AAIC 2025: What’s New in Alzheimer’s Research? 

Why Conferences Like AAIC Matter 

AAIC is the world’s largest meeting focused on Alzheimer’s and dementia research. It brings together scientists, doctors, and health professionals from around the world to present new findings, discuss challenges, and collaborate on solutions. For us at the REAL AD team, it is also an opportunity to share our own results, stay informed about the latest developments, and connect with other researchers. This helps ensure that we remain at the forefront of Alzheimer’s research. 

Technology & Dementia: A Growing Focus 

At the Technology and Dementia pre-conference, sessions and presentations focused on how technology, and more specific digital tools, are becoming an even bigger part of dementia care and research. Some examples: 

• Remote cognitive testing is becoming more reliable and sensitive to early changes in memory and thinking, especially in people with early-stage Alzheimer’s.  
• Wearable devices and ambient sensors are being tested to help monitor health and safety at home, including during nighttime. This may help people with dementia live safely in their homes for longer. 
• Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are being developed that treat the voice as a window into brain health. By analysing speech patterns and subtle changes in how people speak, these tools aim to detect early signs of dementia even before more obvious symptoms appear. 
• There was even a project combining art, community, and AI: Synthetic Memories invites people to describe their earliest memories, which are then recreated using artificial intelligence. Read more about it here: https://www.syntheticmemories.net/ 

Blood-Based Biomarkers: Moving Closer to Clinical Practice 

One of the most widely discussed topics this year was the continued progress in blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease. These are simple blood tests that can detect signs of the disease even before symptoms appear. This type of measurement is also included in the REAL AD study (Step 3). 

• The p-tau217 marker continues to show strong results for identifying Alzheimer’s early and predicting how the disease may develop over time. It is a key marker used in many (large) studies, including REAL AD. 
• Several research teams are exploring remote blood testing, where participants collect samples themselves at home. This can be done, for example, through a finger prick, placing drops of blood on a special card that creates what is known as a dried blood spot. New results show that this method is increasingly accurate and practical. It could help reduce pressure on the healthcare system and allow samples to be sent directly to laboratories. 
• Encouragingly, there were many discussions about how these tests could be used in everyday healthcare in the future, supported by the first research-based study results on their implementation in primary care settings. It is important that this continues to be studied, carefully tested, and evaluated in real-world conditions. That is exactly why studies like REAL AD are so valuable. 
• A study from Lund University showed that memory clinic physicians found it meaningfully more helpful to use blood-based biomarkers to guide diagnosis. Their use also resulted in increased diagnostic certainty and accuracy. 

Remote Cognitive Testing 

Digital tools are also advancing when it comes to cognitive assessments. 

• Several studies showed that remote, digital memory and thinking tests can accurately detect early changes, even when completed without supervision at home. For example, our collaborators from Neotiv once again presented promising results, alongside other research teams with their own testing methods. 
• First results from the REMOTE-AD working group (Remote Digital Assessment and Monitoring) were also presented. You can read more about the group here: https://remote-ad.org/ 
• However, further validation is still needed. Researchers are working to understand how these newer digital tests relate to gold-standard measures. There is also a focus on how everyday factors, such as distractions in the home environment, might influence results—and how these influences can be accounted for in the testing process. 
• A key challenge ahead is ensuring that healthcare institutions not only begin using these tools (adoption) but also continue using them consistently over time (engagement). This applies to both participants and healthcare professionals. Several sessions highlighted this challenge and explored what steps are still needed to increase the use of digital cognitive tools in everyday clinical practice. 

Gender, Culture, and Global Perspectives 

Several sessions looked beyond biology, exploring how gender, culture, and stigma affect dementia diagnosis and care. In some cultures, dementia is still misunderstood or hidden, leading to delays in care. For example, in Africa, researchers are working closely with religious and community leaders to improve public understanding and participation in studies. 

Our Own Contributions 

We’re proud that our team from REAL AD also contributed to the conference! Posters from Iris Bosch and Laura Laura Stankeviciute were presented, showcasing parts of our ongoing work.  

• Iris presented the poster “From Zero to 6,000 in Nine Months,” highlighting how the REAL AD study successfully recruited over 6,000 participants in a short time. Some of the topics covered in the poster included strategies for broad outreach through advertisement and earned media as well as multilingual materials, the benefits of a fully remote study design for scalability, and efforts to improve representation by reaching both urban and rural communities, including partnerships with local Health Guides to reach underrepresented, lower socioeconomic areas. The poster also addressed challenges such as participant drop-out and highlighted actions taken to support ongoing engagement. There was a lot of interest in the poster, with stimulating discussions around the study's approach and lessons learned.

• Laura presented a poster showing how people’s own ratings of their sleep quality relate to their thinking skills and to certain Alzheimer’s disease markers in the blood, using data from the REAL AD study. People who reported poorer sleep and who took longer to fall asleep tended to perform worse on the Neotiv digital memory and thinking tests. Poorer sleep efficiency was also linked to higher blood levels of proteins associated with brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions. The study also found differences between men and women, with reduced sleep efficiency having a stronger effect on thinking skills in women, while in men, poorer sleep quality was more strongly linked to higher p-tau217 levels. These results suggest that disrupted sleep may affect both brain health and memory, and that the effects may differ for men and women, highlighting the importance of good sleep for healthy ageing and for lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. 

Final Thoughts 

AAIC 2025 showed that the future of Alzheimer’s research is increasingly digital, global, and inclusive. Whether through a simple blood test done at home, an AI tool that helps doctors spot early symptoms, or wearable devices that support safety, new innovations are offering hope for earlier detection and more personalised care. 
 
We are deeply thankful for your continued participation in our research. Together, we are part of something much bigger, shaping the future of Alzheimer’s care and understanding.