U.S. officials have approved another Alzheimer's drug that can modestly slow the disease, providing a new option for patients in the early stages of the incurable, memory-destroying ailment.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly's Kisunla on Tuesday for mild or early cases of dementia caused by Alzheimer's. It's only the second drug that's been convincingly shown to delay cognitive decline in patients, following last year's approval of a similar drug from Japanese drugmaker Eisai. The delay seen with both drugs amounts to a matter of months — about seven months, in the case of Lilly's drug.
Patients and their families will have to weigh that benefit against the downsides, including regular IV infusions and potentially dangerous side-effects such as brain swelling. This view shows tests for patients with Alzheimer's disease at a memory clinic. Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out simple tasks.
(Denis Balibouse/Reuters) Physicians who treat Alzheimer's say the approval is an important step after decades of failed experimental treatments. "I'm thrilled to have different options to help my patients," said Dr. Suzanne Schindler, a neurologist at Washington University in St.
Louis. "It's been difficult as a dementia specialist — I diagnose my patients with Alzheimer's and then every year I see them get worse and they progress until they die." S.