New Medication In the News: donanemab

Last week Eli Lilly announced positive reviews on their Phase 3 clinical trial of a new infusion therapy for patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer's disease. Here is Mayo Clinic's News Network's article on the topic, featuring Dr. Ron Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.

One point about this that I wish to emphasize and clarify is that not all patients with a diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) have underlying Alzheimer's disease as a cause. MCI can be caused by a number of diseases or medical conditions, such as vascular disease, Parkinson's disease, or Lewy-body disease. Therefore, typically additional testing, called biomarker testing, is required to determine if one will be eligible for one of these new infusion medications. This may involve a cerebral spinal fluid exam (CSF) or a special PET scan called an amyloid PET scan. I encourage you to ask your Neurologist for more information if you are interested in these new therapies.

In my opinion, it is wonderful to see new therapies developing after so many years of nothing new!  Some of the Mayo Clinic Arizona team recently attended our local Alzheimer's Association chapter’s 13th annual fundraising gala, “A Love Not Forgotten”, where Mayo Clinic was also a proud sponsor. That one event raised over $213,000 to fund Alzheimer's care, research and critical programs that directly support our Arizona families! I know other chapters across the nation have similar fundraising events!