Lecanemab is a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody that binds to some forms of amyloid. In this study approximately 1,800 participants age 50-90 with dementia and imaging evidence of amyloid deposits were randomized to biweekly IV lecanemab or placebo. After 18 months, the lecanemab group showed reductions in brain amyloid and moderately less decline on measures of cognition and function.

Biomarkers may be used in the dementias to distinguish different aspects of the underlying pathology, detect presymptomatic pathological changes, predict decline or conversion between clinical disease states, and/or monitor disease progression and response to treatment. In this review, the authors discuss the currently available biomarkers, with a particular focus on the three most common neurodegenerative dementias: Alzheimer’s disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).

How do you decide between different atypicals for a patient who’s never been on an atypical before? What about carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine for bipolar disorder? Gregory Mattingly, MD, provides practical guidance on these questions posed at the Psych Congress Regional meeting.

This brief editorial introduces a series of articles describing the medical use of hallucinogens, ketamine, marijuana, and other agents — including the legal and ethical perspectives — in the treatment of various neurologic and psychiatric disorders.

A 55-year-old woman has had slowly progressing speech distortion and problems with balance when walking. On exam, she showed signs of ataxia and chorea. Muscle tone was normal but stretch reflexes were absent. She had gaze-evoked horizontal nystagmus. Following electromyograph and MRI, and considering various conditions, her physicians proposed a diagnosis.

By 2018, gabapentin and opioids were prescribed in an overlapping manner in 7.6% of prescriptions. Prescribers are likely responding to restrictions on opioid prescribing put in place during the opioid epidemic. Increased co-prescribing was most frequently done under the direction of a pain specialist. Still, the effectiveness of the concurrent prescribing of opioids and gabapentin is uncertain and potentially dangerous because of an association with all-cause and drug-related hospitalizations.