California Alzheimer patients first to receive new drug

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) — Several Alzheimer's patients in Fresno, California became some of the first in the nation to receive a new drug just approved by the FDA.

Doctors said the drug Kisunla is the first drug to be approved by the FDA for Alzheimer's in more than a decade giving hope to people suffering from the disease.

Monday morning was a milestone moment for Karen Selph and others as they received their first doses of Kisunla, the newly approved drug for Alzheimer's at the Neuro Pain Medical Center in Fresno.

“I want to do the best I can for as long as I can,” said Selph.

Selph is still getting used to sitting in the patient chair after spending more than 40 years as a nurse.

“I know it can't be cured, but it can be slowed down so that you have a better quality of life for a longer period of time... And that's what I'm hoping for. I want to be a part of and help to make it better for the next people,” Selph said.

Kisunla was just approved by the FDA last month.

In clinical trials, doctors said the drug was able to slow the progression of Alzheimer's by as much as 30%.

Susie McInnerney was part of the clinical trial for 18 months and said her memory became clearer during that time.

She is now receiving her first treatment since the trial ended.

“I felt like I was thinking clear after getting the drug before I was forgetting and I would not notice I would forgetting things and him and my family members were saying there’s something going on," McInnerney said.

McInnerney and other patients will receive a dose of Kisunla every four weeks and will have MRL in between doses in case of swelling in the brain, which is a possible side effect of the drug.

Dr. Perminder Bhatia said this treatment is truly hope in a bottle.

"If you feel that you are forgetting, immediately go to your doctor, go to see somebody, go to a neurologist get a diagnosis so you can get a diagnosis which is a game changer and can save your life,” he said.