Advancing Alzheimer Treatment Through Gamma Oscillation Stimulation: Ralph Kern, MD, MHSc

WATCH TIME: 6 minutes

"We showed remarkable preservation of brain structures and daily functions, with particularly striking results in the corpus callosum, providing new hope for Alzheimer treatment."

Patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease (AD) who completed the 6-month phase 2 OVERTURE I (NCT03556280) randomized controlled trial (RCT) assessing Spectris (Cognito Therapeutics) were invited to enroll in the separate 12-month open-label extension (OLE) OVERTURE II study, receiving 1 hour of daily active treatment.¹ Among the participants who completed the RCT (n = 53), 83% entered the OLE (n = 44); 39 patients (active, n = 25; sham, n = 14) were assessed at 9 months, and 22 patients (15 active, 7 sham) were evaluated at 18 months.

New data presented from the OVERTURE I/II study showed that treatment with Spectris significantly reduced the estimated AD Dependence Score (DS) compared with sham treatment over 18 months. Notably, tolerability and adherence to treatment were high, with no serious treatment-related adverse events or amyloid-related imaging abnormalities observed. Presented by Ralph Kern, MD, MHSc, at the 2024 Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference, held October 29 to November 1, in Madrid, Spain, these results will be further investigated in the ongoing phase 3 HOPE pivotal trial of Spectris in patients with mild-to-moderate AD (NCT05637801).^2,3

During the conference, Kern, who serves as the chief medical officer at Cognito Therapeutics, sat down with NeurologyLive^® to discuss how Spectris’ stimulation of gamma oscillations affects inhibitory neurons in the brain. He also talked about the biological markers and brain structures that show promise to be preserved in patients using the Spectris device. In addition, he spoke about how the RCT of OVERTURE validated the efficacy of Spectris in preserving daily function and cognition.

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REFERENCES
1. Hajós M, Boasso A, Hempel E, et al. Safety, tolerability, and efficacy estimate of evoked gamma oscillation in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Front Neurol. 2024;15:1343588. Published 2024 Mar 6. doi:10.3389/fneur.2024.1343588
2. Kern R, et al. SPECTRIS™ OVERTURE I responder analysis demonstrates consistent preservation of function and brain structure. Presented at: 2024 CTAD; October 29-November 1; Madrid, Spain. Poster 026.
3. Cognito Therapeutics Announces Spectris™ Treatment Demonstrates 56.4% Reduction in Alzheimer’s Disease Dependence Score with Strong Safety Profile. News Release. Cognito Therapeutics. Published October 29, 2024. Accessed October 29, 2024. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241007437877/en/Cognito-Therapeutics-to-Present-New-Data-for-Spectris%E2%84%A2-in-Alzheimer%E2%80%99s-Disease-at-CTAD-2024