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Research Focus

New anti-amyloid-β antibody drug, Lecanemab was introduced into clinical practice in 2023, and the therapeutics of dementia in Japan has entered a new stage. Although clinical diagnosis of dementia was used to be based on clinical symptoms and morphological imaging, biomarkers that reflect brain pathology have become more important in the diagnostic process of dementia. Disease-modifying therapy that act directly on the pathological proteins has become the focus of therapeutic development for dementia. To lead this paradigm shift, our laboratory has been engaged in research and development for better clinical practice in dementia. The two pillars of our laboratory are biomarker development and genomic research. Using blood and CSF samples collected by various dementia cohort studies, we have developed biomarkers to reveal the progression of brain pathology from preclinical to symptomatic stages. We showed that the measurement of amyloid-β and phosphorylated tau, which biologically define Alzheimer's disease (AD), significantly improved the accuracy of clinical diagnosis. In addition, neurofilament light chains, GFAP, and α-synuclein are measured to better understand pathophysiology occurring in brain of dementia patients. In the near future, blood-based biomarkers will play a major role in the diagnosis of dementia. We have conducted joint research to develop efficient blood-based biomarkers by collaborations with industries that possess cutting-edge technology. We believe that it is important to understand dementia based on genomic information. We have established one of the largest dementia genome cohort in Japan. We are conducting whole genome/exome analysis using next-generation sequencer to find genetic risks unique to the Japanese population. We showed that the polygenic risk score has been successfully adapted to Japanese AD patients to predict the inborn risk. We also making an effort to promote the implementation of clinical sequencing and APOE testing to realize genomic medicine for dementia. Although the environment surrounding dementia research may changes with the times, we will make progress of our research keeping our mission in mind to contribute to better society for patients of dementia and their family.