Longitudinal Imaging of Microglial Activation in Different Clinical Variants of Alzheimer's Disease
Patrick Lao
Summary
The purpose of this study is to determine how inflammation is related to other changes in the brain that occur during the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The investigators are also studying how inflammation is related to the symptoms that first occur in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). For this reason, the investigators are asking people with different versions of Alzheimer's disease and/or other related dementias to participate. This includes patients with: * Mild Cognitive Impairment * Posterior cortical atrophy - a version of Alzheimer's disease with vision difficulties * Logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia - a version of Alzheimer's disease with language difficulties * Amnestic Alzheimer's disease - a "typical" version of Alzheimer's disease with memory difficulties * The investigators are also enrolling older adults with normal visual, language, and memory function.
Description
This study is being done to learn about inflammation in Alzheimer's disease so that the investigators can find out new ways to treat patients with this disease. Because Alzheimer's disease usually causes slow changes to the brain over time, in this study the investigators are going to perform different tests and then repeat some of them two years later. Inflammation can be measured using a type of brain scan called a positron emission tomography (PET) scan. A PET scan uses very small amounts of a radioactive drug that is injected into a vein to create a special picture of the brain. The infla…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 50+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion criteria: 1. Age 50 and over at time of screening. 2. At screening, must have no cognitive impairment, or meet criteria for amnestic Alzheimer's disease, posterior cortical atrophy, or logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia. Diagnoses will be made based on history, exam, neuropsychological testing, brain MRI, and consensus diagnosis. 3. Patients must have Clinical Dementia Rating scale score of 0.5 or 1 at enrollment. Controls must have Clinical Dementia Rating scale score of 0 at enrollment. 4. Subjects unable to provide informed consent must have a surrogate decision maker.…
Interventions
- Drug11C-ER176
11C-ER176 sticks to parts of the brain where there is inflammation. Past studies have shown that inflammation is present in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The purpose of this study is to determine if 11C-ER176 is able to accurately measure inflammation in patients with Alzheimer's disease. 11C-ER176 will be administered at activity up to 20 millicurie (mCi) per injection.
- Drug18F-MK6240
MK-6240 measures a protein called in the brain. MK-6240 is experimental but has been used in several human studies before and has been proven to accurately measure tau in the brain.
- Drug18F-Florbetaben
Florbetaben has been approved by the FDA to help diagnose Alzheimer's disease. florbetaben measures amyloid in the brain.
- ProcedureLumbar Puncture
Inflammation can also be measured by looking at certain proteins in the spinal fluid. In order to measure these proteins in the spinal fluid, the investigators will perform a lumbar puncture (spinal tap).
Location
- Columbia University Irving Medical CenterNew York, New York