Alzheimer’s Disease: From Pathophysiology to Treatment and Expanding Access to Care

Clinicians unpack Alzheimer’s rising risk, why early detection and lifestyle prevention matter, and how delaying onset could cut costs dramatically.

Learn how doctors spot mild cognitive impairment early using MoCA, Mini-Cog, caregiver insights, and blood biomarkers to guide MRI/PET treatment.

Led by the moderator, the panelists discussed how their practices use structured screening tools, electronic health record order sets, and attention to subtle behavioral symptoms to catch Alzheimer's disease earlier, and how targeted continuing medical education, a "see one, do one, teach one" mentoring approach, and e-consult safety nets are building primary care physicians' confidence to diagnose despite a shrinking pool of behavioral neurologists and geriatricians.

Led by the moderator, the expert neurology and primary care panelists examined the realities of delivering Alzheimer's disease care where specialists are scarce.

The panelists examined the full treatment continuum for Alzheimer's disease.

Led by the moderator, the panelists discussed how lecanemab and donanemab differ in trial efficacy, dosing schedule, and administration route, and how ARIA — while it can sound alarming to patients — is usually asymptomatic and stratifiable by a patient's APOE4 status, requiring the most intensive MRI monitoring in the first six months of treatment before rates drop off.

Led by the moderator, the expert neurology and primary care panelists examined what an ideal training curriculum looks like.

The panelists examined the hurdles of practicing without local backup.

Led by the moderator, the panelists discussed how they sequence plasma p-tau217 and beta-amyloid 42/40 testing alongside cognitive screening as a first-line workup, reserving confirmatory amyloid PET or CSF testing for inconclusive cases, and noted that payer coverage for these biomarker tests has so far been largely free of denials.

Led by the moderator, the expert neurology and primary care panelists examined the gap between expanded coverage and real-world access.