New Alzheimer's treatment available in the Valley

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A new Alzheimer's treatment was announced in the Rio Grande Valley on Thursday morning.

The treatment, Leqembi, is administered by infusion therapy to combat those with early Alzheimer's.

Leqembi has been shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer's by 35 to 40 percent in patients. Only those with early Alzheimer's are allowed to take it, as it cannot help with late-stage Alzheimer's or dementia.

Dr. Alejandro Cruz, head of the new DHR team administering Leqembi, explains how unprecedented this kind of treatment is for the Valley.

"We have medication to try and help ease up those symptoms, but we really did not have any medication that can actually impact the progression of the disease until recently,” Cruz said.

Cruz also announced that he and the team began treating their first patient today and encourages those with symptoms to consider their new image-testing and care available.

The new image testing will show any accuracies on the shrinkage of a patient's brain.

The Alzheimer’s Association has partnered with DHR Health to raise awareness for the disease to provide resources.

DHR Health will host a “10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s” workshop on June 25 at the DHR Health Institute for Research and Development in Edinburg.