The National Academies
12/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/17/2024 10:16
Report Identifies Research Priorities for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias; More Innovative and Integrative Research Approaches Needed to Speed Progress
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Report Identifies Research Priorities for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias; More Innovative and Integrative Research Approaches Needed to Speed Progress
News Release| December 17, 2024
WASHINGTON - A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies research priorities that the National Institutes of Health should pursue over the next three to 10 years to advance the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD).
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias - such as vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy body dementia - exact a heavy emotional and financial toll on individuals, families, and communities. Given the nation's aging population, that toll is likely to grow, including enormous health and long-term care costs, the report says.
The report recommends collaborative, multidisciplinary research to cross existing silos at NIH and shed light on multiple types of dementia; the integration of research on both pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment approaches; and better coordination with other federal agencies who support related areas of research.
In addition, accelerating progress in AD/ADRD prevention and treatment will require transformational change that can only be achieved through greater support for innovation in NIH-supported research, the report says. Incentives are needed to promote more disruptive research approaches that may lead to significant steps forward.
"Investments over the past decade have created a foundation of knowledge and led to many scientific advances, including the first pharmacological treatments to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease in some individuals," said Tia Powell, chair of the committee that wrote the report and professor of epidemiology and psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center. "But the reality remains that we lack interventions to prevent or cure AD/ADRD, and there is an urgent need for treatments that can significantly improve the lives of individuals living with dementia and of those close to them."
"A new emphasis on collaboration and breaking down legacy silos in Alzheimer's and dementia research are important next steps for agencies and organizations leading this work," said Victor J. Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine. "Making changes now in the way research is conducted will help us realize the hope that this decade will bring breakthroughs and make all the difference for patients and their families."
Moving from siloed approaches to greater collaboration
The report identifies 11 research priorities and associated near- and medium-term scientific questions that should be a focus of NIH-funded AD/ADRD biomedical research, as well as nine complementary recommendations focused on overcoming crosscutting barriers to progress on the recommended research priorities. The priorities fall into three broad areas:
- Quantify brain health across the life course and accurately predict risk of, screen for, diagnose, and monitor AD/ADRD
- Build a more comprehensive and integrated understanding of the disease biology and mechanistic pathways that contribute to AD/ADRD development and resilience over the life course
- Catalyze advances in interventions for the prevention and treatment of AD/ADRD spanning from precision medicine to public health strategies
The research priorities identified by the report are not focused on individual dementia types. Instead, they emphasize research opportunities that would apply across the spectrum of AD/ADRD, in order to move away from siloed thinking and to respond to the high prevalence of mixed dementia - when two or more pathologies co-occur in the brain. It is thought that most dementia cases among people over the age of 65 are mixed dementia, the report notes.
Innovative funding strategies and other incentives that encourage collaboration will be needed to address the current siloing of research and speed the development of interventions, the report says. Examples that have shown promise include multi-institute research consortia that facilitate coordination and data sharing, or public-private partnerships.
Increasing innovation in research
Incentives are also needed to promote more transformational research approaches that may lead to significant advances, the report says. This could include integrating creative methods and technologies developed by other agencies and groups, and applying innovative funding mechanisms to remove risk from investment in innovative research. For example, public-private partnerships could be expanded to leverage talent in industry and academia and best practices from other programs and sectors, or NIH could implement advances and tools generated by Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and others into NIH-funded AD/ADRD research, including advances that are specific to dementia and those that can be applied from other fields. NIH could also build partnerships with foundations and other research funders to coordinate seamless funding pathways for early phase, high-risk research opportunities.
The study - undertaken by the Committee on Research Priorities for Preventing and Treating Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias - was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.
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Featured Publication
2024
Preventing and Treating Dementia: Research Priorities to Accelerate Progress
Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD), a collection of neurodegenerative conditions, take a heavy physical, emotional, and financial toll on individuals, families, and communities. Developing effective strategies for preventing and treating these conditions, which impact millions of people in the United States, is one of the most pressing needs in biomedical research today. The National Institutes of Health has invested billions of dollars in this research, which has led to numerous scientific advances over the last decade. However, the pace of progress has not kept up with the growing needs of people living with AD/ADRD and those at risk.
Consequently, the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke asked the National Academies to convene an expert committee to examine and assess the current state of biomedical research and recommend research priorities to advance the prevention and treatment of AD/ADRD. Preventing and Treating Dementia outlines these research priorities and recommends strategies to overcome barriers to progress.
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