Clinician’s perspectives on gene therapy for Alzheimer’s disease: A qualitative study

by Lilly Kelemen, Ishika Gupta, Zollie Yavarow, Samantha I. Smith, Kim G. Johnson, Nathan A. Boucher

We aimed to understand clinician views regarding gene therapy as a future treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and potential barriers and facilitators to its use.

We interviewed ten clinicians who treat patients with AD. Clinicians helped design a semi-structured interview including the following domains: establishing understanding, cost/access, quality of life, and religion/spirituality. Transcripts were analyzed by a coding team using descriptive content analysis with inductive approach.

Clinicians identified three main areas of concern: 1) potential clinician and patient understanding of gene therapy and Alzheimer’s disease 2) consideration of inequity (i.e., care access, disease awareness along with education level, family support, trust in care systems); and 3) considerations in decision-making (i.e., religious/spiritual beliefs and method of treatment delivery as a decision-making tools).

Findings highlight areas for knowledge-building for patients and clinicians alike. Clinicians must be aware of patient/family educational needs and gaps in their own clinical knowledge before engaging patients/families with new technology. Allowing time for questions is crucial to building rapport and trust.