A 5-year, $60 million public-private research project launched this week will explore whether brain imaging can be used to track the development of early Alzheimer's disease.
The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative will follow up on small studies suggesting that magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography can be used to forecast when individuals with early signs of memory loss will develop Alzheimer's. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) and other federal sponsors are putting up about two-thirds of the money; the rest will come from drug companies and nonprofit groups. Fifty sites will enroll 800 adults, some with no signs of disease, some with mild cognitive impairment, and some with early Alzheimer's, and track them for up to 3 years. The lead investigator is Michael W. Weiner of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the University of California, San Francisco.
The study is meant to collect baseline data--not test treatments--although some patients will likely be taking Alzheimer's medications, says NIA neuroscientist Neil Buckholtz. NIA director Richard Hodes hopes the initiative will be a "landmark study."
