There is one question we hear more than any other in clinic these days: "That new dementia drug in the news — could my mother have it too?"
Lecanemab is an antibody therapy that clears the antibody therapy that clears amyloid protein. Where earlier drugs only briefly eased symptoms, lecanemab aims to slow the rate of disease progression itself.
Not every patient with dementia is eligible, however. Mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease stage, in patients whose amyloid deposition has been confirmed by amyloid PET or cerebrospinal fluid testing. Efficacy has not been established in dementia that has already progressed to moderate or beyond.
This is why, above all, Early diagnosis. Memory decline waved off as "probably just getting older" may in fact be early Alzheimer's disease, still within the window where treatment is possible.
If your memory no longer feels as it once did, we recommend establishing exactly where you stand with cognitive testing and brain MRI. The window in which treatment remains open is shorter than most people assume.
— Director, Centum Neurology Clinic