VOA健康报道2024--Alzheimer's Drug Available, But Sales Slow

Alzheimer's Drug Available, But Sales Slow

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

Alzheimer’s disease affects a person’s memory, thinking and behavior. The first drug shown to slow the effects of Alzheimer’s disease reached the market in the United States over a year ago. However, sales of the drug Leqembi have been slow.

Reasons for slow sales

Major hospital systems in the U.S. have taken months to start using the new Alzheimer’s drug. Some health insurers have rejected paying for the medication. And doctors say they expect some patients will be slow to take Leqembi because of the drug’s limited results and possible side effects.

Doctors say it will take years to learn how best to use the drug. They add that work must be done to improve the diagnosis¹ of Alzheimer’s.

Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha specializes in treating dementia near Atlanta, Georgia. He is hopeful about the drug. He said, “This is the start of a very exciting journey.”

In the U.S., about 6 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s. There is no cure for the disease. But studies show Leqembi helps clear a kind of protein that builds up in the brain called beta amyloid. Beta amyloid is considered an important sign of Alzheimer’s.

Studies showed that Leqembi can delay the progression of the disease by a few months in people with mild symptoms. Some experts say the delay may be too small for patients to notice.

The drug’s side effects can include swelling² or bleeding in the brain. Patients taking Leqembi require regular tests to watch for possible side effects.

Last July the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave Leqembi full approval for patients with early stages of the disease. The U.S. healthcare coverage³ program for people aged⁴ 65 and over, called Medicare, covers Leqembi and the cost of tests needed to diagnose patients.

Complex system for administering the drug

Alexander Scott is an official with Eisai, the Japanese company that makes Leqembi. Scott said hospitals and health systems have needed more time than expected to provide Leqembi.

“It’s not like we are adding a drug to an existing system,” he said. He said hospitals need to build a system for the drug.

The Cedars-Sinai health system in Los Angeles, for example, started administering the drug in early March. This effort required months to establish a plan that dealt with diagnosis, treatment, and watching for problems. “We were very careful about it,” said Dr. Sarah Kremen, a behavioral neurologist at Cedars-Sinai.

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, started using Leqembi in October of last year. The health center only uses the drug for patients who live within about 160 kilometers of its offices. This is so doctors can reach them quickly if they have problems.

Paying for the costly⁵ drug

Health systems still do not know how coverage for the drug, its infusions⁷, and the needed tests work. Because the drug can cost more than $26,000 a year, there are concerns patients will face costs they cannot pay.

An Eisai spokesperson said nearly three-quarters of commercial healthcare plans in the U.S. cover the drug outside of Medicare.

But doctors are concerned that getting coverage still might be difficult for some patients, especially those too young to qualify for Medicare.

Scott Berkheiser is 57 years old and lives in Florida. His health insurance company would not pay for the drug. So, his first Leqembi infusion⁶ was delayed until last December.

He said the drugmaker agreed to supply him with the drug at no cost while he made partial insurance payments, known as co-payments, for the treatment.

“It was a little crazy,” he said. “It seemed like it was kind of a game that must make sense for some monetary⁸ reason.”

Delayed and complex diagnosis and treatment

Getting treatments started on time remains⁹ another problem.

When Leqembi launched last year, doctors at Texas Neurology in the city of Dallas tested 60 people as possible candidates for Leqembi. However, only eight started the treatment. The chief of Texas Neurology, David Evans, said the other candidates either refused the drug or had gone beyond the early stage of the disease. Evans said the period, or “window,” when the drug is best to use is very short.

Doctors say more must be done to quickly identify patients and get treatment started before the disease worsens. For example, if people say they have trouble with their memory, doctors must rule out other causes.

Dr. Kulshreshtha said these can include thyroid problems, vitamin deficiencies, medication problems, and depression. Memory tests for dementia can also require several visits to a doctor.

Some patients might be ineligible¹⁰ for Leqembi because it would conflict with medication they take to prevent strokes. And patients might have to wait months to see a brain specialist who would prescribe the drug.

Those who do get the first infusion have said the treatment process is not difficult. Leqembi patient Berkheiser said his infusions have gone “like clockwork” after he started treatment.

Charles Clegg from Salem, Alabama, recently finished his 13th Leqembi infusion. He visits a treatment center that is close to his home. Clegg and his wife, Carol, said he has had no side effects, and his short-term memory has improved.

“This drug gives you hope,” Carol Clegg said.

And that’s the Health & Lifestyle report.

I’m Anna Matteo. And I'm Dan Friedell.

Words in This Story

insurer –n. the provider of insurance, such as health insurance, in which a person pays a company regularly so that the company will pay most of the costs of a covered expense

diagnosis –n. the act of identifying a disease affecting a person

journey –n. a trip or a long process that involves unexpected events

stage –n. a level or condition that is different from earlier and later ones

infusion –n. a treatment that involves adding a medicine by one of several means

commercial –adj. related to business and making a profit

ineligible –adj. not able to use or take

stroke –n. a severe medical problem in which blood flow is blocked preventing blood from reaching the brain or heart

prescribe –v. to approve the use of medicine whose use is restricted by law (the approval must come from a medical doctor)

1 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

7 infusions   

n.沏或泡成的浸液（如茶等）( infusion的名词复数 )；注入，注入物

参考例句：

• Intravenous infusions are also used to administer medications. 静脉输液也可作为一种给药方法。 来自辞典例句
• INTERPRETATION: GKI infusions significantly reduced plasma glucose concentrations and blood pressure. 结论：静脉滴注GKI显著降低血压和血糖浓度。 来自互联网

8 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 ineligible   

adj.无资格的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The new rules have made thousands more people ineligible for legal aid.新规定使另外数千人不符合接受法律援助的资格。
• The country had been declared ineligible for World Bank lending.这个国家已被宣布没有资格获得世界银行的贷款。