Doyle and Starr Scott follow the same routine every Wednesday. “I’m here for an IV,” Doyle announces as he approaches the counter behind the emergency room doors at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines. Just as they’ve faced every challenge for 44 years, the Scotts walk together down the hallway at Broadlawns. Once in their assigned room, Doyle settles into a blue chair as his nurse prepares him for the treatment — his 16th infusion since he was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment 18 months ago. “It can feel a little cold,” Doyle says of the Leqembi infusion. “Yeah, especially at first, but I don’t feel anything after that.” What is Leqembi? The Food and Drug Administration gave Leqembi full approval last summer for patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Associated Press. It is the first drug shown to slow Alzheimer’s disease to be marketed in the United States. More than 6 million Americans and millions more worldwide have Alzheimer’s, the most common cause of dementia. There is no cure, but Leqembi is thought to remove a sticky brain protein called amyloid, a key indicator of the disease. Studies have shown that it can delay the progression of the disease by a few months when given to people with mild symptoms. Some experts say the delay may be too subtle for patients to notice. Starr was the first to notice her husband’s symptoms. “I was in a lot of trouble because there is no cure,” she said. “We both had cancer. We got through it. I want to fix it. That’s just my personality. I want to get better.” » Doyle is one of just eight people receiving Leqembi in Des Moines at Broadlawns. CNN reports that the biggest safety concern with Leqembi is the swelling or bleeding in the brain commonly seen on MRIs, known as amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, or ARIAs. “Fortunately, all eight of them are doing well in this case, there are no major side effects,” said Dr. Yogesh Shah of Broadlawns. KCCI ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | Twitter Broadlawns Plans to Add Another New Drug, Kisunla Earlier this month, the FDA approved Kisunla, another treatment targeting amyloid plaques that may slow Alzheimer’s disease. Broadlawns plans to add it to its arsenal and treat more patients by the fall. Shah has worked in memory care for more than 25 years. “And for the first time, I feel like there is real hope,” he said. Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google PlayGet the latest headlines from KCCIEarly detection is keyThat hope comes with a warning label. Shah says that to qualify for either drug, the disease must be caught early. “If you’re over 60 and you’re not functioning or you’re forgetting more than you used to, or this memory problem is affecting your work, don’t wait. Get checked out,” Shah said. One of the newest forms of early detection is blood testing. “What’s new now is we have a blood test, called a plasma biomarker, that can check and detect the protein that’s happening in my brain maybe 10 to 15 years before these memory changes,” Shah said. As a retired educator, Doyle wants you to take away two lessons from his story: Catch it early. Don’t wait. And know that there is hope. “It gives me a purpose for all of this,” Doyle Scott said. “People are going to live longer. They’re going to have better lives.” Because as a father of five, Doyle is fighting for their futures as much as he is his own. Shah says Broadlawns has access to a blood test through the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He says it costs about $250 and may be covered by insurance. His advice is to talk to your primary care physician first. Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
Doyle and Starr Scott follow the same routine every other Wednesday.
“I’m here for an IV,” Doyle announces as he approaches the counter behind the emergency room doors at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines.
Just as they’ve faced every challenge over the past 44 years, the Scotts walk down the hallway at Broadlawns together. Once in their assigned room, Doyle settles into a blue chair as his nurse prepares him for treatment — his 16th infusion since he was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment 18 months ago.
“It can feel a little cold,” Doyle says of the Leqembi infusion. “Yes, especially at first, but I don’t feel anything after that.”
What is Leqembi?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last summer gave the green light to Leqembi to treat patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Associated Press. It is the first drug shown to slow Alzheimer’s to hit the U.S. market.
More than 6 million Americans and millions more worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia. There is no cure, but Leqembi is thought to eliminate a sticky brain protein called amyloid, a key indicator of the disease.
Studies have shown that the drug can delay disease progression by a few months when given to people with mild symptoms. Some experts say the delay may be too subtle for patients to notice.
Starr was the first to notice her husband’s symptoms.
“I’ve had a really hard time because there’s no cure,” she said. “We’ve both had cancer. We’ve gotten through it. I want to make it better. That’s just my personality. I want to make it better.”
Doyle is one of only eight people to receive Leqembi in Des Moines at Broadlawns.
CNN reports that the biggest safety concern with Leqembi is the swelling or bleeding in the brain commonly seen on MRI scans, known as amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, or ARIA.
“Fortunately, all eight are doing well, there are no major side effects,” said Dr Yogesh Shah of Broadlawns.
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Broadlawns plans to add another new drug, Kisunla
Earlier this month, the FDA approved Kisunla, another treatment targeting amyloid plaques that may slow Alzheimer’s disease.
Broadlawns plans to add it to its arsenal and treat more patients by the fall. Shah has worked in memory care for more than 25 years.
“And for the first time, I feel like there is real hope,” he said.
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Early detection is essential
That hope comes with a caveat. Shah says that to benefit from either drug, the disease must be caught early.
“If you are over 60 and you are not functioning or forgetting more things than before, or this memory problem is affecting your work, don’t wait. Get it checked out,” Shah said.
One of the newest forms of early detection is blood testing.
“What’s new now is that we have a blood test, called a plasma biomarker, that can check and detect the protein that’s in my brain maybe 10 to 15 years before these memory changes,” Shah said.
As a retired educator, Doyle wants you to take away two lessons from his story: Catch it early. Don’t wait. And know that there is hope.
“It gives me a purpose for all of this,” Doyle Scott said. “People are going to live longer. They’re going to have better lives.”
Because as a father of five, Doyle is fighting for their future as much as his own.
Shah says Broadlawns has access to a blood test through the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He says it costs about $250 and may be covered by insurance. He advises talking to your primary care physician first.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.