Breakthrough Alzheimer’s Therapies Drive Early Detection Rates While Exposing Deep Treatment Disparities

September 18, 2025 at 09:00 AM EDT

Analysis from Komodo Health and Medscape Education shows cognitive screening up 10% and biomarker testing up 23%, yet significant disparities persist in detection for women and treatment access for Black patients

New research from Komodo Health and Medscape Education reveals both progress and persistent challenges in Alzheimer's disease care: Breakthrough therapies and targeted medical education are driving significant increases in early detection — with cognitive screening rising 10%, biomarker testing up 23%, and amyloid pathology testing surging more than 13-fold. However, patients at the highest risk are receiving treatments at the lowest rates. The analysis found that women are still screened at rates similar to men despite accounting for 64% of Alzheimer's diagnoses. Additionally, Black patients, who made up 10% of Alzheimer’s patients, accounted for only 3% of those treated with the new therapy.

With Alzheimer's cases projected to nearly double from 7.2 million Americans today to over 13 million by 2060¹, understanding current treatment gaps has never been more critical. This new analysis, released ahead of World Alzheimer's Day on September 21, provides timely insights into patient screening and treatment patterns following the FDA's groundbreaking 2023 approval of lecanemab, the first anti-amyloid therapy shown to slow Alzheimer's progression. Using Komodo’s healthcare-native AI analytics engine Marmot™, researchers leveraged Komodo’s Healthcare Map^®, which captures the healthcare journeys of over 330 million de-identified patients, and Medscape Education’s proprietary platform, PULSE, to rapidly analyze complex care patterns that would typically require months of traditional research. The analysis reveals how innovation is reshaping the Alzheimer’s landscape and where critical gaps persist.

Treatment Disparities Persist Despite Progress in Screening

The analysis confirmed a positive trend in early detection, identifying the disease in its subclinical or preclinical stages, with cognitive screening rising 10%, gene and protein biomarker testing increasing 23%, and amyloid pathology testing surging more than 13-fold in the 18 months post-approval. However, this progress is not distributed equitably across all populations, as evidenced by the following:

Screening disparities persist. While women make up 64% of Alzheimer's diagnoses, they are screened at similar rates as men. Black individuals were screened at a similar rate as White individuals despite having a higher diagnosis rate.
Treatment gaps are notable. Despite comprising 10% of the Alzheimer’s patient population, Black patients accounted for only 3% of those treated with lecanemab. The treatment rate for Black patients was more than four times lower than that of White patients.
Insurance status and age present barriers. Despite representing only 3.7% of the Alzheimer’s population, commercially insured patients were treated at rates more than three times higher than Medicare patients and 17 times higher than Medicaid patients. Similarly, while 82% of Alzheimer’s cases occur in patients age 75 and older, this group had a much lower treatment rate with the second approved disease-modifying therapy, far below patients ages 55 to 64, who saw the highest treatment rates.

"These findings demonstrate both the opportunity as well as the urgent work still required," said Arif Nathoo, MD, Co-Founder and CEO, Komodo Health. "While we're seeing meaningful progress in early detection, we’ve also surfaced inequities in treatment access that should be addressed today so we can shape a better future for the millions of Americans projected to suffer from Alzheimer’s in the coming years. By using our healthcare-native analytics AI to identify these disparities in minutes rather than weeks, we’re empowering our partners across the healthcare ecosystem with the evidence they need to build on the detection advances and address access gaps — ensuring every patient benefits from these life-changing therapies."

The Importance of Education in Shifting Treatment Patterns

The analysis also underscores the need for continuous innovation in Alzheimer’s treatment and the importance of clinical education in improving treatment delivery.

“It’s often thought that continuing medical education programs don’t change clinical practice. This study provides evidence that, when properly timed, these programs can have substantial effects on physician engagement and action on the detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Soo Borson, Deputy Editor, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and Co-Lead, BOLD Center of Excellence on Early Detection of Dementia.

The analysis found that a wide spectrum of healthcare professionals, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants, are prescribing lecanemab. Specifically, these providers accounted for 40% of prescriptions, nearly matching neurologists and psychiatry specialists, who accounted for 42%. Following the approval of new therapies, clinicians involved in Alzheimer’s care consumed 18% more independent medical education content through Medscape Education, leading to a 19% rise in their confidence in AD-related practices.

“Our research shows a powerful link between timely medical education and positive change in mechanisms that are associated with clinical practice,” said Katie Lucero, PhD, Chief Impact Officer, Medscape Education. “Equipping clinicians with the latest knowledge and increasing their confidence are essential to ensuring that all patients benefit from these advances.”

To learn more, download the full research brief here.

About Komodo Health

Komodo Health is the leader in healthcare intelligence, building the foundational AI that is powering the future of how Life Sciences and healthcare organizations discover, develop, and deliver patient care. By deploying Marmot, its proprietary AI engine, across its Healthcare Map, the industry's most authoritative and highest-fidelity platform for real-world de-identified patient insights, Komodo is ending the era of slow, fragmented analyses. Komodo's healthcare-native AI platform makes it possible to answer complex questions with the speed and rigor required to accelerate critical decisions across the product life cycle — from trial design to launch strategy to post-market evidence generation — to ultimately reduce the burden of disease. For more information, visit www.komodohealth.com.

About Medscape Education

Medscape Education (Medscape.org) is the leading destination for continuous professional development, consisting of more than 30 specialty-focused destinations offering thousands of free accredited courses for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. Medscape Education is a part of WebMD Health Corp., an Internet Brands company.

1. 2025 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2025:21(4); e70235. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70235