{"id":1069,"date":"2026-01-10T14:22:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T14:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/arnoldt\/?p=1069"},"modified":"2026-01-19T17:19:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T17:19:26","slug":"preface-alzheimers-afternoons-quick-summaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/arnoldt\/2026\/01\/10\/preface-alzheimers-afternoons-quick-summaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Preface – Alzheimer’s Afternoons quick summaries"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New developments in our understanding of ApoE and late onset Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

In early 2020 a special issue of the journal Neurobiology of Disease<\/em> was published containing eleven articles exploring the role of the ApoE risk gene in the development of late onset Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u00a0 This open access journal issue was edited by Allan Butterfield and Lance Johnson and can be found here:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/journal\/neurobiology-of-disease\/collection\/10C0D9JSJQP?page-size=100&page=1<\/a><\/p>\n

This was followed by the establishment of a popular online seminar series, Alzheimer’s Afternoons<\/em>, organized by Lance Johnson and Rik van der Kant.\u00a0 This biweekly seminar series began in March \u2013 in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak, when most researchers had closed their laboratories \u2013 and is scheduled to run into June, at least.\u00a0 It includes seminars by over thirty active researchers in the field, broadcast from their homes as they shelter in place, and has attracted well over 200 attendees per seminar.\u00a0 The series also grew to include a separate collection of shorter \u201chappy hour\u201d seminars presented online on Fridays by researchers-in-training.\u00a0 Recordings of these seminars are available online, for a limited time.<\/p>\n

Alzheimer’s Afternoons 3:00pm ET Tuesdays and Thursdays<\/p>\n

On Twitter @AlzAfternoons<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.ljohnsonlab.com\/ad-seminar-series.html<\/p>\n

This confluence of articles and seminars highlights the increasing amount of research aimed at understanding the role of the apoe4 risk gene in the development of Alzheimer\u2019s disease and related pathologies.<\/p>\n

The published studies, useful reviews, and online seminars are all fascinating.\u00a0 However, it\u2019s easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of information \u2013 two forty-minute seminars plus two shorter \u201chappy hour\u201d talks from trainees each week, plus the flurry of new publications. \u00a0To help, I\u2019ve produced the following summaries to help keep them organized in my mind as well as to assist those who are not experts in the field but have a personal interest in apoe4 to follow along.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: these are simply my summaries of selected seminars.\u00a0 Any errors or omissions are mine alone.\u00a0 I encourage readers to access the original, published peer-reviewed research and provide links whenever possible.\u00a0 Nothing herein represents medical advice.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For non-experts in the field<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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For those starting out and looking for a good review of the apoe4 gene as related to Alzheimer\u2019s disease I recommend this recent review:<\/p>\n

A Quarter Century of APOE and Alzheimer\u2019s Disease: Progress to Date and the Path Forward<\/strong>
\nMichael E. Belloy, Valerio Napolioni, and Michael D. Greicius
\nNeuron 101, March 6, 2019
\nhttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.neuron.2019.01.056<\/a><\/p>\n

For those who are not scientists in closely related fields \u2013 or those who are healthcare providers, policy-makers, advocates, caregivers, apoe4 carriers, or concerned family members \u2013 I offer the following recommendations:<\/p>\n