DESCRIPTION

This curriculum has been developed to educate both experienced clinicians and trainees on the rapidly evolving landscape of Alzheimer’s Disease diagnosis and treatment.

Learning Objectives

• Identify common neurodegenerative conditions causing dementia and their pathologic features.
• Describe the Alzheimer’s Association criteria for diagnosing and staging Alzheimer disease (AD).
• List Core 1 and Core 2 biomarkers for diagnosing AD based on the 2024 AA framework.
• Compare diagnostic frameworks: pathologic disease vs. clinical syndrome; MCI vs. dementia.
• Outline the algorithm for cognitive evaluation and screening and recommend referrals.
• Identify common MRI and PET findings in AD and discuss diagnostic limitations.
• Recognize appropriate clinical scenarios for amyloid and tau PET testing.
• Explain the mechanism and clinical application of anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in AD.
• Review clinical trials of lecanemab and donanemab, including differences and patient populations.
• Understand amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) and associated risks.
• Apply shared decision-making in discussing anti-amyloid treatments and communicate risks, benefits, and evidence.
• Recognize racial and ethnic disparities in dementia care and understand the challenges of applying clinical trial results to diverse populations.