SEATTLE — A new FDA-approved drug to treat early-onset Alzheimer's disease is now being offered at UW Medicine's Harborview Medical Center for qualifying patients. Harborview is one of the first West Coast hospitals to administer the medication, described by doctors as a "breakthrough."
It is giving hope to delay the effects of a devastating disease that to this day, has no cure.
The medication, known as lecanemab, or by its brand name Leqembi, is designed for early-onset Alzheimer's patients who have mild cognitive decline.
The medication is an antibody that binds to the proteins that cause plaque buildup in Alzheimer's patients, making it easier for the body to remove that damaging buildup from the brain.
Clinical trials have shown a 27% slowing of cognitive decline when taking the medication for 18 months.
Andrea Gilbert, 78, is among the first patients to receive it at Harborview.
For someone recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, Gilbert remembers things remarkably well.
"My dad was in the newspaper business. He was with the Associated Press, then he eventually went to work for Boeing. So I kind of followed his lead, and I thought for sure I wanted to be in the newspaper business," Gilbert said.
Following her father's lead, she did, when she returned to Seattle after attending college at Tulane in New Orleans.
"At that point, I immediately started to work for the Seattle Times," Gilbert said.
Gilbert started as a copygirl and, eventually, a cub reporter, where she covered it all, including when the circus came to town. She recalled the day when she got a ride on an elephant for a parade on 4th Avenue in Seattle.
"We rode all the way to the train station to the Seattle Center and back the hot sun on these very unhappy elephants," Gilbert said.
They are memories that are still vivid for Gilbert -- memories that, one day, she may not remember because of her diagnosis.
"I think it's almost embarrassing to tell people that you have it because then they're going to think less of you than maybe you really are," Gilbert said.
After her reporting career, Gilbert turned to a career in law.
"I went to the UW bookstore and bought three of these books for practicing the LSAT and actually did pretty well on the LSATs," Gilbert said.
She got a full scholarship for UW Law School and later started a law firm and practiced divorce law until she was about 70 years old.
"You really get to know people who are your clients," Gilbert said.
As much as she remembers her past, Gilbert still recalls the day -- about a year ago -- when she knew something was wrong.
"I was out in Kirkland, it was pitch black, it was like 11 o'clock at night or something; I was coming home from a friend's house. And I just got totally lost," Gilbert said.
Several tests and MRIs later, Gilbert was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
"Alzheimer's disease is, as you know, a progressive condition," said Dr. Thomas Grabowski, a neurologist and medical director of Harborview's Memory and Brain Wellness Center.
Grabowski said Gilbert has mild cognitive impairment -- an ideal candidate for Harborview's rollout of lecanemab.
"I think what makes me optimistic about this medicine is that data showed both that there's an improvement in the clinical course and the impact on the biology of the disease," Grabowski said.
The results are positive but modest.
"I tell my patients this is not a cure. This is medicine," Grabowski said.
Gilbert, who started receiving the medication via infusion in December, said spreading the word of the new treatment convinced her to open up about her journey.
"I thought, geez. I don't want to broadcast this as part of me. But I thought it over and I thought maybe it's hopeful for other people. So I said yeah," Gilbert said.
Those interested in lecanemab should speak to their doctors to see if they qualify.