Alzheimer’s Breakthrough: Plaque Vanishes After Treatment

A Texas woman who once faced a fast-moving, incurable brain disease now says the telltale plaques of Alzheimer’s have vanished completely from her brain scans.

Quick Take

Dallas resident Gail Youngdale says amyloid plaque linked to her Alzheimer’s no longer appears on brain scans after treatment with the drug lecanemab, sold as Leqembi.
Her daughter, Teri Youngdale, confirms the plaque has stayed gone and has not returned.
BrightFocus Foundation is featuring Youngdale’s story in a national campaign to raise Alzheimer’s awareness.
Clinical trials show lecanemab clears amyloid plaque in most patients but produces only a modest slowing of memory decline, not a cure.

From Diagnosis to a National Campaign

Gail Youngdale first spoke with KSAT in 2023 while living with progressive Alzheimer’s disease. She had just started lecanemab through a global clinical trial after her diagnosis. Three years later, her story has grown into something bigger. BrightFocus Foundation is now using her experience as part of a national push to raise awareness during World Alzheimer’s Month and highlight new treatment options for families facing the disease.

Youngdale’s daughter, Teri, has become a central voice in telling her mother’s story. In the newest KSAT report, Teri says the amyloid plaque tied to her mother’s disease no longer shows up on brain scans at all. She describes watching her mother regain independence and even remarry, changes she credits directly to the treatment’s effect on her mother’s brain and daily life.

Inside the Treatment That Cleared Her Scans

Lecanemab works by targeting sticky amyloid protein clumps that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The drug won full approval from the Food and Drug Administration after trials showed it could steadily shrink these plaques over time. BrightFocus Foundation notes the FDA has since expanded approval to include an at-home injectable version, making the treatment easier for patients like Youngdale to keep taking it long term.

Large clinical trials back up what Youngdale’s scans appear to show. In the Clarity AD trial, 81% of patients on lecanemab reached amyloid-negative PET scan results, meaning their plaque levels dropped below the threshold doctors use to diagnose active disease buildup. Researchers found the drug reduced amyloid levels in a dose- and time-dependent way, with measurable drops starting as early as three months into treatment.

What the Science Says About Memory and Decline

Clearing plaque from a scan is not the same as reversing memory loss. The New England Journal of Medicine trial that helped win lecanemab’s approval found the drug produced only a moderate slowdown in cognitive and functional decline compared to a placebo over 18 months, alongside some side effects. Other researchers estimate the drug delays disease progression by roughly six months on average.

That gap between a dramatic scan result and a smaller day-to-day benefit is common with this class of drugs. Doctors and researchers have long noted that amyloid levels and memory symptoms do not always move in lockstep, so a clear scan does not guarantee a patient will feel or function dramatically better. Youngdale’s family describes real gains in her independence, but her case does not erase that broader pattern seen across patients on the drug.

A New Chapter for Gail Youngdale

For Youngdale personally, the past three years have brought changes beyond her scan results. KSAT reports she has built a new marriage and a renewed sense of independence since starting treatment. She now uses that personal turnaround to encourage other families facing an Alzheimer’s diagnosis not to lose hope, joining BrightFocus Foundation’s effort to spread awareness of treatment options during Alzheimer’s Awareness Month.

Her story lands at a moment when new anti-amyloid drugs are reshaping what an Alzheimer’s diagnosis can mean for patients willing to start treatment early. Whether her results reflect what most patients can expect remains an open question tied to the broader science, but her family says the change in her scans, and in her life, is real and lasting.