Experts Discuss the Urgent Need for a Patient-Centered Care Framework in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Watch to learn about the evolving patient care framework in AD, importance of early and accurate diagnosis, how biomarkers relate to AD pathophysiology, and the importance of provider collaboration to optimize AD management.
The recent evolution of the AD treatment landscape has increased the urgency to introduce a patient-centered care framework to enable appropriate patient identification and management.
Presented at the 2024 American Academy of Neurology (AAN), three leading experts in AD discuss the importance of early and accurate diagnosis of AD, explore how collaborative care teams can optimize and enable early diagnosis, and provide practical guidance on biomarker assessment in AD diagnosis.
1. Dr. Julie Schwartzbard: A “Call To Action”: Overview of the Progressive Nature of AD
Our understanding of AD as a chronic, progressive disease has evolved significantly over the last decade, which has led to the introduction of a patient-care framework focused on early diagnosis and long-term disease management.
Dr. Julie Schwartzbard outlines the dynamic and evolving patient care framework and the role of various stakeholders, including primary care physicians, neurologists, neuroradiologists, and neuropsychologists along the journey. She emphasizes the need for early diagnosis to facilitate optimal patient care, highlights some common barriers to early AD detection, and suggests strategies to improve early AD diagnosis.
2. Dr. Marwan Sabbagh: Understanding AD Pathophysiology and Collaboration for Early Diagnosis
Early evaluation of cognitive impairment and accurate differential diagnosis of AD is crucial for appropriate patient care. Emerging treatment options are shifting the focus of AD management from symptom management to targeting the underlying AD pathology.
Dr. Marwan Sabbagh highlights the significance of amyloid biology in AD and the pathway leading to the accumulation of amyloid beta monomers and their aggregation into toxic species, including protofibrils and oligomers. He explores the downstream complications associated with amyloid including tau accumulation, inflammation, and subsequent neurodegeneration. Given the chronic neurotoxic processes driving AD progression, he stresses the need for early diagnosis and collaboration between primary care and specialists to improve patient outcomes.
3. Dr. Justin S. Moon: Biomarkers in AD Diagnosis
A critical component of the evolving patient-centered framework is the integration of AD biomarkers to enable early diagnosis. The availability of biomarkers that reflect the underlying AD pathophysiology have increased diagnostic certainty.
Dr. Justin Moon describes some of the AD biomarkers measuring amyloid and tau available in clinical practice. He reviews the strengths and limitations of AD biomarker modalities including cerebrospinal fluid, blood-based biomarkers, and positron emission tomography. He provides guidance on incorporating appropriate biomarkers into clinical practice to facilitate AD diagnosis.
AD-M2334 | Date of preparation January 2025