New Alzheimer's drugs: is assessment in China worthwhile?

Establish the diagnosis before discussing new drugs

Families with a confirmed diagnosis of early Alzheimer's disease who want to understand new medicines can consider further assessment. Deciding whether to travel to China involves more than whether a drug exists: eligibility, safety monitoring and who will continue care after returning home also affect the value of the visit.

Lecanemab, for example, aims to slow early disease progression, rather than fully restore lost memories. Its early-disease population includes mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease and mild Alzheimer's dementia. Mild forgetfulness or dementia from another cause does not automatically establish suitability.[1,2]

Similar memory complaints can have different causes and stages. Before lecanemab treatment, amyloid-beta pathology must be confirmed and a baseline brain MRI obtained. Cognitive assessment describes functional impairment, amyloid testing helps establish the treatment target, and MRI contributes to safety assessment. None replaces the others.[2]

A report published on April 23, 2026 by 北京潞河医院 (Beijing Luhe Hospital) illustrates this step in Chinese practice. A 75-year-old patient attended a memory clinic and underwent assessment by the cognitive-disorders team and multiple specialties before receiving lecanemab on April 17. The hospital reported a stable first infusion but no long-term cognitive outcome for this patient. It cannot predict how much another person may improve.[3]

Records should show changes in memory and daily functioning and include existing cognitive scores, original imaging files, reports and actual medication use. The medical-record preparation guide can help families organize them without repeating tests merely to complete a checklist.

What does subcutaneous approval change?

Eisai and Biogen announced on September 3, 2026 that lecanemab's subcutaneous autoinjector formulation had been approved in China for initiation of treatment in early Alzheimer's disease. The announcement described a weekly subcutaneous option and specified brain MRI before treatment and at scheduled points during treatment.[1]

This may reduce travel to infusion centers, but does not remove diagnosis, training or monitoring. The announcement's launch plan extended within the company's fiscal year ending March 31, 2027; it does not establish that every hospital now has the subcutaneous product. Before travel, the hospital needs to explain which intravenous or subcutaneous product it can actually provide and the treatment phase appropriate for the patient.[1]

This affects travel planning directly. A short stay planned around home injections may not work if treatment is available only through hospital infusions. Accommodation, caregiver support and follow-up arrangements may need to change. Regulatory approval and a particular hospital's ability to provide continuing supply need to be established separately.

MRI may be needed even without symptoms

Anti-amyloid treatment can cause amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, or ARIA, including brain swelling or bleeding-related changes. Some patients have no symptoms, and serious events can occur. Existing brain imaging, APOE ε4 genotype and medicines such as anticoagulants affect risk assessment. Do not stop existing medication yourself to obtain a new treatment.[2,4]

In 2025, the FDA required earlier additional MRI monitoring for lecanemab. This shows why copying the number of scans from an old educational article is unreliable. In China, the team should set monitoring points according to current local prescribing information, the actual formulation and individual risks, rather than directly adopting a US schedule.[4]

New confusion, significant headache, difficulty walking, vision changes or seizures after treatment require immediate contact with the treating team or the nearest emergency department. Give the medicine name and most recent administration date. Do not assume all such changes are progression of the underlying disease and wait for routine follow-up.[4]

Connect treatment after returning home

One uneventful administration does not complete treatment. During assessment, cross-border patients need to establish who will continue prescribing and administering treatment at home, where MRI will be performed, who will compare scans, and who will decide whether to pause or resume treatment if abnormalities occur. Access to the medicine alone is not a sustainable care arrangement.

When asking about costs, separate diagnostic assessment, medicine, infusion or injection services, imaging and travel or caregiver support. This article has not verified individual hospitals' current prices or supply for foreign patients and cannot promise a fixed budget or stay. Let the receiving team review existing records and identify what assessment could resolve before booking travel.

Families unsure whether further assessment in China is worthwhile can use SinoCareHub initial consultation to explain the diagnosis, current treatment and main question. The team can help organize existing information and outline further consultation options and required records. Eligibility for a new drug, formulation and monitoring remain decisions for the receiving hospital.