Here we are in 2026, and not only is there still no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but there are also no medical interventions that meaningfully slow its progression. There are FDA-approved drugs, but they provide only minimal benefit in delaying disease progression.
How could this be? Is Alzheimer’s simply an impossible problem—destined never to be solved? Or is it just extraordinarily difficult?
There are many challenges. First, it is very difficult to predict who will develop the disease. Second, until recently we lacked reliable mouse models, and even the models we do have only partially recapitulate the human disease. Creating better models would require a deeper understanding of the disease itself—a classic catch-22. Third, Alzheimer’s develops over many years and is constantly evolving. How do you evaluate the effectiveness of a drug under these conditions? Fourth, is the condition truly Alzheimer’s disease, or is it another form of dementia—or a mixture of several types? How can you develop a targeted therapy if you are not even certain which disease you are treating?
Recently, progress has been made on this last point. New imaging techniques now allow physicians to definitively distinguish Alzheimer’s disease from another major form of dementia known as LATE (limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy). This advance should improve drug development prospects for both diseases.
