CONFERENCE COVERAGE SERIES
Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) 2024 - 17th
Madrid, Spain
29 October – 01 November 2024
Last month in Madrid, researchers traded news about clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease. The field is watching the rollout of lecanemab and donanemab with bated breath, debating administration, appropriate use, and hoping for no more deaths. Soon after, European regulators issued a thumbs up for lecanemab. Meanwhile, brain shuttle versions are on the horizon, led by trontinemab. Tau as a target is starting to yield to antibodies, though OGA inhibition currently appears too toxic.
Trontinemab Data Strengthen Hope for Brain Shuttles
Trontinemab swooped into the brain and removed amyloid efficiently, while causing few cases of ARIA. One person with cerebrovascular pathology died.
Donanemab: Small Tweak in Titration, Big Gain in Safety?
By starting at a low dose and upping it stepwise for four months, scientists nearly halved the risk of ARIA while preserving plaque clearance.
Leqembi: Side Effects No Worse in Clinical Use Than They Were in Trial
ARIA rates have been the same or lower than in the Phase 3 trial. About 9,000 people are being treated in the U.S., half as many in Japan. EMA reverses course, recommending approval.
Finally, Therapeutic Antibodies Start to Reduce Tangles
Bepranemab results bolster hopes for antibodies targeting tau’s middle section. Whether tangle clearance will improve clinical outcomes remains unclear.
Tau Modification Drugs Take a Hit with Negative Trial
Lilly’s Phase 2 trial of its O-GlcNAcase inhibitor ceperognastat failed to meet clinical endpoints. The drug’s adverse events suggest potential off-target effects.
Fully Loaded: Secondary Prevention Studies of Lecanemab, Donanemab
In Madrid, researchers touted the benefits of plasma prescreening and showed baseline data on these early AD populations. Meanwhile, remternetug has begun Phase 3.
Biomarkers Suggest Black and Hispanic People Less Likely to Have Amyloid
The findings suggest that non-AD pathologies, driven by other comorbidities, might contribute to cognitive decline in these populations.
Some Alzheimer’s Blood Tests Are Racing Toward IVD Certification
Vendors of plasma p-tau217-based tests are filing with U.S. and European regulators for approval of fully automated, in vitro diagnostics.
Beyond Antibodies: From CTAD, New Attempts at Outflanking Alzheimer’s
Early stage trials hint that new therapeutics could take down APP, boost ApoE2, or fix inflammatory and metabolic dysfunction in AD.
Just as Sharp: MRI Scans at Triple the Speed
By utilizing advances in parallel imaging, scientists cut the time needed for diagnostic MRI scans from 18 to 6.5 minutes, without a noticeable loss in quality.
In Familial Alzheimer’s, β-Synuclein Rises in Blood a Decade Before Onset
In ADAD mutation carriers, blood β-synuclein crept up after their amyloid-PET scans had turned positive, but before axons degenerated. Does it reflect crumbling synapses?
'Presymptomatic AD' or 'Asymptomatic at Risk'? Dx Criteria Disagree
Alzheimer’s Association diagnostic criteria favor the former term, International Working Group the latter, for cognitively healthy people with AD biomarkers.