Brain Imaging in Elderly People and Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease

Launched by NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH (NIMH) · Nov 3, 1999

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The Geriatric Psychiatry Branch (GPB) of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) proposes to study the effect of aging and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) on muscarinic type 2 (M2) receptor density and function using the ligand \[F-18\] FP-TZTP. M2 receptors are primarily autoreceptors found on acetylcholine (ACh) neurons, and are lost along with ACh neurons in aging and AD, particularly in the cerebral cortex. As we near completion of the study of the young versus the old, we would like to add a few more healthy subjects to achieve better gender balance, continue the accrual of Alzheimer's...

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• INCLUSION CRITERIA:
• • Healthy males and females between 20-100 years old and volunteers with AD.
• • AD volunteers must meet the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for possible, probable, or definite AD.
• • All subjects will be required to be off all prescription medications which could effect the PET scan, such as medications with anticholinergic effects, for two weeks to one month prior to the PET scan, and off psychotropic medication for one month.
• • Subjects will be cautioned not to consume alcohol, marijuana, or psychotropic drugs while on the study, nor to smoke, use caffeinated beverages, or take over-the-counter medications such as cold medications (ie: Benadryl, Sudafed) for at least 12 hours prior to the PET scan.
• EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
• • Patients withe significant cardiovascular disease, history of alcoholism, significant head trauma, uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes, bleeding disorders or other medical conditions which would make it medically unsafe to perform any part of the PET scan or would confound data analysis.
• • Subjects with evidence of significant chronic disease to be accepted into the healthy control group.
• • Subjects must not be pregnant.