SAN DIEGO — From exploring new ways to spot the disease to rethinking what Alzheimer’s is and how to treat it, there was plenty to absorb at this year’s Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.
About 9,400 researchers, doctors, biotech executives, and patient advocates attended AAIC virtually or in person this week at the San Diego Convention Center. And it’s no surprise there’s so much interest in this field. Alzheimer’s is a cruel and complex disease that is the sixth leading cause of death for adults and affects more than 6 million people in the U.S., according to the nonprofit Alzheimer’s Association, which projects the figure could reach 13 million by 2050.
I spent this week at AAIC talking with experts to better understand where the field is at and where it’s going. The meeting comes at a time when there still aren’t any treatments that stop the progression of Alzheimer’s. And there’s also still intense debate around the effectiveness of Biogen’s drug Aduhelm in slowing the disease and the value of other drugs that employ a similar strategy.
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