Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson, and this is 5 things you need to know Friday the 7th

of July 2023.

Today, what a newly approved drug might mean for Alzheimer's patients, plus your tap

water could have dangerous chemicals, and we check in with the Rhonda Santis Presidential

campaign.

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday approved the Drug Lecana Mab for people with

Alzheimer's disease.

The move makes it easier for older adults to get the first drug proven to slow down cognitive

problems associated with the illness.

I spoke with USA Today Health Reporter Ken Oltucker to learn more about this major step

forward in the fight against Alzheimer's.

Thanks for hopping on the show, Ken.

Thanks for having me.

Ken, what is this drug, and how does it work?

It's a drug that's been studied for a few years now, earlier this year, the FDA gave

sort of a fast track approval for it, but on Thursday, they gave full-fledged approval.

This is a drug that removes a type of protein that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer's

patients, called amyloid, and the drug sort of attacks that and clears it from the brains

of patients.

The theory is that if they're able to remove that plaque, the protein forms plaques that

people's memory and thinking problems associated with Alzheimer's disease can slow.

It doesn't get people better.

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