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Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN)

Recruiting
Conditions
Alzheimer's Disease
Registration Number
NCT00869817
Lead Sponsor
Washington University School of Medicine
Brief Summary

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.

Detailed Description

Dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents less than 1% of all cases of AD and is an important model for study because the responsible mutations have known biochemical consequences that are believed to underlie the pathological basis of the disorder. Three major hypotheses will be tested:

* First, that there is a period of preclinical (presymptomatic) AD in individuals who are destined to develop early-onset dementia (gene carriers) that can be detected by changes in biological fluids and in neuroimaging correlates in comparison with individuals who will not develop early-onset dementia (non-carriers).

* Second, because all identified causative mutations for AD affect the normal processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and increase brain levels of amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ42), the sequence of preclinical changes initially will involve Aβ42 (production and clearance; reduced levels in cerebrospinal fluid \[CSF\]), followed by evidence for cerebral deposition of Aβ42 (amyloid imaging), followed by cerebral metabolic activity (functional imaging), and finally by regional atrophy (structural imaging).

* Finally, that the phenotype of symptomatic early-onset familial AD, including its clinical course, is similar to that of late-onset "sporadic" AD.

The following specific aims will be used to test these hypotheses:

1. Maintain the established international DIAN registry of individuals (MCs and non-carriers (NC), symptomatic and asymptomatic) who are biological adult children of an affected parent with an APP, PSEN1, or PSEN2 mutation causing AD and assess participants every 2 years with the uniform DIAN protocol.

2. Recruit to the registry 50 new asymptomatic participants, both MCs and NCs, in Year 1 of the next budget period to maintain the total DIAN cohort at \~250 individuals. These new participants will include those who are more than 15 years younger than the estimated age of symptomatic onset (EAO) to explore the earliest observable biomarker changes of preclinical AD.

3. Maintain the integrated DIAN database and biospecimen repository to disseminate data and tissue to qualified investigators (within and outside of DIAN) in a user-friendly manner and to permit analyses within, between, and among the various data domains that will include:

1. In asymptomatic MCs (using NCs as controls), determine the temporal ordering and rate of intraindividual change in clinical, cognitive, imaging, and fluid biomarkers of AD prior to EAO

2. In symptomatic MCs, compare the clinical and neuropathological phenotypes of ADAD to those of LOAD, using datasets such as ADNI.

4. Utilize the DIAN cohort and its database and biospecimen repository to support new scientific studies, including use of exome chip technology to examine potential modifiers of age at symptomatic onset. Pursue other new scientific initiatives that are funded independently of the DIAN grant but are conducted within the DIAN infrastructure at no cost to DIAN including: Dermal fibroblasts and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), examine biomarker surrogates for neurogeneration in CSF including Visinin-like protein-1 (VILIP-1), Tau seeding assay, Stable Isotope Leucine Kinetics (SILK) in DIAN participants, determine the exact Abeta species that underlie AD pathology using Mass spectrometry, exome sequencing on all DIAN participants to search for both positive and negative modifiers of EYO, and amyloid imaging crossover to \[18F\]florbetapir.

5. Provide genetic counseling to any and all DIAN participants who wish to learn their mutation status and, for those who decide to learn their status after counseling, provide genetic testing by Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-approved laboratories (i.e., outside of DIAN).

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
700
Inclusion Criteria
  • Written informed consent obtained from participant and collateral source prior to any study-related procedures.
  • Aged 18 (inclusive) or older and the child of an affected individual (clinically or by testing) in a pedigree with a known mutation for ADAD.
  • Cognitively normal to very mild or mild cognitive impairment (CDR score range 0-1.0). Primary enrollment will focus on the recruitment of asymptomatic adult children who are more than 15 years younger than the estimated age of symptom onset. Enrollment of new participants with moderate cognitive impairment is allowed with the prior approval of the DIAN Coordinating Center.
  • Has two persons who are not their full-blooded siblings who can serve as collateral sources for the study.
  • Fluent in a language approved by the DIAN Coordinating Center at about the 6th grade level (international equivalent) or above.
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

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Positive predictive power of a biomarker or group of biomarkersVariable follow-up assessment based on age in relation to age at onset of affected parent.
Biomarkers obtained by blood draw, lumbar puncture, MRI, FDG PET, PET amyloid imagingVariable follow-up assessment based on age in relation to age at onset of affected parent
Clinical markers also examined from clinical interview and cognitive testingVariable follow-up assessment based on age in relation to age at onset of affected parent
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (25)

Mental Health Research Institute, University of Melbourne

🇦🇺

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Mayo Clinic Jacksonville

🇺🇸

Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Indiana University-Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center

🇺🇸

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Brigham and Women's Hospital

🇺🇸

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine

🇺🇸

Saint Louis, Missouri, United States

Columbia University

🇺🇸

New York, New York, United States

University of Pittsburgh

🇺🇸

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Butler Hospital

🇺🇸

Providence, Rhode Island, United States

University of Washington

🇺🇸

Seattle, Washington, United States

Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia" (FLENI) Instituto de Investigaciones Neurológicas Raúl Correa

🇦🇷

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia (FLENI)

🇦🇷

Salta, Argentina

Neuroscience Research Australia

🇦🇺

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Sir James McCusker Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Edith Cowan University

🇦🇺

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo

🇧🇷

São Paulo, Brazil

McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging

🇨🇦

Verdun, Quebec, Canada

Grupo Neurociencias de Antioquia

🇨🇴

Medellín, Colombia

German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Munich, and University Hospital Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat (LMU) Munich

🇩🇪

Munich, Germany

German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Tübingen and Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen

🇩🇪

Tübingen, Germany

Niigata University

🇯🇵

Niigata, Japan

Osaka City University

🇯🇵

Osaka City, Japan

Tokyo University

🇯🇵

Tokyo, Japan

Asan Medical Center

🇰🇷

Seoul, Songpa-Gu, Korea, Republic of

Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía "Manuel Velasco Suarez"

🇲🇽

Mexico City, Mexico

Hospital Clinic Barcelona

🇪🇸

Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain

Institute of Neurology, Queen Square

🇬🇧

London, United Kingdom

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