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AAN 2026: Neurology at an Inflection Point
Written by Lauren Stutzbach, PhD, Director, Medical Strategy on Thursday, May 21, 2026
In the Presidential Plenary session at this year’s American Academy of Neurology (AAN) meeting, Dr. Frances Jensen set the tone for the week by suggesting that neuroscience today is at a “crossroads” moment, similar to the state of oncology research 10 to 15 years ago.1 It was meant as encouragement, particularly at a precarious time for medical research funding. After a meeting full of breakthroughs, “Aha!” moments, and audible gasps from audiences, Dr. Jensen’s comparison sounds less like inspiration and more like an accurate assessment of the state of the field. Let’s take a closer look at three ways the state of neurology today parallels where oncology was 5-10 years ago, just as cancer treatment was on the cusp of a great leap forward.
Oncology parallel 1: CAR-T has entered the chat
One of the biggest (and most moving) moments at AAN was the video demonstrating the remarkable efficacy of Kyverna’s CAR-T mivocabtagene autoleucel (miv-cel) in stiff person syndrome (SPS). Pre-treatment, the patient had obvious gait difficulties and could not walk down the hallway without support. After treatment, he managed this same walk with seemingly effortless fluidity. But it wasn’t just one patient: In the KYSA-8 trial, 26 patients who had failed prior immunotherapy (used off-label in SPS) received a single infusion of miv-cel, resulting in a median 46% improvement from baseline in the Timed 25-Foot Walk; 81% of patients had a clinically meaningful response.2,3 The parallel to oncology here is obvious – leukemia is where CAR-T therapy had its first approval in 2017.4 So what’s next (aside from the BLA expected in H1)? Kyverna is also testing miv-cel in myasthenia gravis, and the rationale is solid for potential use in other neuroimmune indications.
Oncology parallel 2: Hyper-specific targets, broad clinical impact
AAN 2026 served as a showcase for antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapies in developmental epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs; examples include zorevunersen for Dravet syndrome and zeleciment basivarsen for myotonic dystrophy). The ASO focus in neurology isn’t exactly new; nusinersen for spinal muscular atrophy was first approved in the US in 2016.5 What is new is the entry of individualized ASO therapies for rare, heretofore untreatable syndromes like SCN2A-related DEE.6 “N of 1” clinical trials for personalized medicines and combination therapies are not uncommon in oncology, especially as biomarker-driven treatment pathways have become standard of care.7 At AAN, a session on genomic testing and genetic therapy drew a direct line from bespoke ASOs for individual patients to population-scale newborn screening programs, explicitly framing the infrastructure needed to identify and treat children before DEEs can cause permanent impairment.8 If, as the presenters argued, such a program is already feasible, this could usher in a new era of personalized medicine.
Oncology parallel 3: An unexpected application of a vaccine
While many of the highest-impact sessions at AAN focused on the micro scale, there was one (very) big exception. A plenary session summarizing several large-scale epidemiology studies featured the surprising finding that the live attenuated herpes zoster (shingles) vaccine reduced dementia diagnoses by 20% in older adults, an effect that’s been replicated several times over across different geographies (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada).9-12 While the mechanism of this robust effect is somewhat speculative, the public health question is clear: can we really prevent dementia with the shingles vaccine? The oncology version of this question has been asked and answered, most prominently by the use of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine to prevent cervical cancer.13 Treating dementia as, in part, an infectious disease enables a clear prophylactic strategy and another tool in our growing arsenal against neurodegeneration.
Dr. Jensen’s comparison of the state of play in neurology today to that of oncology 10 to 15 years ago was an apt one. The massive advances in cancer medicine were not the result of a single breakthrough but a convergence of multiple new technologies (cell therapy, genomics, biomarker development, just to name a few) that collectively shifted the treatment paradigm from one of disease management to one of disease modification and prevention. As Dr. Natalia S. Rost, AAN President, suggested in this same session, “We are on the cusp of breakthroughs that could revolutionize our field, findings that could change lives now – but there are also challenges.”14
“We are on the cusp of breakthroughs that could revolutionize our field, findings that could change lives now – but there are also challenges.” – Dr. Natalia S. Rost, AAN President
At OPEN Health, we are partnering with our clients in neurology and beyond to meet these challenges head-on via smart strategic planning, innovative use of novel technology, and thoughtful engagement with HCPs, patients, and payers. The door to the future of medicine is open. Let’s walk through it together.
1. Jensen F, Koroshetz W, Morrison J, Rost N. Neuroscience Impact: Now and in the Future. Presidential Plenary presented at: The American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 18–22, 2026; Chicago, IL.
2. Piquet AL, et al. Miv-cel CD19 CAR T-Cell Therapy Shows Efficacy and Safety in Stiff Person Syndrome in a Pivotal, Multicenter, Phase 2 Study (KYSA-8). Abstract presented at: The American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 18–22 2026; Chicago, IL.
3. Kyverna Therapeutics. Kyverna Presents Registrational Trial Primary Analysis for Miv-cel in Stiff Person Syndrome Demonstrating Statistically Significant, Durable Clinical Benefit Across All Endpoints in an Oral, Late-Breaker Session at AAN Annual Meeting. Press release. Kyverna Therapeutics. April 21, 2026. Accessed May 6, 2026. https://ir.kyvernatx.com/node/8121/pdf
4. Mitra A, et al. From bench to bedside: the history and progress of CAR T cell therapy. Front Immunol. 2023 May 15;14:1188049.
5. Spinraza. Prescribing information. Biogen; 2026. Accessed May 5, 2026. https://www.spinraza.com/content/dam/commercial/spinraza/caregiver/en_us/pdf/spinraza-prescribing-information.pdf
6. Kim-McManus O, et al. Individualized Antisense Oligonucleotides for SCN2A Related Developmental Epileptic Encephalopathy. Abstract presented at: The American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 18–22, 2026; Chicago, IL.
7. Gouda MA, Buschhorn L, Schneeweiss A, Wahida A, Subbiah V. N-of-1 Trials in Cancer Drug Development. Cancer Discov. 2023 Jun 2;13(6):1301-1309.
8. Chung W, et al. N of 1 to Population-based Genomic Testing and Genetic Therapy. Plenary presentation presented at: The American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 18–22, 2026; Chicago, IL.
9. Eyting M, Xie M, Michalik F, Heß S, Chung S, Geldsetzer P. A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia. Nature. 2025;641(8062):438- 446.
10. Pomirchy M, Bommer C, Pradella F, Michalik F, Peters R, Geldsetzer P. Herpes Zoster Vaccination and Dementia Occurrence. JAMA. 2025;333(23):2083-2092.
11. Pomirchy M, Chung S, Bommer C, Strobel S, Geldsetzer P. Herpes zoster vaccination and incident dementia in Canada: an analysis of natural experiments. Lancet Neurol. 2026;25(2):P170–180.
12. Geldsetzer P., et al. Preventing Dementia with Shingles Vaccination? Evidence from Quasi-randomized Vaccine Rollouts. Plenary session presented at: The American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 18–22, 2026; Chicago, IL.
13. Quinlan JD. Human Papillomavirus: Screening, Testing, and Prevention. Am Fam Physician. 2021 Aug 1;104(2):152-159.
14. Rost, NS. Neuroscience at the Crossroads: Charting the Future of Brain Health for All. Presidential Plenary presented at: The American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 18–22, 2026; Chicago, IL.