Happy & Healthy with Amy

Alzheimer’s Drugs: Why Amyloid Removal May Not Be Enough

• Amy Lang • Season 2 • Episode 42

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0:00 | 30:24

If your parent was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you may have heard about the latest Alzheimer’s treatments - Kisunla and Lequembi - being described as breakthrough "disease-modifying" drugs.

And yes, the science is promising in some ways.

But here’s the part most families are not told clearly: a drug may successfully remove amyloid from the brain and still not create a meaningful improvement in memory, thinking, reasoning, or day-to-day function.

In this episode, Amy explains why.

This is not medical advice. It is education designed to help you ask better questions, advocate more clearly, and make decisions with your eyes wide open.

You’ll learn what happens in the brain long before symptoms appear, why amyloid is only one part of the Alzheimer’s disease process, and why tau, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration matter so much when you’re trying to make informed decisions for someone you love.

What to Listen For

  • [00:00] Why amyloid removal may not translate into meaningful improvement. 
  • [02:00] What the Cochrane review found about anti-amyloid drugs. 
  • [04:30] Why memory problems are not the beginning of Alzheimer’s. 
  • [07:00] The Alzheimer’s disease timeline. 
  • [10:00] Why treating amyloid after symptoms appear may be too late. 
  • [12:30] What tau does in healthy brain cells. 
  • [14:00] What tracks closely with cognitive decline. 
  • [16:30] What ARIA is and why it matters. 
  • [18:00] The role of neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s.
  • [22:00] Questions to ask the neurologist before deciding. 

Mentioned in the Episode

Listen now, subscribe to Happy & Healthy with Amy, and share this episode with someone who is trying to make sense of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in their family.

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