Louisville doctor encouraged by clinical trials of new drug to treat Alzheimer’s

By Madeline Carter

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — Local docs are inspired by scientific trials of a brand new drug to deal with Alzheimer’s.

If accredited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Greg Cooper of the Norton Neuroscience Institute believes the experimental remedy lecanemab could possibly be prescribed to sufferers in Louisville as quickly as subsequent fall.

“The hope is that when this medication is approved and we can prescribe it, that we can give this to people very early on in their disease course,” he informed WLKY. “It doesn’t cure the disease, it, unfortunately, doesn’t even stop it from getting worse, but it significantly slows it down.”

According to Cooper, the drug is designed to sluggish the development of Alzheimer’s in sufferers exhibiting early signs. He calls it a major step ahead to deal with a illness that doesn’t have a treatment.

“It’s just the first step of what I hope will be many advances,” he mentioned. “I really hope that in my lifetime we’re able to much more effectively manage conditions like this.”

Whether or not the FDA approves the drug, Cooper says the truth that a attainable remedy for Alzheimer’s is on the market offers hope for sufferers in Kentucky.

“It may give them more time to travel, may give them more time with their loved ones,” Cooper mentioned. “Maybe they get to see that grandchild graduate, maybe they get to see family members get married.”

The firm Eisai Biologics plans to file for approval of lecanemab within the U.S. by the tip of March, in response to its information launch. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted the drug “priority review.”

If granted FDA approval, Cooper believes it might take rather less than a yr earlier than the remedy could possibly be prescribed to native Alzheimer’s sufferers.

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