Good news for the residents of the north: Rambam has started providing biological treatment to slow down Alzheimer's disease.
A new biological drug, proven to be effective in delaying the progression of Alzheimer's disease in its early stages, came into use as part of treatment provided at the Rambam Stroke and Cognition Institute.
The first patient, a resident of Haifa in her 50s, was diagnosed with biologically proven Alzheimer's disease (with the help of biomarkers) in its early stages.
◄ The future is already here • Prof. David Tana of Rambam, on the innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's • Watch
With the opening of the new service, Rambam joins a limited number of leading centers in the US and Japan, which treat Alzheimer's using the biological drug, and the second in Israel, after the Ichilov Medical Center.
Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative disease of the brain and is the most common cause of cognitive decline and dementia in old age. In Israel, the number of Alzheimer's and dementia patients is estimated at approximately 150,000 people. In this disease, proteins called amyloid beta and phosphorylated tau accumulate in the brain tissue and around the blood vessels.
The accumulation of these proteins, in addition to many other processes, impairs the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other and process information, and leads to the death of nerve cells and impaired brain function. This is how a degenerative brain disease develops. These changes begin without symptoms and may not be noticeable for many years. The clinical manifestation begins, for the most part, with a decline in memory and later are added deficiencies in language functions and orientation, behavioral disorders, planning difficulties and failures in decision-making. Difficulties in day-to-day functions are gradually added.
In January 2023, the FDA approved a new drug called Lecanumab. The drug has been proven in clinical trials to be effective in slowing and delaying the progression of Alzheimer's disease in its early stages. The drug acts as an antibody directed against the amyloid protein, and reduces the protein deposits in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. In large-scale studies, a slowing of cognitive-functional deterioration was observed at a rate of 27% (compared to placebo) among those with Alzheimer's disease pathology. Also, a postponement of the progression of the disease by about 6 months was observed. That is, these treatments did not stop the progression of the disease and did not restore lost cognitive abilities, but they succeeded in slowing down the further cognitive and functional decline during the months of treatment.
Suitable for men and women
According to Prof. David Tana, director of the Institute for Stroke and Cognition at Rambam, and the outgoing chairman of the Neurological Association in Israel, the drug is suitable for men and women with biologically proven Alzheimer's disease (with the help of biomarkers) and only in its early stages, "that is, moderate cognitive decline or dementia Easy at most, when there are additional criteria for selecting patients who are suitable for treatment," he explains.
The drug is given once every two weeks by intravenous infusion as part of a day treatment. As mentioned, this is an FDA-approved treatment that is not included in the drug basket, and is not a research treatment. At the Rambam Stroke and Cognition Institute, a system was established to treat Alzheimer's disease in its early stages with advanced drugs.
Another drug was approved
Meanwhile, a few days ago it was reported that the FDA approved a second drug, Kisunla, which is also proven to be effective in early-stage Alzheimer's, with a similar mechanism of cleaning the amyloid protein from the brain. "These are exciting and hopeful days in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease," says Prof. Tana, "the new drug shows good results and gives rise to hope that the use of these drugs may be for a limited time only. This hope, along with the competition that is now opening in the market for biological drugs for Alzheimer's, can speed up the possibility of Adding them to the medicine basket and making treatment more accessible in Israel in the near future. We at Rambam are of course also prepared that with the approval of another medicine, there will be more therapeutic options for those who need them."
Hello, my mother is slowly disappearing due to dementia and any potential treatment is hope.
I would be happy to receive information and add my mother to the treatment.
Sincerely, Farah Farah
Why is there no answer?
Cloudy in treatment
Hello. My 54-year-old wife has Alzheimer's. I am interested. But could you make contact?
Why only the residents of the north?
Since 2016, my husband has been in consultation with Prof. Aharon Peretz.. Two years ago he started a pressure chamber treatment at Assaf Harofeh... is in the early stages of Alzheimer's... Doctor accompanying a chain of 60 treatments in a pressure chamber is Dr. Karin Elman Sheina. I would like to receive details and perhaps continued treatment... in most of them... Thank you for your answer.. Orna Lesko