Excitement around Alzheimer’s treatment tempered by questions about efficacy, accessibility

Lecanemab is the first new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease to reach Canada in 20 years, and Health Canada’s recent authorization of the disease-modifying drug has understandably triggered hope and excitement.

But for some researchers and clinicians who treat the disease, the development also represents a complicated story – one where enthusiasm for a new and desperately needed drug is tempered by sobering realities around its efficacy, accessibility and impact on an already strained health care system.