Hoping all goes well

A relative was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

He’s in his mid to late 70s.

He’s planning to initiate treatment with one of the recently FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies.

Monoclonal antibodies have been shown to delay progression of early Alzheimer’s disease but are not curative.

He will be getting an IV infusion every 2 weeks for the next 18 months, and will need follow-up brain MRI’s after the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 14th and 26th infusion, if all goes well. If there’s any evidence for an amyloid-related-imaging-abnormality (ARIA), due to swelling or bleeding in the brain, he would need MRI’s monthly until stability is assured.

The infusion takes approximately an hour, if all goes well, without unexpected waits/delays. The total time, obviously, is much longer due to travel time to and from the infusion center, the preparation of the infusion, and required post-infusion monitoring.

A brain MRI typically takes about an hour, if all goes well, without unexpected waits/delays. The total time, obviously, is much longer due to travel time to and from the imaging center, the possible need for sedation, and the possible need to repeat the entire study if accidental movement results in less than optimal images.

Clearly, this is no where the amount of “medical-care-time” that those on hemodialysis endure (4-5 hours every other day), but is still significant and like hemodialysis, pretty much keeps you anchored close to home.

Total billed costs are tremendous. The amount an individual pays varies depending on many factors.

I’m not sure what I would do yet, if/when faced with a treatment decision such as this.

But, I’m hoping all goes well for my relative.