Marisa Wexler, MS,  senior science writer—

Two Phase 3 clinical trials are testing the effectiveness of simufilam, an experimental oral therapy that’s designed to improve cognition in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Top-line results from the RETHINK-ALZ trial (NCT04994483) are expected by the end of this year,…

Biogen is discontinuing development and commercialization of its controversial Alzheimer’s disease treatment Aduhelm (aducanumab) — a move that’s “not related to any safety or efficacy concerns,” the company said in a press release. Instead, according to Christopher Viehbacher, president and CEO of Biogen, the company is…

A commercially available blood test, sold by ALZpath, can identify with high accuracy Alzheimer’s disease patients who are likely to be eligible for new treatments, a study suggests. By detecting a version of the tau protein in a blood sample, the “ALZpath pTau217 test can help healthcare providers…

The cell therapy candidate Lomecel-B significantly improved cognitive function and reduced brain volume loss relative to a placebo in a Phase 2a clinical trial of people with mild Alzheimer’s disease, according to new data announced by the treatment’s developer Longeveron. “We believe these new data may provide evidence…

A rare variant in the APOE gene, known as the Christchurch mutation or APOE3ch, can protect against the development of Alzheimer’s disease by stopping the spread of toxic clumps of the tau protein in the brain, a new study suggests. The findings may have implications for better understanding Alzheimer’s underlying…

A novel technique that detects DNA from dead nerve cells in the blood may help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease and predict its development with a five-year window among people with mild cognitive impairment, a new study showed. The work was led by scientists at Resonant, a subsidiary of…

Medicare, the U.S. health insurance program for people ages 65 and older, will now provide additional coverage for an imaging test, called an amyloid PET scan, that can be used to help diagnose and monitor Alzheimer’s disease. The decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)…

A research team led by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has completed the most sweeping analysis yet of how genetic activity in brain cells is dysregulated in Alzheimer’s disease. “What we set out to do was blend together our computational and our biological expertise and take…

Six months of treatment with bryostatin slowed cognitive decline in adults with moderately severe Alzheimer’s disease, according to new data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. These bryostatin-associated cognitive benefits over a placebo were maintained even four months after stopping treatment, the researchers noted — highlighting the long-term effects…

Among people with a genetic form of Alzheimer’s disease, those with more formal education tend to be older at disease onset, a new study suggests. Data indicate that the protective effects of education are particularly pronounced among patients with the highest genetic risk of Alzheimer’s, which suggests that “programs to…