My sparkling new auditory world
Last February I posted an essay on this blog titled “Hearing loss, aphasia and dementia” about my increasing problem with understanding speech. I suspected that my trouble with speech was due to a combination...
A Tattoo On My Brain Blog
Donanemab slows cognitive impairment in mild Alzheimer’s disease – an important step forward
The results of the phase 3 clinical trial of the anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody donanemab were released simultaneously today at the Alzheimer’s Association Clinical Conference (AAIC) in Amsterdam and in a paper published in JAMA....
Lecanemab (Leqembi) granted FDA approval for treatment of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease
Two important things happened this week. On the Fourth of July, my granddaughter Emily got her first ride in a canoe. She was thrilled. The other important thing that happened this week was the FDA...
Tujunga Next Exit takes on Beacon Rock
Cobe Haskell and Bill Ward are two of my oldest friends. I have known them since fourth grade. In 1964 or possibly 1963, Cobe and I started putting together a rock band. In the beginning, our...
Microbiome changes may help make a diagnosis of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease
Last March on this blogsite, I described evidence that chronic laxative use can increase the risk of getting dementia. The cause of this increased risk was thought to involve disruption of the gut microbiome, the...
Could anti-amyloid drugs actually promote neurodegeneration?
After years of failed trials, two and possibly three anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies have shown efficacy at removing beta-amyloid from the brain of subjects with mild Alzheimer’s disease. Two of them, lecanemab and donanemab, have...
Should testing for APOE-4 be required before treatment with anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies?
There are now two anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies that appear to be effective in slowing the progression of cognitive impairment in people with mild Alzheimer’s disease. The benefit may be small, 27% for lecanemab and...
Could donanemab be the breakthrough we have been waiting for?
Yesterday Eli Lilly issued a press release summarizing positive results of the TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 Phase 3 study showing that donanemab significantly slows cognitive and functional decline in people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. Donanemab is unique...
New words I have learned from Professor Lees
Like most people with Alzheimer’s disease, my verbal memory was the first cognitive domain to be affected. Recently it has rapidly been getting worse. On my most recent testing with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA),...
Untangling the words
Several weeks ago, I signed a contract with the publisher for a collection of essays about Alzheimer’s disease. These are essays I have written over the last several years, and a few days ago I...
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