AAIC 2025

A member of the CAN community had the opportunity to attend the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2025 in Toronto, where experts unveiled new guidelines for blood-based biomarker tests, shared promising results from anti-amyloid drugs Lecanemab and Donanemab, and highlighted lifestyle interventions from the U.S. POINTER trial that can strengthen cognitive resilience - read on for key takeaways:

Lifestyle intervention boosts cognition:

In the 2-year U.S. POINTER study, multidomain lifestyle programs including exercise, MIND diet, intellectual and social engagement, and heart-health monitoring improved cognition in high-risk older adults. The structured program produced greater gains than the self-guided version, with benefits across age, sex, ethnicity, cardiovascular health, and APOE-ε4 status.

First clinical blood-based biomarker (BBM) guidelines released:

The Alzheimer’s Association issued its first evidence-based recommendations for using BBM tests to detect amyloid beta or tau abnormalities in people with cognitive impairment, enabling earlier and more accurate diagnosis and faster access to care.

Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) in neurodegeneration:

Key findings in one study revealed that pro-inflammatory signals enhance the formation of microglia TNTs, their contact with sub-neuronal elements, and localization of neuro-immune interacting molecules. Another described iPS cell models for studying TNT-mediated microglia–neuron interactions. Additionally, TNTs were involved in cell-cell transfer of pathologic proteins in Huntington’s disease and tauopathies, as well as mitochondrial transfer influencing neural physiology.

Dual-front tau mechanisms:

Two complementary studies advanced understanding of tau-driven neurodegeneration. Hyperphosphorylation in dendritic spines weakened synaptic integrity, while fibrillar tau induced endothelial dysfunction via RAGE signaling, linking synaptic and vascular pathways to neuronal injury and revealing distinct, targetable mechanisms.

Historic lead exposure and Alzheimer’s risk:

Large-scale epidemiological data linked childhood exposure to atmospheric lead during the leaded-gasoline era with a ~20% higher likelihood of later-life memory problems. Complementary lab studies showed even low lead levels trigger early neuronal dysfunction and increase tau and amyloid accumulation, suggesting a lasting molecular imprint that heightens vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease.