Kisunla: The Alzheimer’s ‘miracle’ drug

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This drug has the power to treat Alzheimer’s disease, strengthening memory and thinking skills.

It’s called Kisunla, but the people WINK News reporter Maddie Herron spoke to in Naples at the Baker Senior Center call it a miracle.

The new FDA-approved drug could soon change the game in treating dementia, sparking hope among those who suffer from the debilitating illness.


READ MORE: FDA approves treatment for adults with Alzheimer’s disease


“It’s a godsend. I think it will change the world,” said Dr. Jaclynn Faffer, the President and CEO of Baker Senior Center in Naples.

The FDA-approved drug is a once-a-month injection, targeting brain damage caused by Alzheimer’s.

Faffer explained, “We see it affecting memory, we see it affecting behavior, we see it affecting the ability to speak.”

A disease Brian Brener knows all too well, “I had to know intimately the tragedy of Alzheimer’s with my wife, who passed away five years ago.”

Brener’s wife Mary lived with the disease for four years, doing all he could to make her comfortable.

“You want to try everything you can to try to cure them if you could, or alleviate it. And I did experience being exposed to the first promise of pharmaceutical treatment, but it was five years ago was too early,” said Brener.

The drug may not have been available at the time, but Brener said he found support for his wife outside of medicine.

“I watched the gradual degradation of her life. And that led me here as a matter of fact.”

Here, meaning the Baker Senior Center in Naples.


RELATED: Naples woman among the first to receive new drug for Alzheimer’s


Marcy Aizenshtat is a frequent attendee at the senior center, and she told WINK she is thrilled about the new drug.

“I think something like that is called a miracle,” Aizenshtat said.

A miracle, for people like her, when Alzheimer’s runs in the family.

Aizenshtat explains, “For me, it’s going to be meaning staying connected. Not just looking and seeing faces, but knowing that my grandsons, I know who they are, I’ll be able to interact with their future choices and the world I’ll be able to have the joy that I feel now then if I don’t recognize my family, it’s going to hurt them.”

While the drug is revolutionary, it is not a total solution.

Kisunla applies mostly to those in the mild dementia stage or earlier.


READ MORE: Learn more about Kisunla on their website


The center’s President and CEO Dr. Jacylnn Faffer said regardless of whether Kisunla fits as someone’s treatment option, all residents in southwest Florida are welcome to join the many dementia and community-focused programs the senior center offers.

“We’re all about hope. And we’re all about tomorrow, and looking forward,” said Faffer. “So we’re encouraging with or without the drug.”

The Baker Senior Center Naples is open to all SWFL residents and has plenty of programs for people suffering from Alzheimer’s and other memory-related illnesses, or just looking for fun ways to connect in the community.

For more information please, click here to go to their website.

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