SEATTLE \u2014 There’s new hope for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. A new medication called donanemab appears to slow memory loss, giving patients the gift of more time. <\/p>\n
UW Medicine’s Memory & Brain Wellness Center<\/a> at Harborview Medical Center recently started treating patients with the drug. Bob Pringle is one of the first patients in Seattle to receive donanemab.<\/p>\n “They already tell me it won\u2019t cure it. It won\u2019t stop it,” Pringle said.<\/p>\n While not a cure, donanemab does have promise.<\/p>\n “I know that I will progress with memory loss, and I\u2019ve accepted that,” Pringle said. “I\u2019m just hoping that this process is going to slow that down.”<\/p>\n He already has issues with his memory. Pringle enjoyed a 30-year career with the Seattle Fire Department. While photos show him going from recruit to captain of the arson investigation team, he says he can’t remember much about it. He hopes denanemab helps him hang onto the remaining memories of his family – his wife, two children, and grandchildren.<\/p>\n Pringle will receive 18 infusions once a month for the next year and a half.<\/p>\n Donanemab is designed <\/a>to teach his immune system to remove proteins from his brain that lead to dementia. It could extend his quality of life by months, buying time while science works towards a cure.<\/p>\n “For the first time, we have a disease-modifying treatment that can interfere with the biology of Alzheimer’s disease and lead to a better outcome in the patient\u2019s eyes,” said Dr. Thomas Grabowski, medical director of the Memory and Brain Wellness Center. “There\u2019s a sense of hopefulness that this medicine has brought with it. And that\u2019s gratifying to be part of that. We\u2019ve worked many years to get to this point, and to be able to honestly say we have the first effective treatment for this disease is really a good feeling.”<\/p>\n