Dr. Howard Fillit: Why Alzheimer's milestone, new research gives me hope for millions of patients and families

Many patient advocacy groups representing the 6 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s disease are hailing the FDA’s approval of a new treatment for Alzheimer’s, aducanamab – the first since 2003.

Today, there are approximately 120 clinical trials underway, several of which may prove critical in combating the disease— more than half tackling a variety of aging-related pathways. This makes me very optimistic about the potential for future breakthroughs.  Alzheimer’s research has progressed dramatically in the last decade. Before then, researchers faced two challenges that set Alzheimer's apart from, say, cancer or heart disease. First, animal models were not useful, since animals in the lab don't possess exclusively human ("executive function") brain capabilities that are diminished and lost as Alzheimer’s progresses.  Second, until recently, we had no way to definitively diagnose Alzheimer's in living human patients.  While there are many underlying causes and various forms of dementia, the hallmarks of Alzheimer's—the accumulation of beta amyloid plaques and tau proteins in the brain—could be detected only through autopsy.