A Composite MR Neuroimaging Marker for Alzheimer's Disease
A Composite MR Neuroimaging Marker for Alzheimer's Disease
The purpose of this study is to use a functional MRI (fMRI) index to compare the brain
 activity of healthy volunteers to that of people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and
 Alzheimer's disease. The ultimate goal is to develop an early diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's
 disease.

 The study hypotheses are:

 1. The fMRI index will differentiate between Alzheimer's disease, non-Alzheimer's dementia,
 and healthy volunteers;

 2. The fMRI index will distinguish participants with MCI who convert to Alzheimer's disease
 from those who convert to a non-Alzheimer's dementia and those who remain stable;

 3. MCI participants with a lower fMRI index at baseline who convert will progress to
 Alzheimer's sooner than those with a higher fMRI index, and MCI participants with a
 faster rate of fMRI index decline who convert will have an earlier onset of Alzheimer's
 disease.
The onset of Alzheimer's disease is insidious and the boundary between normal aging and
 Alzheimer's disease is blurred. In order to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease, the
 investigators must be able to mark its preclinical stage, before brain damage becomes
 irreversible. There is a substantial body of research dealing with predictive markers of
 Alzheimer's disease in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Despite these
 advances, however, researchers have not had enough evidence to recommend specific techniques
 that mark preclinical Alzheimer's disease. This new functional MRI (fMRI) index may fill this
 gap.

 Participants will have two visits, one for memory testing and neurological examination, and
 one for an MRI scan. Each visit will take approximately 1½ hours. For volunteers who wish to
 do so, all study procedures may be completed in a single visit. Participants with MCI will be
 followed annually.

 The investigators are currently enrolling healthy volunteers, as well as individuals with MCI
 (memory loss that does not significantly affect normal daily activities), Alzheimer's
 disease, and frontotemporal dementia (includes primary progressive aphasia).
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  60 years of age or older (50 years of age or older for frontotemporal dementia
 patients)

 -  Normal memory, mild cognitive impairment (memory loss that does not significantly
 affect normal daily activities), or clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or
 frontotemporal dementia (includes primary progressive aphasia)

 -  Right-handed

 -  General good physical health

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  History of stroke or neurological disease (other than Alzheimer's disease or
 frontotemporal dementia)

 -  Seizures or head injury with loss of consciousness within the last five years

 -  Ferrous (magnetic) or electronic implants (due to the magnet in the MRI scanner)

 -  Claustrophobia