While drugs like Lecanemab already come with extensive setbacks in cost and side effects, it is one of the very few treatments for Alzheimer's disease. Now, it is proven to be nearly impossible for rural Georgians to get their hands on.
A recent study from the University of Georgia found that no rural counties had a PET scan facility, which is used to diagnose Alzheimer's. Out of these counties, only one facility had an infusion center to disperse the IV medication Lecanemab.
More than 188,000 Georgians are living with Alzheimer's disease, and for these individuals living in rural areas, they face drive times of over an hour to get a PET scan, and drives of sometimes more than three hours to reach the closest infusion site.
This study looked at all Georgia counties and found that 18 don’t have a family medicine doctor.
