BOCA RATON, Fla. – For the estimated six and a half million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, any advancement in treatment brings a ray of hope.
Following a $289 million increase signed into law in March 2022, and added to current N.I.H. spending, annual federal funding for Alzheimer’s research has reached more than $3.5 billion.
Dr. James Galvin with UHealth’s Comprehensive Center for Brain Health said one of the most recent advancements to come out of that research is a drug called Lecanemab, which has the potential to change the course of the disease.
“This is an antibody against amyloid protein. Amyloid protein is the protein that deposits in the Alzheimer brain. What this phase three study demonstrated is that people treated with Lecanemab showed a less decline in their cognitive ability, a 27 percent difference than the placebo group, so it a highly significant finding,” Galvin said.
And an anti-psychotic drug already on the market called Rexulti has been shown to calm Alzheimer’s related agitation.
Galvin said although it is not specifically approved for that purpose, it could be prescribed ‘off label.’
“Medicines have indications and that’s on label but in real world practice physicians often use medicines off label and that may be based on their experience or reports in the literature, so there might be studies that show a medicine works but it doesn’t have an indication. So, if you chose to write that medicine then it becomes an off-label use,” Galvin said.
The developers of Rexulti plan to seek approval from the F.D.A. for use in Alzheimer’s patients.
The company behind Lecanemab has already asked the F.D.A. for accelerated approval and a decision on that could come as early as January of 2023.