The New Science Powering Proactive Brain Health – Sponsor Content

As the most common cause of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease affects a person’s entire identity, altering memory, brain function, and behavior.¹ Today, more than 7 million adults in the United States—most of whom are 65 and older—have the disease, and as the country’s senior population grows, it is becoming more common.¹ The number of new cases of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias is projected to double by 2050, according to a 2025 report by the Alzheimer’s Association.

While recent advancements are helping to reshape the future of Alzheimer’s disease care, one of the most powerful tools that remains is to increase awareness. During an underwriter-led session at the Atlantic Festival in September, Anne E. White, executive vice president and president of neuroscience at Eli Lilly and Company, shared her and the company’s insights about these new innovations and how recognizing the early signs can help make a difference in your care options.

Brain health refers to how well a person’s brain functions, including motor, sensory, behavioral, and emotional functions. Importantly, it also includes cognitive health, or how well one thinks, learns, and remembers. As a person ages, changes in their brain can affect cognitive health. While some change in these functions is normal, a more severe decline, like consistently having trouble remembering things, thinking clearly, and interacting with others, may be a sign of dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia.

Today, less than one in five seniors in the U.S. undergo a standardized cognitive assessment, which is covered by Medicare but is not usually administered by health-care providers in current practice.² Comparatively, four out of five receive a cholesterol check.³ To help detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease early on, the medical community and advocates are working to make sure cognitive assessments for patients aged 65 and older become normalized. The Alzheimer’s Association, for example, has an ongoing campaign with the Ad Council to help raise awareness about the importance of early detection and noticing early warning signs. In September, Eli Lilly and Company also launched its Brain Health Matters campaign with actress Julianne Moore to encourage more people to prioritize brain health and get regular cognitive assessments. Moore also joined this year’s Atlantic Festival for a session on the future of aging, where she discussed her role in the 2014 film Still Alice and how it informed her own understanding of existing stigmas and the impact of Alzheimer’s disease.

These stigmas can cause people with the disease to experience social isolation from friends, family, and even the wider community. To change that, the medical community and society are talking about aging and Alzheimer’s disease in new ways, which is helping to destigmatize and demystify it. By doing so, the medical community and society are creating opportunities for earlier diagnosis; now, more people and their doctors are making brain health part of their long-term wellness plan.

“We’re encouraging people to take charge of their brain health and look for ways to reduce the risk, because it makes such a big difference,” said White. “This includes being an advocate with your doctor—asking for a cognitive assessment, coming up with a plan for your cognitive health, and doing the things that might lower your risk.”

Researchers are now even examining whether intervening in the earliest, even asymptomatic, stages of Alzheimer’s disease could shift the course of the disease. And they’re exploring how lifestyle changes—such as new approaches to diet, physical fitness, cognitive exercises, and general health—could help preserve brain health.

According to the recent U.S. POINTER clinical trial, a two-year, multisite study conducted by the Alzheimer’s Association, a combination of physical activity, improved nutrition, and health monitoring moderately improved cognitive outcomes in older adults at risk of cognitive decline.⁴ This signals a shift in the field, as doctors and patients have a better understanding of whether people are at risk and what proactive lifestyle strategies could potentially help get them ahead of changes in memory and thinking issues.

“We’ve known for some time now that sleep, diet, and exercise impact every disease that we treat, and that’s the case with Alzheimer’s disease, too,” said White. “Improvements in all of those in combination in older adults have been shown to reduce the risk of cognitive decline later in life for some individuals.”

For years, Alzheimer’s disease has been one of medicine’s stubborn puzzles, a disease that targets the most complex organ we know: the brain.

However, continued research has helped define the biological mechanisms underlying disease progression. Among them are two key proteins, amyloid and tau, that are correlated with the cognitive decline and the memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease.^5,6,7 This year, the FDA has cleared two blood biomarker tests for patients with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, marking a major milestone. Until recently, confirming amyloid pathology required PET scans or cerebrospinal fluid lumbar punctures, which can be invasive and costly. The first FDA-cleared blood biomarker test is intended for specialized care settings for adults 50 and older with cognitive symptoms.⁸ It offers a highly accurate, minimally invasive way to detect amyloid pathology. The second FDA-cleared test is designed for primary care settings to help rule out amyloid pathology in adults 55 and older showing cognitive decline.⁹ With a strong negative predictive value, it allows primary care physicians to better identify patients unlikely to have amyloid-associated Alzheimer’s disease.

Americans are eager to take advantage of these new advancements. Ninety-five percent of patients would want a blood biomarker test when experiencing early symptoms, according to an Alzheimer’s Association report.¹⁰

This innovation is less invasive and more convenient, addressing health-care disparities while helping to diagnose people sooner. Paired with advancements in brain-imaging techniques, like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), these insights can help provide an informed approach, so that patients may have more options for planning, support, and care.

“I lost my mom to Alzheimer’s disease, and it’s been over 15 years ago now,” White said. “When she was diagnosed, there were less options for treatment, and in fact, even her diagnosis was not made until after she passed away. But we’re in such a different space today, and the advancements we’re making are really exciting, giving new hope to treating this devastating disease.”

Watch the full underwriter-led session featuring Anne E. White at the Atlantic Festival here.UNDERWRITER PERSPECTIVE Recorded live at the Atlantic Festival

1. Alzheimer’s Association. 2025 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Alzheimer’s Dement.,21(5):29.?
2. Gao H, et al. Early identification of cognitive impairment in community environments through modeling subtle inconsistencies in questionnaire responses: machine learning model development and validation. JMIR Form Res. 2024;8:e54335.
3. Use of preventive care services among Medicare beneficiaries. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Accessed July 21, 2025.
4. Baker LD, Espeland MA, Whitmer RA, et al. Structured vs Self-Guided Multidomain Lifestyle Interventions for Global Cognitive Function: The U.S. POINTER Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2025;334(8):681–691.
5. Porsteinsson AP, Isaacson RS, Knox S, et al. Diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s disease: clinical practice in 2021. J Prev Alzheimer’s Dis. 2021;8:371-386.
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8. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Clears First Blood Test Used in Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease. May 16, 2025. Accessed September 21, 2025.
9. Roche. Roche’s Elecsys® pTau181 becomes the only FDA-cleared blood test for use in primary care to rule out Alzheimer’s-related amyloid pathology. October 13, 2025. Accessed October 21, 2025.
10. Alzheimer’s Association. American Perspectives on Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease in the Era of Treatment. 2025; p.103.