FDA approves Alzheimer’s drug that may slow memory decline in those with disease [Video]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an Alzheimer’s drug that’s been proven to slow memory and cognitive decline in patients with the disease.

The approval Tuesday clears the way for adults with early or mild symptomatic Alzheimer’s to be treated with Eli Lilly and Company’s drug donanemab, under the name brand Kisunla, a once-monthly IV infusion that works by targeting amyloid in the brain.

The body naturally produces the protein amyloid, but when it clumps together to create amyloid plaques, an excessive buildup can affect bodily organs and tissue. And in the brain, that leads to memory and cognitive issues that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Kisunla, according to Eli Lilly, was shown in promising clinical trials to help the body remove amyloid plaque buildup and, therefore, significantly slow the decline of multiple brain functions affected by Alzheimer’s, including a person’s ability to “remember new information, important dates, and …