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Study Looks for Earliest Brain Changes That Lead to Alzheimer's

Volunteers are being sought for a clinical study examining the subtle changes that may take place in the brains of older people many years before overt symptoms of Alzheimer's disease appear. Researchers are looking for people with the very earliest complaints of memory problems that affect their daily activities. The study will follow participants over time, using imaging techniques developed to advance research into changes taking place in the structure and function of the living brain, as well as biomarker measures found in blood and cerebrospinal fluid.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Institutes of Health Office of the Director are funding the $24 million, two-year Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Grand Opportunity (ADNI-GO) study.  Researchers seek to recruit 200 volunteers aged 55 to 90 who may be transitioning from normal cognitive aging to an early stage of amnestic mild cognitive impairment, a condition that may progress to Alzheimer's disease. Participants may volunteer at 51 sites across the United States.

"ADNI-GO is part of an ongoing effort to establish imaging and fluid biomarker measures of Alzheimer's disease from the onset of mild symptoms to the advanced stages of the disease process," says NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, MD. "By advancing understanding of the full spectrum of the disease, we'll be better able to identify who is at risk, track progression of the disorder, and devise measurements to test the effectiveness of potential prevention or treatment strategies."

The new ADNI-GO effort enables researchers to continue studying nearly 500 of the original ADNI volunteers, while expanding the study to include the new participants with early amnestic MCI.  Newly enrolled participants and some original study volunteers will undergo a lumbar puncture to collect cerebrospinal fluids.

— Source: National Institutes of Health