2026 American Academy of Neurology Abstract Website

Objective:

To use targeted continuing education (CE) to identify and address neurology and psychiatry providers’ gaps in knowledge, confidence, and clinical behaviors related to the management of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Background:

Neuroinflammation is increasingly recognized as central to AD pathogenesis, with emerging therapies targeting this mechanism. Yet, given the novelty and rapid evolution of data, neurology and psychiatry providers lack familiarity with these advances.

Design/Methods:

In 2024, two complementary CE activities - a 3-part text-based series and an interactive expert panel webcast were developed. Pre-, intra- and post-education assessments quantified the impact of education.

Results:

A total of 1400 neurology or psychiatry providers managing patients with AD participated. At baseline, 33% lacked knowledge regarding the role of neuroinflammation in AD, and 35% were unfamiliar with biomarkers for early detection, while 59% and 35% were uninformed regarding donanemab and semaglutide, respectively. Among those who answered correctly, confidence was low - only 14% were correct and confident regarding neuroinflammation and biomarkers, 5% for donanemab, and 4% for semaglutide. This lack of knowledge and confidence translated into gaps in comfortability, with only 43% understanding the link between neuroinflammation and AD and even fewer (15%) familiar with emerging agents. Post-education, mastery of topics (high confidence and correct) increased substantially, including 4.35-fold for neuroinflammation, 3.35-fold for biomarkers, and 7.25-fold for semaglutide, though gains for donanemab were minimal (1.4-fold). This led to 67% of providers planning to incorporate clinical evidence into decision-making, with nearly half expressing high confidence doing so.

Conclusions:

This study highlights persistent gaps in neurology and psychiatry providers’ readiness to integrate evolving AD therapies, including those related to neuroinflammation. Targeted CE meaningfully improved providers’ knowledge, confidence, and behaviors and can be used to inform future education.