With its brilliant researchers and colorful vendor exhibits, last month’s Alzheimer’s Association* International Conference (AAIC) in Toronto looked like any other medical meeting, with one crucial gap: There were almost no treatments.
While a handful of drugs can mitigate symptoms, currently there is no FDA-approved treatment to prevent, halt or even slow Alzheimer’s. AAIC felt like the frontier of medicine—the Old West kind of frontier—where the paths are unpaved and high-stakes gambling is a way of life. Here are some highlights:
A promising experimental treatment yielded disappointment, confusion and a Twitter tempest. TauRx presented results of the first-ever late-stage trial targeting tau protein, a key bad actor in Alzheimer’s. The trial failed to reach its endpoint, but a few patients improved. That led to conflicting media reports, furious tweets and this Buzzfeed summary featuring that bastion of nerd comedy, XKCD. It’s a case study on the caution and expertise required for science journalism, as well as the continuing challenge of finding effective treatments.
Prevention strategies shone brightly. There was no breakthrough treatment, but new evidence that you can reduce your risk of dementia. Study participants in complex, people-oriented occupations showed benefit, as did those who used a cognitive training program (a special video game designed by scientists – do not expect similar results from Bejeweled Blitz). There was also more research supporting the well-established link between cardiovascular and brain health.
The exhibit floor featured diagnostics, pipeline drugs and an adorable baby seal robot. While researchers shared advances in the quest for a simple Alzheimer’s test, commercial exhibitors showcased what’s available now, such as online cognition tests, biomarker testing and software evaluating your fitness to drive. Several pharmas shared data on pipeline drugs as well as specialized disease education. Exhibitors offered helpful products for people with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers, including Paro Therapeutics, which makes eerily lifelike baby seal companion robots for people with dementia. A booth staffer told me, “Seals are neutral. Some people don’t like cats. Some people don’t like dogs.”
Meeting attendance hit 5,000. The growth trend—as well as the drumbeat of news coming out of the meeting—shows this is an area of increasing research interest.
In the United States, Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death, the most expensive disease, and expected to double or triple in incidence by 2050. It’s also perhaps the toughest major disease to tackle – this graph shows how Alzheimer’s deaths are soaring while they decline for other fatal diseases. For both science and society, AAIC continues to be an important meeting to follow.
Chris Goldrick is a senior vice president in Edelman’s Health sector.
*Edelman client