Americans embracing proactivity with Alzheimer’s detection, treatment and care

Key takeaways:

• Survey respondents favor early testing and detection and are eager to advance knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease.
• There are steps patients and clinicians can take to improve communication, treatment and care.

Most Americans want to be proactive when faced with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, wishing to know as soon as possible and asking for simple, rapid and accurate testing, according to recent survey results.

The survey was part of a larger report, American Perspectives on Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease in the Era of Treatment, which was compiled by the Alzheimer’s Association and released in shorter form as an executive summary.

Comprising responses from more than 1,700 Americans aged 45 years and older, the survey touched on a variety of issues such as early detection, intervention, diagnostics and disease-slowing therapies.

Among the findings:

• 79% of respondents said they would like to know if they had AD before symptoms appeared or began to interfere in everyday activities;
• 80% of those polled said they would take initiative to ask for AD testing before a doctor suggested it;
• 91% of responders wished for a blood biomarker test, if available, due to concerns over access; and
• 92% said they were likely to take medication to slow disease progression once a diagnosis is made.

“These findings represent a significant shift in people’s mindsets — even from what we saw just a few years ago — when many people were hesitant to know if they had the disease because little could be done to help them,” Elizabeth Edgerly, PhD, senior director of community programs and services for the Alzheimer’s Association, told Healio.

Survey respondents also expressed a desire to advance research and development of AD therapies, while displaying optimism for the future of disease-related treatment and care.

A total of 83% of respondents, if diagnosed with AD, expressed willingness to participate in clinical trials for a treatment that may arrest progression or cure the condition, while 81% believe the next decade would be crucial for the emergence of new disease-halting treatments and 66% believe that new therapeutics for disease prevention would be available in a shorter time frame.

Another 58% revealed they would accept moderate to high levels of risk associated with medication to halt AD progression in its early stages.

“I think there are several factors driving this optimism,” Edgerly noted. “First and foremost, Americans see the progress being made in Alzheimer’s research and they expect — even demand — that this progress continues.”

Elizabeth Edgerly

That optimism, Edgerly said, extends to FDA-approved treatments that slow disease progression, ongoing research that points to certain factors that may reduce the risk of cognitive decline, along with advancement of blood biomarker testing to aid early detection.

“All these factors are contributing to optimism for the future of Alzheimer’s diagnosis, treatment and care,” she continued.

The report additionally identified six different steps clinicians in the Alzheimer’s sphere and other health care professionals should take to bolster current research and development efforts into advanced detection, diagnosis and treatment:

• Supporting research into biomarker testing, so that rapidly developing blood-based biomarkers can be more widely utilized in clinical settings for rapid and early diagnosis.  
• Creating new clinical practice guidelines to match the pace of evolving science. The Alzheimer’s Association expects to release blood-based biomarker testing guidelines as well as those for cognitive assessment tools in 2025, with new instruction on clinical implementation of staging criteria and treatment expected in 2026. 
• Boosting patient-doctor communication regarding testing, diagnosis and treatment. Patients and care partners should have clarity on the meaning of test results, along with understanding of risks and benefits of new treatments. Physicians should have access to resources that improve conversations and strive to present necessary information in a manner easy for patients to comprehend. 
• Ensuring ethical concerns surrounding early AD detection are understood. Patients need to understand early testing merely gauges potential risk and formal diagnosis involves cognitive testing, a health professional’s clinical judgment. Moreover, physicians involved in AD care should share test results with appropriate context and sensitivity to patient needs.  
• Advocacy for legislation and policy that ensures adequate insurance coverage for AD testing. Decisions with patients’ pocketbooks in mind may provide quicker access to testing, which, in turn, is likely to speed up diagnosis and open broader avenues to medications or other treatments aimed at slowing disease progression. 
• Encouraging wider public health education efforts. All stakeholders involved in the diagnostic, treatment and care continuum should be kept promptly aware of the latest news surrounding research and updated best practices to assist with conversations around risk reduction, diagnosis, along with planning for treatment.

“I encourage individuals with cognitive concerns and their families to be proactive in addressing them. Too often, people dismiss memory and thinking problems as just normal aging,” Edgerly said. “While an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is life changing, there are steps you can take to live well for as long as possible.”

Reference:

2025 Alzheimer’s Disease facts and figures report: Executive summary. https://www.alz.org/getmedia/c05f7ba4-9aea-4cb0-8898-5e8bff3f0930/executive-summary-2025-alzheimers-disease-facts-and-figures.pdf. Published April 29, 2025. Accessed April 29, 2025.

For more information:

Elizabeth Edgerly, PhD, can be reached at neurology@healio.com.