New evidence showed a biological connection between autism spectrum disorder and Alzheimer disease. Autistic adults may be diagnosed with Alzheimer disease at up to 8 times more often than the general population, and show overlapping pathophysiological elements.1,2 Anavex Life Sciences, developers of blarcamesine, shared that findings linking autism and Alzheimer disease support blarcamesine mapping across shared disease biology the drug addresses.3
“The growing recognition that neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions share fundamental disease biology—particularly around autophagy—validates the foundational science behind Anavex’s platform,” said Wolfgang Liedtke, MD, PhD, senior vice president and global head of neurology at Anavex.3 “We are looking forward to proceeding with pivotal clinical trials on the principle that restoring cellular homeostasis through SIGMAR1 activation may address disease biology across the [central nervous system], from childhood through old age,” he added.
Findings came from a 2026 study evaluating disruptions in autophagy and synaptic regulation in both autism and Alzheimer disease, and were supported by a 2025 study using Medicare and Medicaid records including 114,000 adults with autism. In the recent study of mechanistic disruptions, investigators evaluated pathophysiological and genetic features between the disorders, demonstrating similarities and focusing on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lymphatic drainage through the nasal turbinates. Using both whole-body blood pool scans and magnetic resonance imaging with diffusion tensor imaging, the paper evaluated nose/heart max ratio, increased extra-axial CSF, size of perivascular spaces, and glymphatic dysfunction. Genetic analysis also looked for shared genes between autism and Alzheimer disease with potential mechanistic connections to the glymphatic system.
The 2025 paper found a significantly elevated prevalence of dementia in adults with autism compared with the general population, and the 2026 paper identified specific systems which are disrupted in both disease states. Authors noted previous findings of increased nasal turbinate vasodilation and subsequent nasal lymphatic obstruction of CSF were related to increased Alzheimer disease risk factors; this pathophysiology may be common in individuals with autism, they proposed. The hypothesized pathway in the study followed nasal turbinate vasodilation and blood pooling, leading to lymphatic and CSF obstruction, then glymphatic failure, waste product accumulation, and ultimate Alzheimer disease or autism pathology.
Investigators noted that “the proposed common pathophysiology suggests the possibility of utilizing diagnostic tools and therapeutic modalities that could be beneficial for individuals with either [autism spectrum disorder] or [Alzheimer disease].”2 Suggested techniques for evaluation include CSF flow assessment and targeted therapies for glymphatic and lymphatic drainage.
As studies like these continue to investigate the molecular connections between autism and Alzheimer disease, “the therapeutic rationale for a precision medicine approach targeting autophagy with blarcamesine has never been more encouraging,” said Christopher U. Missling, PhD, president and chief executive officer of Anavex.3 “Anavex’s unique precision medicine approach recognizes autophagy dysfunction as a common upstream contributor preceding diverse downstream pathologies across the age spectrum,” he continued.