Molecular and Structural Imaging in Alzheimer's Disease: A Longitudinal Study

Launched by MAYO CLINIC · Apr 14, 2016

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying how certain proteins in the brain, called amyloid and tau, change over time in people with different types of Alzheimer's disease, including less common forms like Logopenic Progressive Aphasia (LPA) and Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA). The goal is to better understand the impact of these proteins on brain function and how these changes might differ among various Alzheimer’s conditions over a year.

To be eligible for the study, participants must be over 21 years old and have someone who can help evaluate their daily functioning. They should be experiencing a gradual worsening of symptoms and meet specific criteria for Alzheimer’s disease. However, people who have had a stroke, certain other neurodegenerative disorders, or significant vision problems can't participate. Those who join the study can expect to undergo brain scans that will help researchers learn more about Alzheimer's disease. It's important to note that participants should be comfortable with undergoing imaging tests and won't be able to take part if they have certain medical conditions or if they are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Over the age of 21
• • Must have an informant who will be able to provide independent evaluation of functioning
• • English is primary language
• • All subjects must have insidious onset, report progression of their symptoms, and meet current clinical diagnostic criteria for typical amnestic AD or an atypical AD syndrome such as Logopenic Aphasia (LPA) or Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA).
• • All subjects with Logopenic Aphasia (LPA) must present with early and dominant impairments in language
• • All subjects with typical amnestic AD must have relative preservation of episodic memory compared to impairment in the non-episodic memory domain
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • If you have had a stroke or tumor that could explain your symptoms
• • Subjects that present with early episodic memory impairment or meet clinical criteria for mild cognitive impairment will not be recruited into the study
• • Subjects that meet specific criteria for another neurodegenerative disorder, including behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, semantic dementia, primary progressive apraxia of speech, probable corticobasal syndrome, or progressive supranuclear palsy, will be excluded
• • Subjects will be excluded if they have poor vision (20/400)
• • Women that are pregnant or post-partum and breast-feeding will be excluded
• • Subjects will be excluded from the study if they are unable to undergo the tau-PET scan due to a prolonged QT interval on ECG, or if they have any of the following genetic conditions which can increase the chance of cancer: Cowden disease, Lynch syndrome, hypogammaglobulinemia, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, and Down's syndrome
• • Subjects will also be excluded if MRI is contraindicated (metal in head, cardiac pace maker, e.t.c.), if there is severe claustrophobia, if there are conditions that may confound brain imaging studies (e.g. structural abnormalities, including subdural hematoma or intracranial neoplasm), or if they are medically unstable or are on medications that might affect brain structure or metabolism,(e.g. chemotherapy)