After a 66-year-old female patient with mild dementia received new drug treatment for half a year, the toxin proteins in her brain were significantly reduced. (Provided by National Cheng Kung University Hospital)
Since June 23 last year, National Cheng Kung University Hospital has provided patients with mild dementia with self-funded treatment using two new drugs from the United States and Japan. So far, a total of 102 patients have been treated, ranking first among hospitals in the country. Only 3 patients suffered from side effects and stopped taking the medicine. Most other patients and family members reported that the patients were more willing to interact with others after treatment and were satisfied with the efficacy. Adult doctors remind the public to use the 10 major warning signs guided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare as a basis for medical evaluation to determine whether they are early stage patients.
Professor Bai Mingqi, director of the Adult Dementia Center, said that with the development of biomarker detection and disease-modifying treatments, the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (dementia) has gradually shifted from focusing on symptom control in the past to treating pathological mechanisms of the disease. The use of two anti-amyloid drugs provides another treatment option for patients with early-stage dementia; however, whether they are suitable for treatment must still be evaluated by the medical team based on the patient's disease stage, examination results, and overall health.
The Chengdu Dementia Center tracked the changes in patients receiving new drug treatment and analyzed images. In almost all cases, the load of amyloid (toxic protein) in the brain was significantly reduced, and 6 patients completely eliminated the toxic protein. Some patients had flu-like symptoms during the medication, which were relieved after appropriate treatment; a few patients found microbleeds in the brain and did not develop symptoms subsequently. Bai Mingqi and his team said that they will conduct brain imaging and clinical symptom monitoring in accordance with treatment standards, grasp possible changes as early as possible, and take into account the safety of treatment and medication.
Bai Mingqi said that the average age of 102 patients who received new drug treatment was 71. Some of the patients felt that their memory had improved; many patients and their families also reported that the patients had become more willing to interact and talk with others, and their self-care ability had also improved; most of them were satisfied with the efficacy of the new drug.
Since June 23, 2025, the medical team of the Dementia Center of National Cheng Kung University Hospital has accepted 102 patients with mild dementia to be treated with new drugs at their own expense.
Because the new drug is suitable for patients with mild dementia, Hong Weibin, a physician at the Adult Dementia Center, said that he hopes to identify more early-stage and mild patients to receive new drug treatment, and the results will be better. The public can check the 10 warning symptoms of dementia and seek early medical evaluation.
These include memory loss that affects life, difficulty in planning things or solving problems, inability to perform familiar tasks, confusion about time and place, difficulty in understanding the relationship between visual images and space, difficulty in verbal expression or writing, misplacement of things and loss of the ability to look back, poor judgment, withdrawal from the workplace or social activities, and changes in mood and personality.
