What You Need to Know About the New Alzheimer’s Drug

Count this among the biggest worries of our age: our minds slowly being lost to Alzheimer's. The dread is so strong that we analyze every case of lost keys or names that stay on the tip of our tongues for its potential foretelling of a brain breakdown. So the news this week that the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new Alzheimer's drug, called Aduhlem, is pretty momentous for the six million people in the U.S. who suffer from the debilitating disease. But what can and can't the drug do?

“We feel a great sense of purpose and responsibility to turn the hope of today’s FDA approval of ADUHELM into a reality for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and their families,” said Alisha Alaimo, president of the drug's maker, Biogen U.S. “We are committed to access and health equity as top priorities and will continue working with multiple stakeholders with the goal of helping patients who may benefit from treatment obtain care as quickly as possible.”