ALZFORUM: Last year, people with dementia were most vulnerable, and this constrained research. Investigators adjusted and managed to make strides in important areas, from plasma tests for Aβ and tau to therapeutics. 2020 saw the first — if embattled — FDA filing for a new AD drug since 2003. If approved, it would be the first biologic treatment for this disease.
Last year was a year to remember. (Or make that a year to forget!) Hope held until February that SARS-CoV-2 might be contained, but was quickly dashed when the virus spread across the globe. Lockdowns, social isolation, protective equipment shortages, and heartbreak became the norm as millions of people became infected and the death toll soared, especially among the old.
People with dementia were most vulnerable, and this constrained research. Clinical studies and trials were hampered because in-person visits had to be cancelled or rescheduled. Basic research was disrupted. Laboratories worldwide were forced to shutter or curtail access, putting projects on ice and precious cell and animal lines in jeopardy. Conference organizers scrambled to reschedule or switch to an online format, with various degrees of success. Casualties included the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting. Typically drawing up to 30,000 scientists annually, it was cancelled.
By June, investigators had adjusted and research began to get mostly back on track.
Some clinical trials were abandoned (Jun news), but even so, as outlined in this yearly research roundup, the field overall managed to make strides in important areas, from plasma tests for Aβ and tau to therapeutics. Twenty-twenty saw the first—if embattled—FDA filing for a new AD drug since 2003. If approved, it would be the first biologic treatment for this disease.
