Patient Selection for Lecanemab to Treat Early Alzheimer Dementia: Details with R Scott Turner, PhD, MD

The anti-amyloid antibody lecanemab (Lequembi; Eisai) in indicated for individuals with Alzheimer disease, to be initiated only in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia stage of disease, according to approved labeling from the FDA.* Eligibility for treatment requires confirmation of elevated β-amyloid plaques in the brain as observed by PET scan or as indicated by the presence of elevated phosphorylated tau in cerebral spinal fluid, R Scott Turner, PhD, MD, explained during a recent interview with Patient Care.

Treatment with anti-amyloid antibodies is not recommended for individuals at high risk for amyloid related imaging abnormalities, or ARIA, Turner said. In the short excerpt from that interview in the video above, Turner provides more detail on the profile of an individual who is most likely to benefit from lecanemab therapy.

Turner is Vice Chair for Clinical Research, Professor of Neurology, and Director of the Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University, in Washington, DC.

*Leqembi. Prescribing information. Eisai. 2025. https://www.leqembi.com/-/media/Files/Leqembi/Prescribing-Information.pdf