On 11–12 May, the American Heart Association (AHA) convened the Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities (ARIA) Summit: Cardiovascular and Stroke Considerations for Beta-Amyloid Immunotherapy in Alzheimer Disease, held in Valkenburg, The Netherlands. The event brought together invited experts from neurology, cardiology, emergency medicine, nursing, and neuroradiology to share insights on ARIA and explore considerations for the use of amyloid plaque-lowering monoclonal antibodies and their associated side effects. Our Director for Research, Angela Bradshaw, was among those in attendance.
The programme had a strong focus on vascular neurology and stroke, reflecting the particular risks that heart and blood vessel conditions pose for patients receiving anti-amyloid immunotherapies. Plenary sessions on the first day opened with an overview of the biological mechanisms underlying ARIA, presented by Delphine Boche (University of Southampton), followed by a clinical overview of ARIA, delivered by the Summit co-chair Tara Carlisle (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus). A dedicated session on how vascular factors should inform patient selection and the management of acute events was presented by Mariel Kozberg (Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School), a specialist in stroke and diseases of the brain's blood vessels. The afternoon concluded with a panel discussion involving several European experts in the area, including Nikolaos Scarmeas (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Federica Agosta (Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan) and Gerhard Ransmayer (Johannes Kepler University, Linz) on developing systems of care and the patient journey for treatment with anti-amyloid therapies, touching on clinical decision-making, treatment eligibility and risk factor management in their clinics.
On the second day, Angela Bradshaw participated in two working group discussions: one on communicating with patients and families, including shared decision-making around the risks and benefits of immunotherapy, and one on the evaluation and treatment of patients on anti-amyloid therapy who present with acute neurological symptoms, including how emergency department workflows may need to be adapted in this context. The insights gathered at the Summit will inform the development of an ARIA Summit Special Report.
