Aducanumab (brand name AduhelmTM) received expedited approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 7, 2021, making it the first Alzheimer's disease drug approved after 18 years.
Since then, the FDA has changed the approval's original wording to suggest that it be used exclusively in select individuals with moderate cognitive decline or early Alzheimer's disease.
Further research is now being done because of the FDA's recent approval of Aduhelm, which sparked worries about its safety, efficacy, and cost.
In today's episode of This Is Getting Old: Moving Towards An Age-Friendly World, we will be talking about The New Drug for Alzheimer's Disease known as Aducanumab (marketed as AduhelmTM). Today, I am joined by Howard Gleckman, a Senior Fellow with the Urban Institute, who will shed some light on the newest drug available for Alzheimer's disease.
Part One Of 'New Drug for Alzheimer's Disease’
Understanding Alzheimer's Disease In A Nutshell
Alzheimer's disease is only one form of dementia; there are many other types, including Vascular disease, Lewy Body disease, Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD), Parkinson's, and mixed pathologies.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form - 60-80% of all cases of dementia, but many people do have mixed pathologies, meaning they have more than one form of the disease. This is complicated because confirming what type or types of dementia a person has can only be done by autopsy (I've done a previous podcast on how Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed if you would like to learn more).
You can also learn more about Alzheimer's Facts and Figures (2021), an annual report published by the Alzheimer's Association, to learn more about the different types of dementia and associated characteristics (pages 6 and 7 of the 2021 report).