Alzheimer's Disease – The News Desk

Air pollution may be to blame for thousands of dementia cases each year, researchers say

15Aug

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Health

Air pollution may be to blame for thousands of dementia cases each year, researchers say

Nearly 188,000 dementia cases in the U.S. each year may have been caused by air pollution, researchers estimate, with bad air quality from wildfires and agriculture showing the strongest links to a person's risk of Alzheimer's disease and other kinds of dementia later in life. Published Monday in the journal JAMA Network Open, the new estimates are the latest to underscore the range of health risks scientists have long warned are being driven by air pollution. While studies have already linked overall bad air quality to a number of health problems, including the risk of developing dementia, the new study offers a finer-grained look at how specific causes of air pollution seem to be more strongly linked to dementia than others. Their findings were based...

The real costs of the new Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi — and why taxpayers will foot much of the bill

1Aug

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Money

The real costs of the new Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi — and why taxpayers will foot much of the bill

The first drug purporting to slow the advance of Alzheimer's disease is likely to cost the U.S. health care system billions annually even as it remains out of reach for many of the lower-income seniors most likely to suffer from dementia.Medicare and Medicaid patients will make up 92% of the market for lecanemab, according to Eisai Co., which sells the drug under the brand name Leqembi. In addition to the company's $26,500 annual price tag for the drug, treatment could cost U.S. taxpayers $82,500 per patient per year, on average, for genetic tests and frequent brain scans, safety monitoring, and other care, according to estimates from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, or ICER. The FDA gave the drug full approval July 6. About 1 million Alzheimer's patients in the U.S. could ...

Tony Bennett left his heart to generations of music fans

22Jul

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Entertainment

Tony Bennett left his heart to generations of music fans

NEW YORK -- What do Paul McCartney, Queen Latifah, Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder have in common?Oh, and Aretha Franklin, k.d. lang, Bono and Billy Joel. Not to mention Carrie Underwood, Judy Garland, John Legend and Placido Domingo. And let's not forget...Stop. Listing all of the musicians who performed duets with Tony Bennett would take up our remaining space. His place in music history is already secure.Bennett, who died at 95 on Friday, was indeed “the last of the great saloon singers of the mid-20th century,” as Charles J. Gans wrote for The Associated Press. Yet that summation befits a man frozen in time, consigned to a specific era, and Tony Bennett was anything but that.Instead, Bennett transcended generations in a way few musicians have.He was rightly beloved by older listeners for ...

Medicare says it will pay for the Alzheimer’s medication Leqembi. Here’s how it works.

11Jul

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Money

Medicare says it will pay for the Alzheimer’s medication Leqembi. Here’s how it works.

Medicare last week agreed to cover the new drug Leqembi, the first medication proven to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's green light of the pricey drug.The decision was cheered by the Alzheimer's Association and others who advocate for the 6.7 million U.S. seniors with the progressive disease, which has no cure and which primarily affects people over the age of 65.The approval to cover the drug is significant because the vast majority of Americans with Alzheimer's get their health coverage through Medicare. Yet some patients and families could still face hurdles in getting access to the medication. For one, Medicare — the health care plan for people who are 65 years and older — won't cover the entire cost of the drug. ...

Alzheimer Disease: Can you inherit Alzheimer’s disease? Key things to know

10Jul

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Entertainment

Alzheimer Disease: Can you inherit Alzheimer’s disease? Key things to know

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Leqembi, first Alzheimer’s drug to slow disease, gets full FDA approval

7Jul

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Money

Leqembi, first Alzheimer’s drug to slow disease, gets full FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday granted traditional approval to the Alzheimer's drug lecanemab, known by the brand name Leqembi, after an accelerated approval was issued earlier this year. "Today's action is the first verification that a drug targeting the underlying disease process of Alzheimer's disease has shown clinical benefit in this devastating disease," Teresa Buracchio, acting director of the Office of Neuroscience in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a news release. Leqembi, from drugmakers Eisai and Biogen, is the first medication that's been shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, including declines in memory and thinking, by targeting the disease's underlying biology. "Today ...