CMS Plans to Limit Aduhelm Coverage to Clinical Trials
The decision will curtail access until efficacy is shown. Many Alzheimer’s researchers call it a reasonable compromise, others question how it will work in practice.
NEWS
2021—A Turning Point for Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy?
Alzforum editors review the highlights of last year’s clinical and research developments.
In Frontotemporal Dementia Model, Do Riled-Up Microglia Help?
Progranulin deficiency hyperactivates microglia, but calming these cells worsened synapse loss and neurodegeneration in mice.
Cryo-EM Unveils Distinct Aβ42 Fibril Structures for Sporadic, Familial AD
Filaments of Aβ42 struck different poses in people with sporadic versus familial AD. The familial AD structure was also found in people with other neurodegenerative diseases, and even in APP knock-in mice.
Mighty MiGA: Microglial Genomic Atlas Zeros in on Causal AD Risk Variants
The largest transcriptomic catalogue of live microglial cells to date, MiGA cinched causal connections between genetic variation, microglial gene expression, and disease.
Does Fast-Progressing Alzheimer's Have a Whole Repertoire of Tau Conformers?
A new study claims that diverse palettes of tau species exist in the hippocampi of people with AD. Four-repeat isoforms dominated in rapidly progressing disease.
Amyloid Alone—Any Amyloid—Raises P-Tau in Mice
Cerebrospinal fluid p-tau217 and -181 rose in tandem with amyloid deposition in the brain, regardless of whether the plaques contained Aβ or amyloid formed by a different protein.
Does More Aβ38 Mean Less Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer’s?
People with subjective or mild cognitive impairment are less likely to get dementia if their CSF Aβ38 levels are high. Should γ-secretase modulators be revived?
Virtual Exhibit Hall
Alzforum encourages users to visit the Virtual Exhibit Hall, where companies showcase their newest initiatives, products, and services. We welcome F. Hoffmann-La Roche, joining our other exhibitors — Biogen, BioLegend, Abcam, BrainXell, and the Jackson Laboratory.
SPOTLIGHT
CMS Plans to Limit Aduhelm Coverage to Clinical Trials
In the latest plot twist in the aducanumab saga, Medicare has said it intends to cover the drug—and other anti-amyloid antibodies to come—only in clinical trials approved by the CMS or the NIH. While advocacy groups are furious, many AD researchers call this a reasonable compromise. However, they question whether these trials are feasible, and object to treating all antibodies as a class. A final decision by CMS is expected in April. Read Alzforum’s coverage of this complicated issue, and 35 comments from experts across the field.
2021—A Turning Point for Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy?
As we put another ghastly year in the rear-view mirror, let's take one last look back. Amidst the challenges of this third year of COVID blues and COVID blahs, Alzheimer’s disease research and drug development motored on. It brought heated controversies, but also cool new insights into disease pathology and progression. From the accelerated approval of aducanumab by the U.S. FDA to the wondrous structures of single molecules of tau, your Alzforum team reviewed the past year's highlights, and you don’t need a mask to enjoy them!
Cryo-EM Sees Distinct Aβ42 Folds for Sporadic, Familial AD
What do Aβ42 filaments plucked from the brains of people who died with sporadic AD, familial AD, or other neurodegenerative diseases have in common? Their protofilaments all curve into S-shaped structures, according to a cryo-EM study of Aβ filaments from 10 human brains. Surprisingly, the scientists identified one distinctive S-shaped fold in people with sporadic AD, and another that was common to filaments from people with familial AD, other diseases, and even ββAPP knock-in mice.
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