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

A grandmother in Naples is one of the first in the country to receive a newly approved drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

The FDA-approved drug Kisunla just hit the commercial market and a Naples woman was one of the first to get it Tuesday afternoon.

WINK News health and medical reporter Amy Oshier was in Bonita Springs and within the last few hours saw this medication delivered into the arm of the patient.

It’s not often you hear the words “Alzheimer’s” and “excitement” in the same sentence, but that’s exactly the sentiment surrounding this news.

When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease this year, 77-year-old Ivone Nascimento’s mind raced to what the future held for her.

“My worry is if I get to the point where I don’t remember seeing my kids or my grandkids,” said Nascimento.

Her family means the world to her. The thought of not remembering them was crippling.

Ivone’s course of disease may be different than patients who went before her thanks to the treatment of this new drug.

The drug is administered in a once-per-month infusion. If given early enough in the disease process, the drug maker said it should clear plaque from the brain.

Dr. Jamie Plante, a board-certified Neurologist with Memory Treatment Centers explained, “It targets the amyloid plaque in the brain with a monoclonal antibody, and clears it over time. It is very effective in terms of reducing plaque burden.”

With each treatment session, hope grows for Ivone, hope that she’ll hang on to her memories and make new ones with her grandkids.

This drug worked extremely well in clinical trials. It worked so well that many patients got off the drug completely.

For more information on Kisunla, click here.