In some patients, the blood Aβ42/40 test fell too close to the cutoff for specialists to confidently diagnose AD. Comorbidities, drugs also complicate results. Two CSF tests are FDA-approved.
Autopsy data confirm that current tau PET tracers are unsuitable for some primary tauopathies. CryoEM structures help researchers find new ligands for tau and α-synuclein.
Synapses of fast-spiking interneurons nestle in holes within dense extracellular matrix. These ‘cages’ corral glutamate, so it won’t spark excitotoxicity.
In postmortem analyses of athletes who had repetitive head injuries, neurofibrillary tangles were more common than α-synuclein fibrils in the substantia nigra.
Certain blood biomarker tests can tell that amyloid has built up in a person's brain and that their thinking will decline. What are the challenges ahead before these tests can be rolled out to medical care settings everywhere?
At trials conference, multiple amyloid immunotherapy programs reported greatest cognitive benefits for people whose tau tangle deposition has only just begun.
Clearance triggers improvement in downstream markers of inflammation and neurodegeneration—but not in those who started with high tangle burden. (Clue: women.)
On gantenerumab, some people with dominantly inherited AD mutations remain plaque- and tangle-free, and cognitively healthy, years after their expected age of onset.