drug for Alzheimer’s disease is called lecanemab and was approved by the FDA in January 2023. Both of these drugs work in a similar way and with similar efficacy and side effect profiles. , so it is useful to talk about it in a group rather than individually.

Donanemab is a breakthrough treatment in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease according to Dr. Meredith Wicklund, senior associate consultant for Mayo Clinic Arizona.

“This drug has been studied in people with what we call ‘mild cognitive impairment’, which means they have targets beyond normal for age-related memory changes, but mild enough to that, although they notice it day by day, it has no functional effect. impact. They are quite capable of doing it on their own,” Dr. Wicklund said.

People who tested donanemab in one study took the treatments for 12 to 18 months, and the treatments targeted amyloid protein, a protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease. One of the main side effects noted with this treatment is brain swelling. Dr. Wicklund said brain swelling can cause serious symptoms, but not in all patients.

Donanemab is currently given as an IV treatment taken once a month. For anyone older who believes they are experiencing cognitive decline, Dr. Wicklund recommends seeing a neurologist to test to see if there is dramatic cognitive decline.