[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":334},["ShallowReactive",2],{"{\"version\":\"draft\",\"resolve_links\":\"url\",\"resolve_relations\":\"featured-events.events,featured-news.news\"}/global/footer":3,"{\"version\":\"published\",\"resolve_relations\":[\"news.related_news\"]}news-items/a-new-alzheimer-s-drug-raises-hard-questions-st-michael-s-researchers-offer-a-guide/":69,"{\"version\":\"draft\",\"resolve_links\":\"url\",\"resolve_relations\":\"featured-events.events,featured-news.news\"}/global/header":273},{"data":4,"headers":45},{"story":5,"cv":42,"rels":43,"links":44},{"name":6,"created_at":7,"published_at":8,"updated_at":9,"id":10,"uuid":11,"content":12,"slug":31,"full_slug":32,"sort_by_date":33,"position":34,"tag_list":35,"is_startpage":36,"parent_id":37,"meta_data":33,"group_id":38,"first_published_at":39,"release_id":33,"lang":40,"path":33,"alternates":41,"default_full_slug":33,"translated_slugs":33},"Footer","2024-05-22T05:42:54.552Z","2025-03-25T15:44:22.591Z","2025-03-25T15:44:22.608Z",500647255,"aa467ff3-d7e8-4224-a30c-158a6238f664",{"_uid":13,"email":14,"tel_no":15,"twitter":16,"youtube":17,"address1":18,"address2":19,"facebook":20,"linkedin":21,"component":6,"copyright":22,"instagram":23,"location1":24,"location2":25,"tel_label":26,"social_label":27,"location_label":28,"mailing_address_label":29,"_editable":30},"6a70eac0-8a42-45fe-8958-be43990a0ba6","","4163604000","https://twitter.com/UnityHealthTO","https://www.youtube.com/c/UnityHealthToronto","30 Bond St","Toronto, ON M5B 1W8, Canada","https://www.facebook.com/UnityHealthToronto/","https://www.linkedin.com/company/unityhealthtoronto/?originalSubdomain=ca","© 2025 Unity Health Toronto. All rights reserved.","https://www.instagram.com/unityhealthto/","209 Victoria St","Toronto, ON  M5B 1T8, Canada","(416) 360-4000","Social Links","Location","Mailing Address","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"Footer\", \"space\": \"282001\", \"uid\": \"6a70eac0-8a42-45fe-8958-be43990a0ba6\", \"id\": \"500647255\"}-->","footer","global/footer",null,-100,[],false,500647197,"04c5a689-ad14-437c-8c58-4ab38629c4ed","2024-05-22T05:39:24.843Z","default",[],1783951115,[],[],{"cache-control":46,"connection":47,"content-encoding":48,"content-type":49,"date":50,"etag":51,"referrer-policy":52,"sb-be-version":53,"server":54,"transfer-encoding":55,"vary":56,"via":57,"x-amz-cf-id":58,"x-amz-cf-pop":59,"x-cache":60,"x-content-type-options":61,"x-frame-options":62,"x-permitted-cross-domain-policies":63,"x-ratelimit":64,"x-ratelimit-policy":65,"x-request-id":66,"x-runtime":67,"x-xss-protection":68},"max-age=0, private, must-revalidate","keep-alive","gzip","application/json; charset=utf-8","Mon, 13 Jul 2026 13:59:11 GMT","W/\"ef5c012ebac460353bab02591d07a79d\"","strict-origin-when-cross-origin","5.912.1","nginx/1.29.1","chunked","Origin,Accept-Encoding","1.1 746f6e170e429fc94de6ac30e08ca30c.cloudfront.net (CloudFront)","vX4DSe979dkCKaIT93rkSNHUYYzhMqwaZP_dQdbTq0nl1Q6MgNOMNQ==","CMH68-P4","Hit from cloudfront","nosniff","SAMEORIGIN","none","\"space-concurrent-requests\";r=27","\"space-concurrent-requests\";q=30","03d2ad27-9d1c-4787-9340-6ee06e95a1bf","0.032252","0",{"data":70,"headers":264},{"story":71,"cv":42,"rels":262,"links":263},{"name":72,"created_at":73,"published_at":74,"updated_at":75,"id":76,"uuid":77,"content":78,"slug":254,"full_slug":255,"sort_by_date":33,"position":256,"tag_list":257,"is_startpage":36,"parent_id":258,"meta_data":33,"group_id":259,"first_published_at":260,"release_id":33,"lang":40,"path":33,"alternates":261,"default_full_slug":33,"translated_slugs":33},"A new Alzheimer’s drug raises hard questions. St. Michael’s researchers offer a guide","2026-07-06T19:19:13.235Z","2026-07-06T19:21:27.196Z","2026-07-06T19:21:27.212Z",195280704486443,"225bc2f9-5bb9-40ee-8466-fa860460c076",{"_uid":79,"date":80,"blurb":81,"image":96,"title":72,"content":101,"component":252,"description":14,"related_news":253},"32822e16-4309-4ccb-aedd-6fce04510065","2026-06-29 00:00",{"type":82,"content":83},"doc",[84],{"type":85,"attrs":86,"content":87},"paragraph",{"textAlign":33},[88],{"text":89,"type":90,"marks":91},"Drs. Sharon Straus and Sophie Weiss","text",[92],{"type":93,"attrs":94},"textStyle",{"color":95},"#FDFDFD",{"id":97,"alt":14,"name":14,"focus":14,"title":14,"source":14,"filename":98,"copyright":14,"fieldtype":99,"meta_data":100,"is_external_url":36},195280964561471,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/282001/1536x1152/ae56a94b8c/lecanemab-top-photo-1536x1152.png","asset",{},{"type":82,"content":102},[103,108,113,118,135,140,145,153,167,172,179,190,195,200,205,210,215,222,227,232,237,245],{"type":85,"attrs":104,"content":105},{"textAlign":33},[106],{"text":107,"type":90},"New guidance from St. Michael’s Hospital clinicians and researchers offers Canadian healthcare providers help in navigating the use of lecanemab, the first disease-modifying drug available for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. With few treatments available for Alzheimer’s disease, lecanemab’s arrival has brought both optimism and skepticism from patients and clinicians.",{"type":85,"attrs":109,"content":110},{"textAlign":33},[111],{"text":112,"type":90},"Lecanemab is a therapy that targets amyloid, a protein that accumulates into plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.",{"type":85,"attrs":114,"content":115},{"textAlign":33},[116],{"text":117,"type":90},"While the drug’s approval by Health Canada generated excitement over its potential as the first drug to slow Alzheimer’s disease, experts caution that its use is complex. Eligibility can be difficult to confirm, treatment requires regular infusions and ongoing MRI monitoring, the cost is substantial, and the drug carries risks while the known benefits appear modest at best.",{"type":85,"attrs":119,"content":120},{"textAlign":33},[121,123,133],{"text":122,"type":90},"This",{"text":124,"type":90,"marks":125}," decision-making support tool",[126,131],{"type":127,"attrs":128},"link",{"href":129,"uuid":33,"anchor":33,"target":33,"linktype":130},"https://www.cmaj.ca/content/198/25/E973#msdynmkt_trackingcontext=9809b783-7872-43f1-aa90-d94116f70200","url",{"type":132},"underline",{"text":134,"type":90}," created by the St. Michael’s Hospital team, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, aims to help clinicians and patients make an informed choice about the drug’s use.",{"type":85,"attrs":136,"content":137},{"textAlign":33},[138],{"text":139,"type":90}," “Our goal was to help clinicians and patients manage expectations and be clear about the benefits someone can realistically expect, along with the testing, monitoring and risks that come with taking the drug.” said Dr. Sophie Weiss, the paper’s lead author and an internal medicine resident at St. Michael’s Hospital.",{"type":85,"attrs":141,"content":142},{"textAlign":33},[143],{"text":144,"type":90},"Dr. Sharon Straus, a geriatrician and clinical epidemiologist at St. Michael’s Hospital, and the Director of the Knowledge Translation Program at Unity Health Toronto, co-authored the paper.",{"type":85,"attrs":146,"content":147},{"textAlign":33},[148],{"text":149,"type":90,"marks":150},"What lecanemab offers patients",[151],{"type":152},"bold",{"type":85,"attrs":154,"content":155},{"textAlign":33},[156,158,165],{"text":157,"type":90},"Lecanemab’s approval by Health Canada in October 2025 was primarily based on results from",{"text":159,"type":90,"marks":160}," the phase 3 Clarity AD trial.",[161,164],{"type":127,"attrs":162},{"href":163,"uuid":33,"anchor":33,"target":33,"linktype":130},"https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2212948",{"type":132},{"text":166,"type":90}," Researchers found that patients receiving the therapy experienced slower cognitive decline, an important development in a disease area that has long had few treatment options.",{"type":85,"attrs":168,"content":169},{"textAlign":33},[170],{"text":171,"type":90},"The effect though was modest, falling short of what researchers, clinicians and patients consider a clinically meaningful difference for patients. Dr. Weiss says, “we do not yet know whether it translates into outcomes that matter most to patients and families, such as staying independent for longer, delaying admission to long-term care, or reducing caregiver burden. For some people, even a small potential delay in disease progression may be worth pursuing, but that decision needs to be individualized.”",{"type":85,"attrs":173,"content":174},{"textAlign":33},[175],{"text":176,"type":90,"marks":177},"Navigating cost, testing and risks",[178],{"type":152},{"type":85,"attrs":180,"content":181},{"textAlign":33},[182,184],{"text":183,"type":90},"While lecanemab is approved for use in Canada, most provinces and territories are uncertain about whether they will cover it under provincial health plans. That leaves patients facing high costs, with the drug alone costing each patient approximately",{"text":185,"type":90,"marks":186}," $35,000 to 40,000  a year.",[187,189],{"type":127,"attrs":188},{"href":129,"uuid":33,"anchor":33,"target":33,"linktype":130},{"type":132},{"type":85,"attrs":191,"content":192},{"textAlign":33},[193],{"text":194,"type":90},"Administering treatment is also resource-intensive, requiring regular intravenous doses, testing and monitoring with MRI scans. To establish eligibility, patients need a PET scan or lumbar puncture to confirm the presence of amyloid protein plaque accumulation and genetic testing to check certain risks of developing brain swelling or bleeds.",{"type":85,"attrs":196,"content":197},{"textAlign":33},[198],{"text":199,"type":90},"Access can be a barrier in itself. “A PET scan, for example, isn’t accessible everywhere, and the alternative is a lumbar puncture, which is an invasive procedure,” says Dr. Straus.",{"type":85,"attrs":201,"content":202},{"textAlign":33},[203],{"text":204,"type":90},"“This therapy is expected to add costs to the health system, due to the scans, infusions and monitoring it requires, though how much remains uncertain,” she adds.",{"type":85,"attrs":206,"content":207},{"textAlign":33},[208],{"text":209,"type":90},"The authors of the paper highlight that cost isn’t the only consideration. The main risk is an increased likelihood of brain swelling or bleeding, known as Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities (ARIA), occurring in one in five patients on the treatment, though most cases were asymptomatic and identified through routine MRI monitoring.  ",{"type":85,"attrs":211,"content":212},{"textAlign":33},[213],{"text":214,"type":90},"The paper notes that in most cases, ARIA is difficult to detect as there are no visible symptoms and it can only be identified through brain scans.  A small portion of people, around 3 per cent, will have symptomatic ARIA, experiencing headaches, confusion, seizures, or serious brain bleeding. This is why ongoing monitoring is needed through treatment.",{"type":85,"attrs":216,"content":217},{"textAlign":33},[218],{"text":219,"type":90,"marks":220},"Future treatment options",[221],{"type":152},{"type":85,"attrs":223,"content":224},{"textAlign":33},[225],{"text":226,"type":90},"Lecanemab is not the only option available to patients, the authors note. Donanemab, another anti-amyloid therapy, was recently approved by Health Canada. Provinces and territories have not made decisions on its coverage yet. It carries comparable risks and costs, but its treatment course is monthly injections and limited to 18 months, rather than the indefinite treatment duration of lecanemab.",{"type":85,"attrs":228,"content":229},{"textAlign":33},[230],{"text":231,"type":90},"Lecanemab is a milestone as the first disease modifying therapy for Alzheimer’s disease approved for use in Canada, a field that has had few options. The drug targets amyloid beta, a protein that can build up in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease. This approach is based on the amyloid hypothesis, one theory of how Alzheimer’s disease develops.",{"type":85,"attrs":233,"content":234},{"textAlign":33},[235],{"text":236,"type":90},"“It’s not absolutely clear that amyloid is the protein responsible for Alzheimer’s disease, and it isn’t the only possible identified cause,” says Dr. Straus. “Investigation into other proteins and causes is still under way. I am hopeful that this development will prove to be a pivotal milestone in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, laying the groundwork for continued scientific inquiry and the discovery of increasingly effective therapeutic strategies.”",{"type":85,"attrs":238,"content":239},{"textAlign":33},[240],{"text":241,"type":90,"marks":242},"By Zehra Goawala",[243],{"type":244},"italic",{"type":85,"attrs":246,"content":247},{"textAlign":33},[248],{"text":249,"type":90,"marks":250},"Originally posted to 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