By combining brain imaging, fluid biomarkers, genetics and cognition in a deeply characterised cohort, this study offers one of the most detailed pictures yet of how Alzheimer’s pathology emerges in the preclinical phase.
🔗 DOI: doi.org/10.1002/alz....
The study also found that, although blood biomarkers remain highly valuable, they are not yet sensitive enough to consistently detect the very earliest tau changes.
This suggests that early detection will likely rely on a combination of approaches depending on the disease stage.
These early tau changes followed the well-known Braak pattern, showing that Alzheimer’s pathology can already be tracked in living, symptom-free individuals.
This helps us understand how the disease begins silently, many years before the first clinical signs.
Using tau PET with ¹⁸F-RO-948, together with amyloid PET, MRI, cognitive testing, CSF and blood biomarkers, researchers detected subtle tau deposition in brain regions typically affected by #Alzheimer’s disease, even before symptoms appear.
Published in @alzdemjournals.bsky.social, the study analysed 99 cognitively unimpaired participants from the ALFA+ cohort, part of the ALFA study at BBRC, supported by @caixaresearch.bsky.social.
Is one of the world’s most advanced platforms for studying the earliest phases of Alzheimer’s disease.
🧠 New study from the #BBRC shows that advanced brain imaging can detect the earliest biological signs of #Alzheimer’s disease in people with no memory problems or clinical symptoms.
www.barcelonabeta.org/en/news/news...
@fpmaragall.bsky.social @marcsuarezcalvet.bsky.social @gsalvado.bsky.social
This year we also welcomed two new research groups led by @macips01.bsky.social and @sacostav.bsky.social.
We also brought our science to the world's leading #Alzheimer congresses, among them #AAIC and #ADPD, sharing advances with the global research community.
2025 has been a landmark year for #AlzheimerResearch
We've helped validate a blood biomarker detecting the disease with 90% accuracy, and launched #ALFA10 with the aim of developing a predictive algorithm to identify high-risk individuals before symptoms appear.
💡 The 2025 Impact Report is now available!
A year of progress in research, guidance, and social support to bring us closer to a future without #Alzheimer’s.
💚 Thank you to everyone who makes this possible.
📖 www.barcelonabeta.org/en/news/news...
How does Alzheimer’s begin?
At the BBRC, led by Dr. @sacostav.bsky.social, we use brain organoids 🧠—3D models that mimic key aspects of the human brain—to study the earliest changes of the disease.
A step towards earlier detection and prevention.
Watch more: youtu.be/9t1huEf2cUw
At BBRC, we contributed data from the ALFA+ cohort, part of the ALFA study, a longitudinal cohort of cognitively unimpaired adults at increased genetic risk for #Alzheimer’s, supported by @caixaresearch.bsky.social.
Researchers looked at the “exposome”: the sum of environmental exposures throughout life, from air pollution and extreme temperatures to poverty, inequality and civic participation.
Together, these factors can shape how fast the brain ages.
Published in @natmed.nature.com and led by Agustin Ibañez, the study analysed brain imaging and environmental data from 18,701 people across 34 countries.
The key message: the combined effect of environmental exposures is far stronger than any single factor on its own.
How much does the environment shape brain ageing? More than we may think.
A new international study shows that the conditions we live in can accelerate or slow biological brain ageing.
www.barcelonabeta.org/en/news/news...
The findings published in @biologysexdiff.bsky.social show that the earliest cognitive effects of AD genetic risk differ between women and men, likely through distinct biological pathways long before symptoms appear, a step toward more tailored prevention.
🔎 doi.org/10.1186/s132...
In Aβ+ men, genetic predisposition to AD was associated with worse follow-up attention, but not independently of cardiovascular risk for dementia. In Aβ− men, it was associated with worse visual processing, independently of APOE-ε4, cardiovascular risk and neurodegeneration.
In Aβ− women, higher global AD genetic predisposition was associated with worse follow-up episodic memory. Across women, greater genetic predisposition was also linked to worse executive functioning, independently of APOE-ε4, amyloid status and other confounders.
Researchers followed over a 3-year period, 318 cognitively unimpaired adults from the ALFA+ cohort, part of the ALFA study, a research platform enriched for Alzheimer’s risk and supported by #FundaciónlaCaixa.
New study led by #BBRC researchers shows that genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s may affect cognition differently in women and men years before symptoms appear.
Distinct early patterns emerge depending on sex and amyloid status.
www.barcelonabeta.org/en/news/news...
📆 The call is open — submit your application before 13 May 2026.
If you're working on #Alzheimer's or related dementias, don't miss this opportunity, and share it with your network!
🔎 Full details: fpmaragall.org/en/research-...
Who is eligible?
Researchers of any nationality, worldwide, who:
🔹 Hold a PhD obtained within the last 15 years
🔹 Are full-time employees at their host institution at the time of award
🔹 Have not held an independent research position in Spain for more than 5 years
🧠🔬 The program funds translational and clinical research on AD/ADRD at public or non-profit organizations in Spain.
Up to €400,000 per project, with a maximum duration of four years.
🤝 The @fpmaragall.bsky.social together with the @alzassociation.bsky.social are announcing the launch of the FPM–ALZ AD/ADRD Fellows Program, a new funding call supporting outstanding early- and mid-career researchers working on #Alzheimer's and related dementias in Spain.
📢 Big news at @barcelonabeta.bsky.social! Today we welcome Dr. Maria Carrillo, Chief Science Officer of the @alzassociation.bsky.social, the world's largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer's and dementia research, for a very special visit.
👇
www.barcelonabeta.org/en/news/news...
That’s a wrap #ADPD2026!
In this 20th edition, the #BBRC contributed four oral presentations and two posters, reflecting the centre's broad research lines spanning biomarkers, proteomics, neuroimaging, and women's brain health. 👇
www.barcelonabeta.org/en/news/news...
🧠 Today marks the start of #ADPD2026 in Copenhagen! Our BBRC researchers are sharing the latest insights in #Alzheimer’s and neurodegeneration research.
Follow their presentations and join the discussion on advancing brain health. 💚
“Sex and amyloid status modify the association between serum α-klotho and AD-fluid biomarkers”
👤 @fhernandezv.bsky.social
#ADPD2026
Poster session on Tuesday 17:
"Biomarkers of neurodegeneration predict cognitive decline in preclinical #Alzheimer's Disease"
👤 Anna Coward
