Study reveals treatment gaps for atypical Alzheimer's disease patients

Many people with less common forms of Alzheimer's disease may not qualify for newer anti-amyloid treatments designed to slow the disease, according to a study published August 5, 2026, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Researchers found that the majority of people with atypical Alzheimer's disease, or forms that affect thinking, language or vision rather than memory first, would not meet eligibility criteria for treatment for Alzheimer's disease called anti-amyloid therapies. These therapies are given early in the disease, often at the first sign of memory problems.

Atypical Alzheimer's disease is often underrecognized and underrepresented in clinical trials. Our findings suggest that treatment criteria may unintentionally exclude many of these patients, even when they are in the early stages of disease."

Dror Shir, MD, study author of the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida and member of the American Academy of Neurology