CONFERENCE COVERAGE SERIES
Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2020 (Virtual Meeting Only)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
27 – 30 July 2020
Plasma p-Tau217 Set to Transform Alzheimer’s Diagnostics
This early marker distinguishes Alzheimer’s from controls and other neurodegenerative diseases more accurately than other biomarkers.
Could Common Vaccines Protect Against Alzheimer’s Disease?
In large population datasets, people who had been vaccinated against influenza or pneumonia appeared less likely to develop AD.
Doubling Down on Sequencing Serves up More Alzheimer’s Genes
New genetic variants emerged by harmonizing whole-exome-sequencing data across continents, and by using imputation to plumb the depths of existing GWAS. One variant encodes a microglial phospholipid transporter.
IDEAS Finds Small Drop in Hospitalizations, Missing Goal
A slight drop in hospital admissions after amyloid PET, especially in people with positive scans, fell well short of the prespecified endpoint. Still, IDEAS is broadening into a research platform, and IDEAS 2 will add racial diversity.
Lancet Commission’s Dementia Hit List Adds Alcohol, Pollution, TBI
In updating their broad evaluation of the risk literature, the commission blamed three more modifiable factors for causing 6 percent of all dementia, concluding that 40 percent of cases can be prevented.
Heart Health Is Brain Health, and It Starts in Your 20s
New research pushes back the age at which dementia risk from cardiovascular and metabolic factors begins. Should protective lifestyle interventions start in youth?
Seeing into the Human Synapse: New Tools Illuminate Alzheimer’s Hot Spot
New synaptic profiling and imaging techniques are enabling scientists to zero in on synaptic proteins, including phospho-tau, that make the difference between clinical Alzheimer’s and resilience.
Umibecestat-Driven Cognitive Decline Is Reversible
Subtle memory deficits resolved after volunteers stopped taking the Novartis BACE inhibitor.
At AAIC, Hints of Target Engagement for Some Drug Candidates
Early data suggest that CT1812 and AL001 shift biomarker levels in Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia, respectively. BI 425809 fails to improve cognition.