When: August 1, 2005
Institute: National Institute on Aging (NIA)

The purpose of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative is to examine how brain imaging technology can be used with other tests to measure the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This information will aid future clinical trials by providing a standard assessment tool to measure the effects of treatments being studied.

The study will take place at approximately 50 sites across the U.S. and Canada. Investigators will recruit about 800 adults, aged 55 to 90, to participate in the research—approximately 200 cognitively normal older individuals will be followed for 3 years, 400 people with MCI will be followed for 3 years, and 200 people with early AD will be followed for 2 years.

The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative is a $60 million, 5-year public-private partnership to test whether brain imaging technology such as serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), other biological markers, and clinical and neuropsychological assessment can be combined to measure the progression of MCI and early AD. The study will compare neuroimaging with biological and clinical information from study participants in an attempt to track the progress of memory loss from its earliest stages. Neuroimaging research has suggested that PET or MRI may serve as a more sensitive and consistent measure of disease progression than the neuropsychological and cognitive assessments now used in research. Ultimately, standardizing the methodology for neuroimaging could provide a better way to compare results from different trials and studies, a major goal of the initiative.

Next Steps
People interested in participating in the study should call the NIA’s Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center at 1-800-438-4380. Additional information is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov and www.alzheimers.org/clintrials/news.htm.