Mid-Michigan woman takes part in Alzheimer’s trial

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - A potential medical breakthrough in the battle against Alzheimer’s. An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration has unanimously voted to endorse a drug from Eli Lilly that could help slow the early progression of the disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Alzheimer’s affects nearly six million people. It’s a disease Grace Rodriguez knows all too well. She lost her mom to the disease back in 2011, which motivated her to take part in this drug trial.

“I feel like I lost her so far before she actually passes,” said Grace Rodriguez.

Rodriguez watched her mother slowly slip away from her. Her mother started showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s in the early 2000s. Rodriguez almost 75 years old is thinking about her health and how likely she is to get Alzheimer’s, which is why she chose to take part in a clinical trial with Eli Lilly. Rodriguez gets monthly infusions to help potentially prevent the disease.

“I don’t know how many years I have left and I don’t ever want to spend them like my mom did. That’s why I’m willing to do this,” said Rodriguez.

The medication is called Donanemab, a drug recently endorsed by a panel of independent FDA advisors who claim it is safe and effective. The new drug has experts in the field excited about the possibilities.

“We’re really on the cusp of starting to make some very significant advances in treating this disorder,” said Dr. David Morgan, an MSU Research Foundation Professor.

Dr. David Morgan has studied Alzheimer’s for decades, researching medications similar to Donanemab.

“The efforts that we put into this type of approach have ultimately paid off,” said Morgan.

Rodriguez said her trial could be the next step in finding a cure and although she isn’t sure if she’s receiving the real drug or the placebo, it gives her hope for the future.

There is still no cure and no drug to prevent the development of Alzheimer’s but if approved by the FDA Donanemab would be the second drug on the market to slow the progression of the disease.

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