Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN)

Overview

About this study

The purpose of this study is to identify potential biomarkers that may predict the development of Alzheimer's disease in people who carry an Alzheimer's mutation.

Participation eligibility

Participant eligibility includes age, gender, type and stage of disease, and previous treatments or health concerns. Guidelines differ from study to study, and identify who can or cannot participate. There is no guarantee that every individual who qualifies and wants to participate in a trial will be enrolled. Contact the study team to discuss study eligibility and potential participation.

Inclusion Criteria:

Age 18 or older
Child of an individual with a known mutation in a pedigree with autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease
Cognitively normal, or if demented, does not require nursing home level care
Fluent in English or Spanish at the 6th grade level
Has someone who is not a child of the affected parent who can serve as an informant for the study

Exclusion Criteria:

Under age 18
Medical or psychiatric illness that would interfere in completing initial and follow-up visits
Requires nursing home level care
Has no one who can serve as a study informant

Participating Mayo Clinic locations

Study statuses change often. Please contact the study team for the most up-to-date information regarding possible participation.

Mayo Clinic Location	Status
Jacksonville, Fla. Mayo Clinic principal investigator Neill Graff Radford, M.D.	Closed for enrollment

Mayo Clinic Location

Status

Jacksonville, Fla.

Mayo Clinic principal investigator

Neill Graff Radford, M.D.

Closed for enrollment

More information

Publications

To investigate the ability of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma measures to discriminate early-stage Alzheimer disease (AD) (defined by clinical criteria and presence/absence of brain amyloid) from nondemented aging and to assess whether these biomarkers can predict future dementia in cognitively normal individuals. Read More on PubMed
Beta-amyloid (Abeta) plaques are the hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD). A PET imaging tracer that binds to Abeta plaques in vivo, N-methyl-[(11)C]2-(4'-methylaminophenyl)-6-hydroxybenzothiazole (or [(11)C]PIB for "Pittsburgh Compound-B"), has significantly higher binding in subjects diagnosed with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) compared to nondemented controls. The authors used this imaging technique to investigate whether abnormal binding occurs in clinically normal individuals, prior to the development of cognitive changes. Read More on PubMed
To understand the earliest signs of cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer disease (AD) and other illnesses causing dementia, information is needed from well-characterized individuals without dementia studied longitudinally until autopsy. Read More on PubMed
Detailed study of the very earliest phases of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is seldom possible, especially those changes preceding the development of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which may occur years before diagnosis. Knowledge of imaging and neuropsychological features of these early stages would add insight into this poorly understood phase of the disease. We present data from a subject who entered a longitudinal study of individuals at risk of familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD), as a healthy volunteer with no memory complaints, undergoing 12 assessments between 1992 and 2003. Longitudinal MRI, neuropsychological and clinical data are presented over the decade preceding this man's diagnosis, through the asymptomatic and prodromal preludes to his presentation with MCI and on to eventual conversion to AD. Read More on PubMed
We compare clinicopathologic data from 10 subjects identified in the very mild stage of senile dementia of the Alzheimer type with findings from similar studies in four cognitively normal subjects. We based the diagnosis of very mild dementia in the 10 subjects on informant reports and the judgment of experienced clinicians. Deficits of some psychometric measures of memory, language, and speeded psychomotor performance were observed for these subjects. The histologic markers of Alzheimer's disease, including neurofibrillary tangles and both the "diffuse" and classic subtypes of senile plaques, were present in the neocortex in all 10 subjects but essentially were absent in the four controls. These findings indicate that even "questionable" dementia can be diagnostic for Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, because truly normal aging may be unaccompanied by neocortical senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, the presence of these lesions should suggest the possibility of clinically undetected Alzheimer's disease. Read More on PubMed

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