They have come out with another new drug to slow down, buy some time, not cure, Alzheimer's in people with mild or early stages of cognitive impairment. Leqembi, developed in Japan, is an antibody that is designed to remove the sticky deposits that clog up the brain. With a cost of about $26,000 per year for the drug, hospital visits to receive the infusions, and required brain scans it seems a bit financially prohibitive for most people. In addition, in studies there were incidents of brain swelling and hemorrhage, or brain bleeds in (only 25% suffered neither of these side effects) too many people for my liking. The FDA has included a warning on the box that states that there is a risk of brain swelling. In order for physicians to prescribe it they must agree to go through a government database.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, there are over six million Americans who are living with Alzheimer's.
At lease they're trying. It sounds like another drug that I won't be using but I suppose they must try creating new drugs and watch people die from them in order to learn how to make them better.
They haven't come up with a cure for the common cold, so I don't see my ridding myself of this disease in my own lifetime. Maybe we just need to accept that sometimes it's just that our time has run out and go out with grace instead of battle. It's a nasty way to have to go out though.
On a lighter note my garden is doing dismally this year with the wasps and grasshoppers devouring anything the high heat and lack of rain has left for them. But, my rosemary is doing well and, when cut, dried and burned, fills the house with a wonderful scent.
