Objective:

An online CME program was developed to educate neurologists on the current data on the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the mechanism of action (MOA) current or emerging pharmacotherapies studied in AD. 

Background:

Hallmarks of AD pathophysiology of particular interest are amyloid beta plaques, neurofibrillary tangles of tau protein, and chronic inflammation, among other mechanisms implicated in the ongoing disease process. Previous data has shown that many neurologists are unaware of the pathophysiologic and novel therapeutic landscape for AD.

Design/Methods:

The online CME activity consisted of a 30-minute video lecture featuring a single dementia specialist. Educational effect was assessed by comparing a matched sample of neurologists’ responses to four identical questions pre- and post-activity. A paired-samples t-test identified significant differences between pre- and post-assessment responses. Cohen’s d was used to calculate the effect size of the online education. Data were collected between June 19, 2023 and June 19, 2024.

Results:

A large educational effect was observed (n=345; d=.78, P<.001) among neurologist learners.  The following areas showed significant (P <.05) pre- vs post-educational improvements: the role of soluble amyloid beta in fibril formation, identification of the neurotoxic species of tau found in AD, and the MOA of recently approved anti-amyloid therapies, and a medication being studied to address metabolic dysregulation of AD.  Learners demonstrated a numeric but not a statistically significant improvement on a question about the relationship between insulin resistance and amyloid beta accumulation.  Participation in the activity resulted in 44% of neurologists reporting an increase in confidence regarding their ability to summarize the MOA of investigational therapies being studied in AD.

Conclusions: