Alzheimer

Alzheimer’s Research UK says patients at risk of being left behind as lack of formal or accurate diagnoses closes door to trialsPeople with Alzheimer’s disease are missing out on experimental treatments because they are not diagnosed early or accurately enough to be enrolled in clinical trials, a UK charity has said.Trials of Alzheimer’s drugs reached a record high this year, according to data published on Tuesday, but Alzheimer’s Research UK said too few UK patients were taking part because their diagnoses were delayed or were not specific enough. Continue reading...

• Stanford University neuroscientists discovered a blood-based biomarker (phosphorylated tau-217) that reliably predicts Alzheimer's disease development one to two decades before cognitive decline appears, according to research published April 20. • The biomarker was identified through analysis of blood samples from 2,500 cognitively healthy individuals followed for 15 years, with positive predictive value exceeding 92% in early-stage detection. • The finding could enable preventative therapies targeting amyloid and tau proteins before neurodegeneration becomes irreversible, potentially transforming Alzheimer's treatment approaches.

• Eisai and Biogen announced positive top-line results from CLARITY AD trial extension on April 7, 2026, with lecanemab reducing cognitive decline by 27% over 18 months in 1,795 US patients. • Drug cleared 59% more amyloid plaques vs. placebo, with ARIA side effects in 12.6% of participants; full data at June AD/PD conference. • Approval could expand to mild cases, addressing 6.7 million US Alzheimer's sufferers; analysts predict $2.4 billion annual sales.

• Researchers at Johns Hopkins University published findings in Nature Medicine on March 20 showing a blood test can detect Alzheimer's pathology 15-20 years before symptom onset with 94% accuracy. • The test measures phosphorylated tau and amyloid-beta levels and was validated in 2,100 cognitively normal participants followed for up to 12 years in multiple longitudinal cohorts. • Early detection could enable preventive interventions during the asymptomatic stage, potentially delaying or preventing cognitive decline in the 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease.

• A new coalition led by University of Maryland professor John Moult, creator of the Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP), is launching an initiative to assess the reliability of Alzheimer's literature and identify which experiments can be trusted. • The effort aims to evaluate competing hypotheses about the APOE4 gene's role in Alzheimer's by examining experimental conditions, statistical analyses, and data quality across human, mouse, and cell studies. • The approach leverages large language models to apply objective measuring standards to scientific literature, similar to how CASP's blind challenge methodology validated DeepMind's AlphaFold tool, which contributed to the company's 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Persistent inflammation in the gut, lungs and skin might lead to Alzheimer's disease, but lifestyle choices - from getting vaccinated to eating well - can keep inflammation under control

The Alzheimer’s field is being turned on its head as mounting evidence points to the disease beginning outside the brain many years before symptoms start. This may mean we have to totally rethink how we approach preventing and treating the condition