6 VITALITY Winter 2024 in clinical use of new Alzheimer med Citizens Memorial Hospital’s Infusion Center administered the new Alzheimer’s disease medication Kisunla (donanemab) to the first patients in southwestern Missouri in September. Neurologist Curtis P. Schreiber, M.D., and his team at Missouri Memory Center at CMH and the CMH Research Department participated in the clinical research trial that led to the approval of Kisunla by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 2. The CMH system was also the first health system in Missouri to add Kisunla to its formulary. “Now, for the first time ever, there are options for patients with memory concerns related to Alzheimer’s disease, who are diagnosed when the symptoms are in the early stages, to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s,” Dr. Schreiber says. “Kisunla is the second medication fully approved by FDA in less than a year that can slow down the progression of cognitive changes and loss of ability to function at a normal level in daily life.” Studies show Kisunla significantly slows cognitive and functional decline in people with early, symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. State-of-the-art diagnostic tests, called biomarkers, can detect the disease in its earliest stages. “We have been using biomarkers in our Alzheimer research program for several years,” Dr. Schreiber says. “These same tests are now being used in New Alzheimer research at CMH Through the Missouri Memory Center and the CMH Research Department, 15 patients participated in national clinical research studies for Kisunla (donanemab), the newest medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that can help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. “We are grateful to our patients who volunteered for the research study that helped provide the necessary evidence that the drug is effective in significantly slowing cognitive and functional decline in patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease,” says Curtis P. Schreiber, M.D., board certified neurologist at CMH. Amyloid plaque buildup in the brain is prominent as Alzheimer’s disease progresses. Research studies show that amyloid buildup in the brain can be measured with amyloid biomarkers for 10 to 20 years before symptoms occur. Now, scientists are testing whether drugs, such as Kisunla, that remove amyloid plaque can slow the progression of Alzheimer symptoms earlier in the course of the disease—even before memory loss symptoms begin. The CMH Research Department is now enrolling individuals in a new clinical trial for an amyloid plaque-removing drug. CMH LEADS THE WAY
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