There has been a systematic effort over the past few years to get a more accurate and early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common cause of late-onset dementia. International guidelines for research diagnostic criteria are now leading to national guidelines for use of biomarkers, such as brain imaging using positron-emission tomography (PET). New ligands (radioactive makers of different brain changes) are being systematically studied across the range of AD (from no symptoms to mild complaints, then measurable memory decline, and then dementia), in order to see if there is a special timing of the disease where drugs acting on amyloid buildup, tau hyperphosphorylation, or neuroinflammation will be more useful.
Multiple clinical trials are running in Canada across the range of AD, in order to improve symptoms and/or modify disease progression. Updates on such studies are available on the Alz Soc of Canada web-site.
Other causes of dementia are also being studied, in particular fronto-temporal dementia. Special teams of investigators are studying the natural history of this condition (the GENFI study).
This webinar is hosted by brainXchange.