HeYou Hospital Welcomes Guangdong Province's First Batch of Lecanemab, Adding a Powerful Tool for Alzheimer's Disease Treatment

News
2024-07-01

Lecanemabis the first targeted new drug in 20 years to receive full approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Alzheimer's Disease(AD), and has completed priority review and been approved for use in China.HeYou Hospital is one of the first hospitals in Guangdong Province to introduce the new drug "Lecanemab," which has recently been delivered and is now available for clinical use.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common clinical dementia syndrome, accounting for 50% to 70% of all dementias. AD ranks fourth among diseases affecting the life and health of the elderly in China, with a prevalence rate of approximately 5% in individuals aged 65 and over, and 25% in those aged 85 and over.

Alzheimer's Disease has an insidious onset with progressively worsening symptoms.Memory decline is its core symptom, and may be accompanied by aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, visuospatial impairment, executive function decline, and personality and behavioral changes. These symptoms severely impact the patient's quality of life, ultimately leading to an inability to perform daily activities, placing a heavy mental and economic burden on family caregivers.

Clinical Manifestations

Pre-Dementia Stage

Mild memory impairment;

Does not affect basic daily living abilities.

Dementia Stage

Mild Dementia

The first symptom is recent memory decline, often forgetting daily tasks and commonly used items.

As the disease progresses, remote memory decline may occur, forgetting events and people from the distant past.

Some patients develop visuospatial impairment, unable to find their way home after going out.

Fatigue, anxiety, and negative emotions are common.

Personality disorders may manifest, such as lack of cleanliness, unkempt appearance, irritability, anger, selfishness, and suspiciousness.

Moderate Dementia

Memory impairment continues to worsen;

Speech repetition, decreased calculation ability, and significant visuospatial impairment, such as being unable to find one's own room at home;

Aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia may occur;

Patients often exhibit significant behavioral and psychiatric symptoms, personality changes, depression, anxiety, and marked personality alterations, and may even engage in behaviors that indicate a loss of shame (such as urinating or defecating in public).

Severe Dementia

Memory impairment is severe;

Only fragments of long-term memory remain;

Complete loss of verbal communication ability;

Complete loss of daily living abilities, becoming bedridden;

Often accompanied by systemic complications such as urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers, and pneumonia, ultimately leading to death from complications.

Treatment

Drug Therapy

Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer's Disease. The main goals of treatment are to delay disease progression and improve symptoms.

Commonly used drugs include cholinesterase inhibitors (such as Donepezil, Rivastigmine) and NMDA receptor antagonists (such as Memantine).

Lecanemab, as a new targeted drug, can clear amyloid-beta protein from the brain, thereby slowing the progression of the disease.

Non-Drug Therapy

Cognitive training and rehabilitation therapy.

Behavioral and psychological symptom management.

Family care and social support.

HeYou Hospital

Expert Team

HeYou Hospital has a multidisciplinary team of experts in neurology, psychiatry, geriatrics, rehabilitation medicine, and other related fields, providing patients with comprehensive diagnosis and treatment services.

Advanced Equipment

Equipped with advanced diagnostic equipment such as high-field MRI and PET-CT, enabling early and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.

Personalized Care

Develops personalized treatment plans based on the specific condition of each patient, providing comprehensive, whole-course management services.

Conclusion

The introduction of Lecanemab marks a new milestone in the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. HeYou Hospital will continue to uphold the patient-centered philosophy, providing patients with more advanced, comprehensive, and personalized medical services.