To conclude our four-part series on Dementia and Alzheimer’s, let’s look at what medical treatments are in the works.

Current Alzheimer’s treatments temporarily improve symptoms of memory loss and problems with thinking and reasoning.

Experts are cautious but hopeful about developing treatments that can stop or delay the progression of Alzheimer’s. Experts continue to better understand how the disease changes the brain. This has led to the research of potential Alzheimer’s treatments that may affect the disease process.

Since January 2021, two new drugs have received the Food and Drug Administration’s approval for use in Alzheimer’s treatment through the federal agency’s accelerated approval pathway, which is used for drugs that are intended to treat serious or life-threatening illness if the medication has demonstrated to provide a significant therapeutic advantage over current available treatments. The drugs, aducanumab and lecanemab, were approved in June 2021 and January 2023, respectively.  While these drugs do show a slowing of cognitive decline, the decline is quite small and the potential side effects can be serious.

For now, it is important to focus on safety, good nutrition, routines, visual schedules and adequate care to make these awful conditions easier for all.  Love, kindness and compassion for all dealing with dementia and Alzheimer’s is the best treatment.