Marwan Sabbagh, MD: Observations From AAIC 2020

“We’re now seeing the real possibility of plasma biomarkers being deployed in clinical applications within the year.”

At the 2020 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC), there was a slew of promising presentations, including multiple studies that examined the use of blood biomarkers that can distinguish Alzheimer disease (AD) from other neurodegenerative disorders. P-tau217, among the more notable biomarkers, was found to be closely linked to a buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain as measured by positron emission tomography (PET) scan.

Marwan Sabbagh, MD, director of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and neurologist at Cleveland Clinic, is an acute observer of the research within the AD community. His biggest takeaway from last year’s AAIC meeting was the increased knowledge of lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of AD. This year, blood biomarkers were the main eye-catching observation, along with a few other discoveries.

In an interview with NeurologyLive, Sabbagh shared his overall thoughts and takeaways from AAIC 2020, including why blood biomarkers are a hot topic and something he plans to continue to look out for in future research.