HOT PURSUIT
It’s being called the first step on a very long road.
Last week a new Alzheimer’s drug won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and will be covered by Medicare. It’s the first drug that will delay the effects of Alzheimer’s but will be only for people with mild cognitive impairment (early phase).
Access to the drug could still be months away. But this region could be one of the earliest in the state to get the drug as Mayo Clinic in Rochester took part in clinical trials and has been preparing for its availability for months. Mayo will reportedly provide it first to patients in southeast Minnesota.
An Alzheimer’s drug can’t come soon enough for families like Barry Thompson of Owatonna. He has been raising money for Alzheimer’s after his mother-in-law, Mary Behne, died from the disease several years ago.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Thompson told me Monday. “It’s not going to cure it, it’s just going to slow it down. This is huge for people just getting diagnosed with it.”
Ever since his mother-in-law died, Thompson has been fighting for a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. It’s estimated that 6.5 million Americans may have Alzheimer’s. About a half million people younger than 65 have some form of dementia. The risk of developing the illness rises with advanced age.
Thompson is preparing for a benefit in honor of Behne on Aug. 5 at Uncle Mony’s in Hayfield where the family, affectionately known as Mary’s Angels, will be once again raising money for Alzheimer’s research. In the last seven years, Thompson and his family have raised almost $90,000. Their goal this year is $17,500.
“It feels like we’re actually accomplishing something finally,” Thompson said. “We’re going to keep doing it.”
Just this past weekend, Thompson traveled to Ohio to watch auto racing where Behne’s name was printed on a race car of a racer affected by Alzheimer’s.
My family has also been impacted by Alzheimer’s and dementia with one of my uncles battling the mind robbing disease. In two years, we have seen how it quickly destroys memory and other important mental functions. It’s a travesty how we can enjoy time together one moment and he can’t remember anything about it the next moment. There is absolutely no short-term memory left.
While I don’t know if my uncle would be a candidate for the drug, I’m grateful that other families may get a reprieve—even if it’s only short term. Anything that will slow this beast down is a step in the right direction.
Thompson and many other families agree that the new drug is going in hot pursuit of providing a glimmer of hope for Alzheimer’s patients and their loved ones.