The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease
Updated Italian intersocietal recommendations for the appropriate use of anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies in Alzheimer's disease
By Alberto Benussi, Federica Agosta, Luisa Agnello and 22 others.
Abstract
With the European authorisation of lecanemab and donanemab, Italy is entering the era of disease-modifying therapy for early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease. The Italian Expert Panel on Alzheimer (EPA), which convened 21 scientific societies and patient associations and published a first set of intersocietal recommendations in 2025, was reconvened in Rome on 24 January 2026 (EPA2) to address the operational gaps that had emerged during the implementation of that document. A modified Delphi process was adopted to formalise consensus on the most controversial points raised during the meeting. Thirty-six declarative statements covering five domains, namely the tiered organisation of the Centres for Cognitive Disorders and Dementia (CDCD), clinical staging and treatment monitoring, eligibility considerations in mild cognitive impairment and atypical phenotypes, composition of the multidisciplinary team, and magnetic resonance imaging thresholds, ARIA monitoring and biomarker pathway, were submitted to a multidisciplinary panel of experts. Strong agreement was reached on the large majority of statements, providing quantitative endorsement for a competence-based reorganisation of the CDCD network, the harmonised use of the Clinical Dementia Rating, an explicit composition of the multidisciplinary team, trial-aligned magnetic resonance imaging eligibility criteria with a move towards risk-adapted ARIA monitoring, and a stepwise biomarker pathway integrating plasma assays, cerebrospinal fluid analysis on automated platforms and amyloid positron emission tomography. The document provides Italian regional and national health systems, prescribing centres and reimbursing authorities with a quantitative blueprint for the appropriate, equitable and sustainable use of anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies in clinical practice.






