A GRANDMOTHER taking the first drug proven to slow Alzheimer’s says she is “fully functional and doing very well”.
Joan Murtaugh, 77, joined a trial of the medicine lecanemab after a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and a high risk of Alzheimer’s in 2017.
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Joan, from Ohio, is still able to live independently and says her memory has improved.
She told The Sun: “I feel perfectly normal and I’m not having the issues that I was having.
“I’m totally functional and my memory is much better than it was.
“I’m very active, I drive regularly, I garden and cook, I read a number of books and I have my life back.”
Husband Larry, 77, added: “This drug is little short of a miracle, from our perspective.”
The couple have been married for 14 years since they met as widowers, and have a combined eight children and 25 grandkids.
Joan first noticed she was having memory problems in 2016 and tests confirmed she had mild cognitive impairment, also known as MCI, and Alzheimer’s plaques building up in her brain.
MCI is an early phase of memory loss which is worse than usual ageing but not as bad as dementia – although 10 to 15 per cent of sufferers go on to develop dementia.
Joan jumped at the chance to join the lecanemab trial at the Cleveland Clinic.
Lecanemab is an antibody drug made by the companies Eisai and Biogen.
It works by pumping antibodies into the brain that latch onto a type of protein called amyloid, which builds up and causes brain damage in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
These antibodies signal to the immune system that the amyloid is a danger and brain immune cells called microglia then attack and destroy them, protecting the nerves.
The study that Joan was a part of showed the drug reduced brain damage by an average of 27 per cent over 18 months.
It was the first medication fully proven to work this way and was hailed as a “game-changer”, though scientists warn it does not work for everyone and can have severe side effects.
Medical regulators at the Food and Drug Administration approved it for use on patients in the US this month.
Joan said: “I knew the Cleveland Clinic is a first class operation and when they thought they had a drug that might help – and I desperately needed help – I was going for it. I had no second thoughts.”
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After the 18-month trial in 2020 and 2021, when she didn’t know if she was taking the drug or a placebo, Joan now injects herself with the real thing at home once a week.
It comes in an auto-injector similar to an epi-pen, a development since it was given by IV drip during the study.
She also has cognitive speech therapy alongside the medication.
Larry said: “When Joan was diagnosed my fears were that this would be a downward spiral.
“It used to be that when you mentioned Alzheimer’s you were looking into an abyss.
“Now this drug offers a great hope for the future.
“I’ve seen improvements in Joan’s short-term memory. She’s a fighter.”
Dr Babak Tousi, a doctor running part of the trial at the Cleveland Clinic, said: “We have a large group of patients come to us and ask for help.
“In particular Joan was a scientist citizen, she asked if she could be part of a trial.
“Interestingly, the main reason people participate in clinical trials – of course they may get access to medication that is not available yet – but a more important major factor is they say it may not help me but it may help other people.
“They want to pay it forward.”
Larry added: “We’re standing on the shoulders of all the people who did the research and the doctors who dedicated themselves to this cause for generations.”