Highlights from AAIC 2025: Cutting Edge Findings in Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Disease

August 22, 2025

The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2025 (AAIC 2025) took place in Toronto, Canada at the end of July, and as usual, it did not disappoint.  This year, in particular, research presentations at AAIC seemed to refocus and return to basic science and prevention, although progress in drugs and diagnostics were also important topics as in years past.  Among the many great research findings presented at the conference, we curated some highlights for you worth reading for their scientific and practical impact.  We hope you enjoy! 

1.  U.S. POINTER:  The Largest Clinical Trial in US History to Improve Cognitive Abilities through Lifestyle Changes in People Who Are At-Risk of Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer’s Disease 

By far the biggest news at AAIC was the presentation of the top-line results of U.S. POINTER, which was a two-year clinical trial involving over 2000 people in five locations across the US.  The goal was to determine if a combination of four lifestyle changes would have a positive cognitive impact on people who have a higher likelihood of cognitive decline or dementia as they age.   

What did they change: 

  • Diet:  changing to the MIND Diet 

  • Exercise:  introducing a weekly regimen of moderate and very active exercise 

  • Cognitive and Social Challenge:  intellectually challenging activities and brain training 

  • Health Monitoring:  focusing on cardiovascular health 

The results were stunning and historic in two ways: 

  • First and foremost is that the lifestyle combination did indeed significantly improve cognitive function over the two-year period. 

  • Secondly, the trial showed that people could indeed succeed at making lifestyle changes that “stick” for the long-term. 

U.S. POINTER was the first-of-its-kind, large-scale, randomized clinical trial to demonstrate that healthy lifestyle changes, in combination, can protect cognitive function in the US.  Given the importance of U.S. POINTER, we devoted a full article that dives deeper into its details (click here to read it). 

Joanne Pike, DrPH, Alzheimer’s Association President and CEO, summed it up:  “As the burden of dementia grows worldwide, U.S. POINTER affirms a vital public health message: healthy behavior has a powerful impact on brain health.  This is a critical public health opportunity.  The intervention was effective across a broad, representative group … The positive results of U.S. POINTER encourage us to look at the potential for a combination of a lifestyle program and drug treatment as the next frontier in our fight against cognitive decline and possibly dementia.” 

2.  For People with Higher Genetic Risk of Alzheimer’s (APOE4 Carriers), Walking Can Protect Your Brain Health 

While U.S. POINTER focused on a broad population, other researchers focus on people who have specific genetic risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, and the most common risk gene is APOE4.  About 15-25% of people in the US carry one or two copies of this gene, and carriers of APOE4 can have a several-fold greater chance of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. 

A research group led by Cindy Barha, PhD, evaluated the cognitive abilities and walking habits of over 2900 people over a 10-year period.  Then they divided the results by genetic groups:   

  • APOE2 carriers, who have lower risk of Alzheimer’s 

  • APOE3 carriers, who have neutral risk 

  • And APOE4 carriers (who have greater risk). 

The results showed that walking had the greatest brain protective effect in APOE4 carriers, helping to maintain cognitive abilities related to attention, executive function, and processing speed.   

Another key takeaway is that the study was done with people in their 70’s, underscoring the importance of walking for older adults, and very importantly that genes, particularly APOE4, do not dictate a person’s fate – our habits and choices can make a big difference.   

Dr. Barha commented that physical activity typically decreases as we get older, and she encouraged “introducing small bouts of walking in between those times you have to be sitting down.” 

3.  Combinations of Common Heart Medications May Help Fight Cognitive Decline 

It’s well-known that cardiovascular conditions, like hypertension and dyslipidemia, as well as diabetes, increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.  However, it was unknown whether people who are on a combination of (1) anti-hypertensive, (2) lipid-lowering, and (3) anti-diabetes medications would benefit cognitively from them. 

Roshni Biswas, PhD, MPH, a researcher at Rush University Medical Center, sought to answer this question by analyzing the records of over 4600 older adults who were cognitively tested and whose medications were documented.   

The result showed that the combination of all three therapies had the greatest effect (when compared to two and one therapies) at slowing cognitive decline and accumulating less of the pathological proteins of Alzheimer’s, namely amyloid plaques and tau tangles.  In fact, cognitive tests showed that people on the triple therapy combination were comparable to people three years younger. 

Follow-up studies will investigate the exact drug types within each of the three categories made the biggest impact, but the immediate takeaway is clear:  Taking care of your cardiometabolic health and using a combination of drugs, if needed, may have the added benefit of protecting your cognitive health. 

4.  For the First Time Ever, Blood Tests Are Recommended for Clinical Practice for People Being Evaluated for Early Alzheimer’s Disease 

For decades, the only way to biologically evaluate whether a person could have Alzheimer’s disease was to do a spinal tap, perform brain imaging, or examine people’s brains after they pass away.  All three methods are, at the least, inconvenient, expensive, and highly invasive.  As a result, clinicians have relied upon cognitive tests to diagnose cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, but those tests also face challenges of being uncertain and difficult to administer.   

The holy grail has been to develop a simple blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s.  Imagine if cognitive health and Alzheimer’s disease had a simple blood test to assess your status, kind of like the A1C test for diabetes.   

That day has finally come.  Although, it’s a first, cautious step. 

At AAIC 2025, the Alzheimer’s Association released its very first clinical practice guidelines for the use of blood tests by dementia specialists in memory care settings.  They call these blood-based biomarker tests (or BBM).   

What do the blood tests do?  They detect and measure the concentration and ratios of the amyloid beta and tau in blood plasma.  Amyloid beta and tau are the two pathological proteins that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, and very small amounts of these can be found in blood. 

There are many caveats to the use of these blood tests as diagnostic tools, which limit how they are used and the types that can be used, such as: 

  • Limited to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in people who’ve already been diagnosed with cognitive impairment 

  • Tests must meet 90% sensitivity and at least 75% specificity levels, which are statistical measures of getting true positive and true negative results, respectively. 

It’s noteworthy that these blood tests are not yet recommended for clinical use by non-specialists, such as primary care doctors, and they are not yet recommended for use with healthy adults who do not have cognitive problems.  However, many additional studies are being conducted, and the ultimate result is to have a blood test that can help people understand their brain health status and use the test results as a general health tool, much like the A1C blood test for metabolic (diabetes) health. 

Maria Carrillo, PhD, Alzheimer’s Association Chief Science Officer, summed it up by quoting:  “This is a pivotal moment in Alzheimer’s care.  For the first time, we have a rigorously evidence-based guideline that empowers clinicians to use blood biomarker tests confidently and consistently.  Adoption of these recommendations will lead to quicker, more accessible, more accurate diagnoses.” 

Alzheimer’s blood tests are here. 

More to Come 

Of course, this is just a small snippet of the research presented at the AAIC 2025 conference.  We hope these inspire you to live a brain-healthy life, knowing that it will indeed have an impact, and provides hope and excitement over where we’re headed in our fight to stave off and even eradicate cognitive decline and dementia worldwide. 

Live mind-fully! 

At NeuroReserve, we focus on nutrition based on the brain health benefits of the MIND and Mediterranean diets, as well as brain healthy lifestyle changes.  We encourage you to download our free guide “6 Steps to Building Lasting Brain Power” below.


 

We also support MIND diet nutrition through nutritional products, whether it be through supplementation or extra virgin olive oil.  Learn more by clicking the links or exploring our website. 

References

  1. AAIC 2025 Scientific Sessions Presentations. 

  1. AAIC 2025 Press Releases. 

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