Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital is Among the First in NY/NJ Region to Offer New Alzheimer’s Drug

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Cognitive Disorder Expert to Oversee Administration of Leqembi to Slow Disease Progression

(New Brunswick, NJ) - Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health facility, is among the first in the region to offer Leqembi to patients diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's Disease.

Approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023, Leqembi is a monoclonal antibody that removes plaque from the brain, which helps slow the progression of the disease. The drug is given twice monthly by intravenous infusion. While it does not represent a cure (there is no known cure for Alzheimer's), slowing the disease's progression can improve the quality of life for patients and their loved ones.

"There have been many generations of drugs that could remove plaque, but didn't result in improvement in symptoms over time," according to William Hu, MD, PhD, FAAN, Associate Professor and Chief of Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Clinic, Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and RWJUH; Director, Center for Healthy Aging Research, Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research. "Not only can this latest generation of drugs, which includes Leqembi, remove plaque from the brain, they can slow down the memory or thinking decline by about 25 percent. That's a fairly dramatic change, especially if you start early."

The most common side effects of Leqembi include headache, infusion-related reactions, and amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, a side effect known to occur with this class of antibodies targeting amyloid.

It's important to note that the drug's impact is seen in patients about one to two years after treatment is initiated, Dr. Hu says.

"One thing we like people to understand is that the benefits of these drugs will mostly be seen one-and-a-half to two years down the road," Dr. Hu explains. "But they really flatten the change over time - instead of having five or six points of change over two years, you may only have three or four points of change."

Many of the patients Dr. Hu treats want to know how they can maintain their quality of life and more specifically, how they can remain in their homes for as long they can.

"If you can delay the conversion from the very earliest stages to the next stages by five years, you essentially reduce the number of people with dementia by half," Dr. Hu says. "It's truly extending the quality of life for a longer period of time."

Patients and caregivers may contact the Alzheimer's Disease Clinic at Rutgers RWJMS and RWJUH at 732-235-7733 to schedule an appointment and begin the process to determine if the patient qualifies for the therapy. Leqembi is administered in the RWJUH infusion center in New Brunswick. Learn more,

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) New Brunswick, an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is a 628-bed academic medical center that is New Jersey's largest academic medical center through its deep partnership with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. RWJUH is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, a nationally-ranked 2024-25 Best Children's Hospital by U.S. News & World Report. Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, bariatric surgery and women's health. A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH's New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness. Learn more at www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick or www.bmsch.org

RWJUH has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety, including the prestigious Magnet® Recognition for Nursing Excellence and being named to Newsweek's list of Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers for three consecutive years. The RWJUH Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center has been recognized by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association as meeting The Joint Commission's standards for Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center Advanced Certification.

RWJUH has also earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval® for Disease-Specific Care Certification for Spine Surgery; The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Bariatric Services; and The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Hip and Knee Replacement services. The Joint Commission also awarded RWJUH a Gold Seal Certification as well as an Advanced Certification in Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Implantation.

Contact: Peter Haigney
RWJUH Public Relations
(732) 937-8568