The Alzheimer’s Disease in Primary Care Study (ADPC: R01AG058537) is a $6.5 million grant awarded from the National Institute on Aging. The study is the first-ever examination of a blood-based Alzheimer’s test for primary care settings.
Participants must be 65 or older and have memory concerns. This study includes 6 components:
    1. Interview/Neuropsychological testing
    2. Blood draw
    3. Informant Interview
    4. MRI of the brain
    5. PET scan of the brain
    6. Research Medical Exam
Participants must have a referral form from their doctor.
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For more information please contact the study team at 817-735-2963.

Background

Currently it is estimated that over 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and these numbers will triple by midcentury. AD has an annual health care cost similar to that of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and more than cancer without taking into account informal care which is likely larger than both. While death rates due to CVD and cancer have declined in recent decades, death rates due to AD have steadily increased. Specialty clinic diagnosis of AD incorporates a medical examination, neuropsychological testing, clinical blood work, and neuroimaging. These procedures are time-consuming, expensive and pose access barriers as they are only available to those with access to specialty clinics. Despite the diagnostic accuracy among specialty clinics and the use of advanced neurodiagnostic procedures (i.e. CSF and PET), detection and management of AD is poor in primary care settings and inappropriate medications are frequently administered. A major impediment to development of treatments and clinical trials for AD is the lack of sensitive, easilyobtained diagnostic biomarkers. Blood-based biomarkers offer a cost– and time-effective approach to identifying at-risk patients within primary care settings. This project seeks to apply our previously validated AD Blood Test in a primary care setting.