The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a new drug for Alzheimer’s disease, the latest in a novel class of treatments that has been greeted with hope, disappointment and skepticism.
The drug, donanemab, to be sold under the brand name Kisunla, was shown in studies to modestly slow the pace of cognitive decline in early stages of the disease. It also had significant safety risks, including swelling and bleeding in the brain.
Kisunla, made by Eli Lilly, is similar to another drug, Leqembi, approved last year. Both are intravenous infusions that attack a protein involved in Alzheimer’s, and both can slow the unfolding of dementia by several months. Both also carry similar safety risks. Leqembi, made by Eisai and Biogen, is given every two weeks; Kisunla is given monthly.
Kisunla has a significant difference that may appeal to patients, doctors and insurers: Lilly says patients can stop the drug after it clears the protein, amyloid, which clumps into plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.
“Once you’ve removed the target that you’re going after, you then can stop dosing,” said Anne White, an executive vice president of Lilly and president of its neuroscience division. She said that this could reduce the overall cost and inconvenience of the treatment as well as the risk of side effects.
I commonly recommend the Apple Watch, mostly for cardiac monitoring and for patients at risk of falling. Great for monitoring steps and physical activity too.
“Doctors are using the Apple Watch as part of how they diagnose and help their patients manage disease—whether or not it’s been specifically approved for such applications by the Food and Drug Administration or other regulatory bodies.
My own mother, who has a history of atrial fibrillation, a heart-rhythm disorder, is one such patient. The Apple Watch SE she bought on her doctor’s advice has been, by her account, a lifesaving intervention. It allows her to send data gathered by her watch directly to her doctor, as part of the continuing management of her lifestyle and medication.”
In this special episode, Peter addresses the common questions about starting or returning to an exercise routine over the age of 50. Individuals in this age group have frequently reached out with questions about whether it’s too late to start exercising and often express concern over a lack of prior training, a fear of injury, or uncertainty about where to begin.
Fat-free mass (FFM) and physical activity level (PAL) throughout life in females (left) and males (right).
Peter delves into the importance of fitness for older adults, examining all four pillars of exercise, and provides practical advice on how to start exercising safely, minimize injury risk, and maximize potential benefits. Although this conversation focuses on people in the “older” age category, it also applies to anyone of any age who is deconditioned and looking to ease into regular exercise.
The general election campaign has commenced, spotlighting President Biden and former President Trump as the presumptive nominees for their respective parties and the currently viable contenders for the presidency. While this is not an election like in the past where health care reform is a central issue being debated, health care is an important issue for voters and Biden and Trump have sharply divergent records and positions. This side-by-side analysis serves as a quick resource for understanding each candidate’s record as president, positions, public statements, and proposed policies. It will be continuously updated as new information and policy details emerge throughout the campaign.
A popular obesity drug may help treat a dangerous disorder in which people struggle to breathe while they sleep, a new study finds.
Tirzepatide, the medication in the weight-loss drug Zepbound and also the diabetes treatment Mounjaro, appeared to reduce the severity of sleep apnea along with reducing weight and improving blood pressure and other health measures in patients with obesity who took the drug for a year.
While breastfeeding her new baby, she developed intense, unexplained pain that kept getting worse.
Several days after her parents’ departure Lucido stumbled into the bathroom early one morning and unintentionally sat down hard on the toilet. Instantly she felt a sickening shudder in her lower back followed by the sensation of an electric current shooting up her spine. Intense nausea came next. Worried she might pass out from the pain, Lucido lay on the bathroom floor.
Aimee Lucido with her baby, Lyra
In 2018 Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center had launched a program headed by endocrinologist Adi Cohen to recruit, study and treat women with a rare condition called pregnancy- and lactation-associated osteoporosis (PLO).
A severe form of early-onset osteoporosis — osteoporosis that occurs before age 50 — PLO can occur in the late stages of pregnancy or during breastfeeding when the loss of maternal calcium leads to a temporary decrease in bone mineral density. Unlike postmenopausal osteoporosis, which is common and affects about 10 million Americans, PLO is rare, although no one knows how rare.
Taking daily multivitamins appears to slow cognitive aging by about 2 years in older adults, three new studies show.
In the latest study, published Thursday in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers observed and tested 573 adults 60 and older in person. In the two previous studies, people taking part in the research responded by phone or online. Overall, about 5,000 people took part in the three studies.
The in-person study showed the multivitamin provided a “modest benefit” on global cognition over 2 years, compared to a placebo. Global cognition includes brain activities such as reasoning, attention, and planning. The multivitamin showed “a statistically significant benefit” for episodic memory, but not in executive function and attention, a news release said.
“As Science noted in its story on the retracted paper, scientists are still debating whether the amyloid theory is viable. The skeptics cite the fraudulent research and lack of a genuine breakthrough; supporters can point to this new class of drugs including donanemab that have led to some improvement in some patients.”
“Around 2.9 million people worldwide—roughly one million in the United States—have multiple sclerosis or MS; Applegate and The Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler are two of them. In their podcast, the actresses speak candidly about their experiences with the disease. MS affects the central nervous system, the brain and spinal cord. The immune system attacks sheaths of a material called myelin that surround nerve fibers. Like insulation on wires, myelin protects nerves and helps transmit signals. But when myelin deteriorates, the nerve fibers underneath are exposed. This disrupts the brain’s communication and leaves behind lesions, which can cause a myriad of symptoms as the disease progresses.”
CNMRI is Closed for Business 