Nicole Bodey, a 79-year-old resident of Springfield, Missouri, is the first patient at Missouri Baptist Sullivan Hospital to receive Kisunla™ (donanemab). Kisunla is a newly FDA-approved infusion treatment for early stage Alzheimer’s disease. Bodey now travels two hours to the hospital, compared to her previous five-hour round trip to St. Louis. The hospital’s Cancer and Infusion Center staff assist during her 30-minute treatments.
Bodey’s diagnosis began about two years ago when her daughter, a nurse practitioner, noticed cognitive changes. Medical tests confirmed mild Alzheimer’s disease. Bodey and her husband decided to seek advanced treatment options. Dr. Nupur Ghoshal, a neurologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, advised early detection and communication with primary care providers about memory issues.
Bodey’s care team included Dr. Ghoshal and Alexandra Venuto, a nurse practitioner at WashU Medicine’s Memory Diagnostic Center. After consultations, the team recommended Kisunla. Kisunla is a monoclonal antibody that targets beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, which are linked to Alzheimer’s progression…