What the trial was testing
The DIAN-TU enrolled 194 patients with alzheimer's disease. The study was sponsored by Washington University School of Medicine and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was mid-stage testing (phase 2/3). Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
Gantenerumab reduced key brain damage markers in people with inherited Alzheimer's disease.
JAMA neurology · 2024 · NCT04623242
These findings — that gantenerumab lowered neurogranin, a protein linked to brain cell damage, after 4 years — were published in the JAMA neurology and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 194 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with alzheimer's disease, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
This was a mid-stage study of inherited Alzheimer's disease, which is rare and different from typical Alzheimer's. Gantenerumab is not yet approved for this condition. If you have a family history of early-onset Alzheimer's caused by a genetic mutation, talk to your doctor about genetic testing and clinical trials.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open alzheimer's disease trials
Longitudinal Profiling of Plasma-Derived Glial Extracellular Vesicles in Alzheimer's Disease
This project aims to longitudinally profile plasma-derived GDEVs and plasma biomarkers of neuroinflammation across three stages of the AD continuum (Subjective Cognitive Decline, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer's Dementia), exploring their association with biomarkers of amyloidopathy, tauopathy and neurodegeneration, cognitive status and clinical outcome over time. Moreover, GDEVs - collected from subjects at different disease stages - will be used to treat human neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from healthy controls in order to assess the induced differential neurotoxic or priming effects. This dual translational approach may help identify early pathogenic signatures of neuroinflammation and elucidate their role in disease progression.
Reducing African American's Alzheimer's Risk Through Exercise-Mild Cognitive Impairment (RAATE-MCI)
The RAATE-MCI proposal is designed to determine the effects of physical activity on risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease in older African American adults. The study will compare a physical activity program to an active control group. RAATE-MCI is a 52-week randomized controlled trial. 144 African American adults aged 60 and older will be recruited.