Sanna Trygg’s Post

A new digital cognitive test has been developed to support early and accurate Alzheimer's disease screening in primary care settings. This self-administered test provides a detailed assessment of memory, processing speed, attention, orientation, and recall, offering objective insights that surpass traditional pen-and-paper methods. By identifying patients who may benefit from further blood testing for Alzheimer's pathology, the tool aims to optimize resource use and improve diagnostic precision. This approach enables primary care physicians to make informed decisions about referrals and potential treatment pathways, addressing the growing need for efficient dementia assessment as new therapies emerge.

🔬 A New Era in Alzheimer’s Treatment: Lecanemab (Leqembi) 🧠 Alzheimer’s disease continues to challenge patients, families, and healthcare systems worldwide. Recently, Lecanemab (Leqembi), a monoclonal antibody, has been FDA-approved as the first disease-modifying therapy shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia. 🧪 How it works: Lecanemab targets and clears amyloid-beta plaques in the brain, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s pathology. 📊 Clinical evidence: In the CLARITY-AD phase 3 trial, Lecanemab slowed clinical decline by 27% over 18 months compared with placebo. Patients on Lecanemab demonstrated measurable benefits in cognition and daily functioning. ⚠️ Important considerations: Administered via intravenous infusion every 2 weeks. Side effects can include infusion reactions and amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), requiring MRI monitoring. 🌍 Why this matters: This marks a turning point in Alzheimer’s management—from purely symptomatic therapy to disease-modifying treatment, offering new hope to patients and families. #Alzheimers #Neurology #Lecanemab #Leqembi #Innovation #Pharmacy #Healthcare

Researchers are using data models from electronic medical records to find patterns that may predict when people with mild cognitive impairment are likely to transition to more serious dementia. The models may help target Alzheimer’s disease treatments to those who may benefit. https://bit.ly/4nz1BuO

➡️“Cognitive decline in AD-Mimics follows a distinct, slower trajectory compared with those with neuropathologically confirmed AD. ” ➡️“Overall, AD-Mimics were older (mean age at death: 88.51 vs 82.14 years; 95% CI for mean difference, −7.12 to −5.62), less likely to be female (46.07% vs 50.66%; 95% CI −0.090 to −0.002), and had lower APOE ɛ4 allele prevalence (30.37% vs 60.12%; 95% CI −0.34 to −0.26). Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes scores revealed that AD-AD patients tended to be more severely impaired at all timepoints and exhibited a nonlinear progression. Critically, AD-Mimics declined more slowly and maintained superior performance across cognitive tests for up to 8 years from initial presentation. ”

A new blood test for #Alzheimer’s is being trialled across 20 #NHS memory clinics in the UK, aiming to boost diagnostic accuracy from 70% to over 90%. Led by UCL and backed by Alzheimer's Society and Alzheimer's Research UK, this could transform early detection and care. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e5sjj_Vx #Diagnostics #Alzheimers #DementiaAwareness #HealthcareInnovation #MedicalResearch #UCL #Biomarkers #EarlyDiagnosis #Neuroscience #ADAPTTrial

How can we accurately and efficiently identify cognitive impairment in primary care? In our latest study, published today in Nature Medicine, we demonstrate that a brief, self-administered cognitive test battery can reliably distinguish between individuals with and without cognitive impairment. This is particularly important, as amyloid-targeted therapies are currently approved only for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment (MCI or dementia). Moreover, blood biomarkers such as p-tau217 have much higher positive predictive value in cognitively impaired individuals, making abnormal test results easier to interpret in this population. As outlined in our paper, we propose the following pathway: after an initial evaluation by the primary care physician, patients complete the self-administered cognitive test. If impairment is indicated, plasma p-tau217 testing can then help determine whether the symptoms are likely due to Alzheimer’s disease. Future research should evaluate whether this streamlined, cost- and time-efficient diagnostic approach can improve patient management in primary care—particularly in terms of appropriate referrals, timely treatment initiation, and overall care outcomes. Finally, I really want to thank Pontus Tideman and Linda Karlsson, two very talented PhD students, who spearheaded this project. I would also like to thank Sebastian Palmqvist who made the primary care study happen. #Alzheimer #Alzheimerdisease #Alzheimersdisease #biomarkers #primarycare https://lnkd.in/dasksZM3

Very happy that are study on combining digital cognitive tests and blood biomarkers for Alzheimer disease is now published in Nature Medicine. Together, digital cognitive tests and blood biomarkers can have profound impact both for research and how we diagnose and monitor patients in clinical practice.

New publication in Nature Medicine!   In this study, led by PhD students Pontus Tideman and Linda Karlsson, we demonstrate that a brief, self-administered cognitive test battery can reliably identify individuals with cognitive impairment in a primary care setting.    This is highly relevant as Alzheimer’s disease blood biomarkers and anti-amyloid therapies should currently be used only in individuals who have objective evidence of cognitive impairment. This increases the likelihood that a positive biomarker test truly reflects Alzheimer’s disease, and that treatment is offered at the recommended disease stage. But identifying objective cognitive impairment remains a major bottleneck in primary care.    We therefore developed and evaluated a brief, self-administered cognitive test battery, BioCog, which could identify objective cognitive impairment with 85% accuracy in primary care, outperforming both current standard-of-care (73% accuracy) and commonly used paper-and-pencil cognitive tests (67%–75% accuracy).    By combining the test with blood biomarkers such as plasma p-tau217, this approach may offer a cost- and time-efficient way to improve diagnosis and management. In the study, such a combination resulted in 90% accuracy in identifying clinical Alzheimer’s disease, better than the current standard-of-care (70% accuracy) and using blood biomarkers alone (80% accuracy).   Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/dhzzWbak A big thank you to all co-authors Olof Strandberg, Susanna Calling, Ruben Smith, Patrik Midlöv, Philip Verghese, Joel Braunstein, MD, Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren, Erik Stomrud, Sebastian Palmqvist, Oskar Hansson.

Happy and proud to share our new study published today in Nature Medicine! The study shows that a digital, self-administered cognitive test can reliably assess if a patient seeking help in primary care actually has objectively impaired cognition or not. A digital test, in combination with blood biomarkers, can be a good way to more accurately and efficiently diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. Full study: https://lnkd.in/d-Q_8s_M I am very thankful for the great team effort of this work, especially leading it together with my fantastic fellow PhD student Pontus Tideman under the great supervision of Oskar Hansson and Sebastian Palmqvist.

Highly recommended reading, showing the very strong potential for combining short cognitive tests with blood biomarkers. It is inspiring work for the READOUT study team looking for large scale real-world blood and cognitive tests for dementias (supported by Alzheimer's Research UK, NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research), Alzheimer's Society and Innovate UK) A few caveats to highlight This is not a study of screening tests. Its important to note that even the primary care study is not population screening - the primary care group were seeking help for cognitive symptoms, and the doctor thought that neurodegenerative disease was a reasonably possible cause. Ie, the kind of patient who ordinarily might be heading for a memory clinic, not healthy asymptomatic adults. The authors clearly know the difference, but it is easy for the public (and some colleagues!) to misunderstand the difference. Nice to see the comparisons of 1 vs 6 vs 9 item tests - note that even a single item (10-word recall) gets AUC>90%, and additional items give marginal gains for he extra time and effort. Its really valuable to see the way the team validate and compare the cognitive test versions We must also remember that this paper is about the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or MCI due to AD-pathology. The success of AD diagnostics must not lead to false reassurance or underdiagnosis of the many non-AD dementias. It's a great paper, and I hope you are also inspired by it,