Alzheimer research shifts from diagnosis to predicting disease progression and personalized treatment
Researchers at IRCCS San Raffaele in Rome say the focus is moving from detecting Alzheimer’s to forecasting who will develop dementia and how fast.
One-hundred-twenty years after Alzheimer’s was first described, scientists can now track disease-related proteins and even detect them with a simple blood draw. Professor Paolo Maria Rossini of IRCCS San Raffaele in Rome notes that while blood biomarkers like p-tau217 are becoming clinically viable, they alone cannot predict individual dementia outcomes. To address this, the nationally funded INTERCEPTOR study integrated clinical, neuropsychological, genetic, neurophysiological, imaging and biomarker data to create algorithms that estimate the three-year risk of progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s. The project, coordinated by Rossini and involving institutions such as the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and Policlinico Gemelli, published its final results in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
At the same time, new monoclonal antibodies such as lecanemab and donanemab target amyloid, marking a paradigm shift in treatment, though benefits remain modest and monitoring for side effects is essential. Rossini stresses that the next challenge is combining these diagnostic tools with targeted therapies to achieve truly personalized care.
