Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities after immunotherapy: How might brain microvascular basement membrane components be involved?

Basement membrane components are integral to the physiologic function of cerebral microvessels. Immunotherapy (including by the use of lecanemab) in Alzheimer's disease patients may result in vascular complications identified by neuroimaging (ARIA-E and ARIA-H). This pilot study (on a relatively small number of human brain specimens) suggests one mechanism might be through the effects of lecanemab on a collagen component of said microvessel walls. It utilizes microvessels isolated from human brains (of Alzheimer's disease patients) and maintained in a viable state, to examine this mechanism using novel biochemical and molecular approaches. These yield preliminary evidence of how lecanemab may influence a specific component of the cerebral microvasculature and suggest other studies that may be used to address this important question.