Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar is helping shed light on treatment for Alzheimer’s patients.
The hospital's Missouri Memory Center contributed to a recent study, which looked at the FDA-approved drug, Leqembi or lecanemab, which is used to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Preliminary results of the study were presented in late July at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Toronto, which drew nearly 19,000 registered attendees.
Dr. Curtis Schreiber led the study at CMH’s Missouri Memory Center, which was one of only 12 clinics nationwide selected to participate. He is the medical director and founder (in 2015) of the Memory Center in Bolivar.
Schreiber said clinical trials were done before the FDA approved Leqembi and similar drugs. Now that they’re being used in everyday practice, studies are looking at how the treatments work in the real world.
He said results show that over an 18-month to two-year period, many patients remained stable.
"Now, it's a smaller part of the study because there's a variety of outcomes," he said, "but, in those people that were on Laqembi for a year and a half, what we were seeing was that 87% of people remained stable, meaning not progressing, in their Alzheimer's disease symptoms. Also in that group of 87% that did not progress, 20% actually made some improvement."
Schreiber said the vast majority of patients remained steady with their Alzheimer’s symptoms.
"So kind of the big news, I think, from this real world experience study," he said, "is that we do see in everyday practice, similar results to the clinical trials. We do see that, for the right patient found at the right stage, that these medications can slow the progression."
Looking at side effects of Leqembi, the study showed similar, and in some cases better, results compared to the clinical trials, according to Schreiber.
The study is ongoing, with additional data collection and analysis planned to further evaluate the long-term impact of lecanemab treatment, according to CMH.
Schreiber said it’s important to start medication meant to slow the progression of Alzheimer's as early as possible – when symptoms are still mild.
"What we're seeing now is that the time to act is when the symptoms are early, we're in that mildest stage when they are really at the point where many people would be wondering, 'is this really something or not?' Schreiber said. "But for that patient that has Alzheimer's disease that can be identified early in the course of their Alzheimer's disease progression, we now have more options for that patient."
He encourages people who are experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s to see their doctor right away.
The Missouri Memory Center offers free cognitive testing to everyone the third Friday of each month. Appointments are required.
As for testing for Alzheimer's Schreiber said a brain scan called an amyloid PET scan is still the gold standard. There's also a spinal test that fits that description as well, he said. But there are now blood tests for Alzheimer's disease "that can be very helpful to get to the diagnosis in an earlier stage," according to Schreiber, which doctors like himself are bringing into their practices.
