With the approval of Aduhelm (aducanumab, Eli Lilly & Co.) and Leqembi (lecanemab, Eisai Co. Ltd.), there are finally amyloid-targeting drugs available for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). What’s not available, though, are rose-colored glasses of the prescription strength that would make these approvals look like AD’s happy ending. The biopharma industry is already well aware of the need for broader horizons. Roughly three-quarters of drugs now in clinical development for AD target neither amyloid-β (Aβ) nor tau. Still, the genetic evidence from familial AD strongly implicates Aβ processing in AD’s origins. In his opening plenary talk at the European Academy of Neurology 2023 annual conference, Thomas Südhof suggested new ways to look at the clinical data.

Monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) is a key regulator of the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which has a critical neuromodulatory involvement in numerous functional mechanisms in the CNS. Based on this, MAGL is considered a promising therapeutic target in neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Researchers from ETH Zürich and affiliated organizations have recently presented their work on (R)-[18F]YH-134, a novel reversible radiotracer for imaging MAGL in the brain.

Dopamine D3 receptors play a relevant role in the CNS modulating neurological activity, and its dysfunction is linked to disorders such as schizophrenia, drug abuse or Parkinson’s disease. There is a need for blood-brain barrier (BBB)-penetrant D3 receptor radiotracers with high brain uptake to be used for neurological and neuropsychiatric disease diagnosis.

It seems unlikely that American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou spent much time thinking about translational research. But two quotes of hers capture the essence of the interplay between bench and bedside: “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better” and “I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.” At the 2023 Annual Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, Mary Reilly described the relationship between bench and bedside as “a continuous circle of translation,” with each cycle beginning with patients and their needs.

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to entice. On the exhibition floor at the 2023 Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, one company’s booth featured “Mindart” technology. A passersby could answer a short series of prompts, and get a unique image based on the input made by generative AI. Entertainment aside, medically speaking, AI applications “are still research,” Riccardo Soffietti told his audience at one of several sessions devoted to AI. “But obviously, research is the future.”