Dementia and Alzheimer Disease

Take 5 minutes to catch up on NeurologyLive®'s highlights from the week ending July 17, 2026.

The global phase 3 registration trial enrolled 1535 patients across 240 sites and has completed its 52-week double-blind treatment phase, with no unexpected safety signals observed, even in participants on concomitant antiamyloid therapies.

Across 3 first-in-human studies in healthy volunteers and cognitively impaired adults, MK-2214 demonstrated dose-proportional pharmacokinetics, an approximately 80-day half-life, and near-complete suppression of free pS413 tau in CSF at doses of 20 mg and above.

At AAIC 2026, the senior research professor of neurology at Indiana University School of Medicine discussed the evolving role of blood-based Alzheimer disease biomarkers, particularly p-tau217.

The 60 mg dose showed the largest treatment effect, slowing decline by 26% on CDR-SB, 42% on ADAS-Cog13, and 50% on MMSE at 18 months, while all doses produced 50% to 65% reductions in CSF total tau and unprecedented tau PET reductions across brain regions.

MCLENA-1 enrolled only 6 completers due to funding constraints but demonstrated 12 months of continuous lenalidomide was safe and tolerable, with nonsignificant trends favoring treatment on cognition and global outcomes.

A new phase 2 trial, presented at AAIC 2026, aims to evaluate the effects of urolithin A on mitophagy/autophagy activity, oxidative stress, multi-omic profiling, and cognitive function in APOE4 carriers.

The approval allows patients to begin lecanemab treatment at home via weekly subcutaneous injection, eliminating the 18-month IV requirement that previously preceded any at-home dosing.

The APPLAUDS trial will evaluate mivelsiran, an intrathecally delivered siRNA targeting amyloid precursor protein, in cognitively stable adults aged 40 to 55 with early-stage Down syndrome and early-stage Alzheimer disease who have elevated amyloid burden.

Post hoc analyses from the phase 3 GRADUATE program suggest higher baseline tau pathology may limit amyloid removal with gantenerumab, offering new insight into factors that could influence response to anti-amyloid therapy.

In a prespecified analysis presented at AAIC 2026, findings showed that plasma p-tau217 declined from baseline in valiltramiprosate-treated MCI patients compared with placebo over 78 weeks.

Ahead of the 2026 Alzheimer's Association International Conference, David Wolk, MD, discusses the meeting's biggest scientific themes, from plasma biomarkers and disease-modifying therapies to emerging technologies and evolving clinical practice.

Led by Na Tosha Gatson, MD, PhD, FAAN, director of the Center for Neuro-Oncology at the Indiana University Health Neurosciences and Cancer Institutes, this new column translates complex neuro-oncology topics into accessible, evidence-based insights.

Cleveland Clinic pilots HAP-E, guiding older adults to manage epilepsy and cognitive decline with lifestyle tools, medication support, and virtual access.

Optometrist DeAnn Fitzgerald, OD, discussed strategies to identify vision-related symptoms of TBI, the role of detailed history-taking, and the cultural considerations when caring for Hispanic patients.

Catch up on any of the neurology headlines you may have missed in June 2026, compiled into 1 place by the NeurologyLive® team.

Additional analyses from a phase 2 study evaluating the effects of zervimesine on hallucination in DLB will be presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2026 .

In the exploratory phase 2 RoAD study, PrimeC demonstrated biomarker changes consistent with target engagement across multiple neurodegenerative pathways, informing the design of future Alzheimer's disease trials.

Ashish Raj, PhD, professor of radiology and biomedical imaging at UCSF, discusses a newly developed AI model that predicts current and future cognitive impairment from a single baseline MRI scan in patients across the Alzheimer disease spectrum.

The 2026 Alzheimer disease drug development landscape highlights a growing shift toward diverse disease-modifying strategies, from amyloid and tau targeting to metabolic and neuroprotective approaches.

The associate professor of neurology and neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai discussed plasma p-tau217 levels association with regional hypometabolism, cortical atrophy, and cognitive impairment in early symptomatic Alzheimer disease.

Catch up on any of the neurology headlines you may have missed in May 2026, compiled into 1 place by the NeurologyLive® team.

Characterization of early-start TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2 participants who required continued donanemab in the long-term extension suggests durable clinical benefit with fewer cumulative doses.

Preliminary phase 1a findings suggest the investigational tau aggregation inhibitor OLX-07010 demonstrated favorable safety and pharmacokinetic profiles in healthy volunteers, supporting continued development in Alzheimer disease.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on NeurologyLive®'s highlights from the week ending May 15, 2026.