US Approves Drug to Slow Early Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease

U.S. officials gave full approval last week to Leqembi, a drug that moderately slows Alzheimer's disease. The disease affects the brain causing memory loss and dementia.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval means the government's health coverage¹, Medicare, and other health insurance plans will help pay for the drug's cost.

The FDA approved Leqembi for patients with mild dementia and other effects caused during the early stages of Alzheimer's.

Leqembi is the first medicine shown to moderately slow the mental loss caused by Alzheimer's disease. The drug helps remove proteins that stick together and damage the brain.

Final approval came after the FDA considered a study of 1,800 patients. The study showed the drug slowed losses in memory and decreases in thinking by about five months in those who received the medicine compared to those who received an ineffective substance.

The drug carries a warning for serious side effects, such as possible bleeding in the brain. The warning notes that these side effects are found in other drugs that target harmful brain proteins.

Last year, Medicare announced it would not pay for the drug unless the FDA gave it full approval. As a result, Alzheimer's patients and people supporting them pushed for final approval.

A year's supply of Leqembi costs about $26,500. It is injected every two weeks. Some experts worry the drug's cost is too high. Medicare pays health care costs for about 60 million Americans aged² 65 or older.

Medicare administrator³ Chiquita Brooks-LaSure confirmed last week that the program will begin paying for the drug now that it has full FDA approval.

But the government is also requiring patients who receive the drug to enter a program that will collect information about the drug's safety and effectiveness.

Medicare "will cover this medication broadly while continuing to gather data that will help us understand how the drug works," Brooks-LaSure said.

Some Medicare patients may have to pay for 20 percent of the cost of Leqembi. However, the amount will depend on the details of their insurance coverage plan.

Hospitals and medical clinics have said it might take time to get people started on the drug. Doctors will need to test patients for the sticky brain proteins targeted by Leqembi. Nurses need to learn how to give the drug, which needs to be administered by intravenous injection.

Patients also must undergo regular brain scans to look for bleeding or swelling⁴. These brain images carry extra costs for hospitals.

Japanese drug-maker Eisai developed Leqembi. The drug is co-marketed with Biogen, a company based in the eastern U.S. state of Massachusetts.

Some Alzheimer's experts say patients, or their families might not notice the moderate difference the drug makes. But federal health advisors⁵ said the difference was important enough for them to suggest in June that the FDA approve the drug.

Words in This Story

dementia –n. mental illness that causes a person to be unable to think clearly or understand the world

insurance –n. an agreement in which a person regularly pays a company and, in return, the company helps pay for costs that arise from some need like health care

intravenous –adj. something that is injected into the veins⁶

scan –n. an image that shows something, like an organ, in three dimensions and is used by doctors to gather health information

swelling –n. when tissue becomes bigger than normal, gets deformed and holds too much fluid

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

4 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

5 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

6 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》