A consultant neurologist at Tallaght University Hospital has called on the HSE to allow for access to a drug that can help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in patients.<\/p>\n
It comes as 16 leading clinicians working in dementia medicine across the country have written to the Minister for Health appealing for access to the new drug, Lecanemab.<\/p>\n
Speaking on RT\u00c9’s Today with David McCullagh, Dr Antoinette O’Connor said: “This drug is one of a new type of treatments for Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Unfortunately for the last 20 years we\u2019ve had very little we can offer from a therapies point of view to people living with Alzheimer’s.”<\/p>\n
She said there are treatments that manage symptoms, “whereas these agents present a step-change because they alter the underlying disease trajectory”.<\/p>\n
She said a hallmark protein called amyloid builds up in the brain of people with Alzheimer\u2019s and subsequently damages brain cells.<\/p>\n
“And these drugs remove the amyloid and have been shown to slow the disease progression, which is really an exciting advent having had many years of failed disease modifying treatment trials,” she said.<\/p>\n
However, Dr O\u2019Connor said it does not stop the disease or reverse it.<\/p>\n
“Looking at the trials of these agents depending on the different measures you use, it is around a 20% to 40% slowing.<\/p>\n
“But what is really important with these agents is that it does show a change in the disease trajectory, so it alters the underlying disease biology,” she said.<\/p>\n
She described it as very consistent in its outcome measures – quality of life measures, different memory and thinking measures and measures of independence.<\/p>\n
Dr O’Connor said it is modest but “important to think of these treatments not just in the terms of numbers but actually what it means at an individual level”.<\/p>\n
“And any delay of progression is meaningful for many people,” she added.<\/p>\n