Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease Using Functional MRI

Project Description Narrative:

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. There is increasing evidence that the pathological process associated with Alzheimer’s disease my begin decades prior to diagnosis. Early identification of Alzheimer’s disease is essential for evaluating therapies designed to prevent or delay the devastating changes in cognition, behavior, and activities of daily living. Identification of “at-risk” individuals typically relies on age, family history, clinical testing, laboratory tests, genetic screening, and, more recently, neuroimaging. Approximately 60% of individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), characterized by isolated memory dysfunction, eventually develop Alzheimer’s disease. It is currently not possible to discriminate which MCI subjects will develop a progressive dementia from those that do not. The long-range goal of this longitudinal project is to use task-activated functional magnetic resonance imaging to provide a comprehensive understanding of the pattern and natural history of neural dysfunction that presages Alzheimer’s disease.

This project will involve collaboration between the MCW Functional Imaging Research Center, MCW General Clinical Research Center, FMLII Memory Disorders Clinic, and the Alzheimer’s Association.