The overall goal of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is to optimize and validate biomarkers for clinical trials while sharing all data and biofluid samples with the global scientific community. ADNI has been instrumental in standardizing and validating amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. ADNI data were used for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Fujirebio and Roche Elecsys cerebrospinal fluid diagnostic tests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Administrative Core oversees and coordinates all ADNI activities, to ensure the success and maximize the impact of ADNI in advancing Alzheimer's disease (AD) research and clinical trials. It manages finances and develops policies for data sharing, publications using ADNI data, and access to ADNI biospecimens. The Core develops and executes pilot projects to guide future ADNI activities and identifies key innovative methods for inclusion in ADNI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: We evaluated preliminary feasibility of a digital, culturally-informed approach to recruit and screen participants for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI4).
Methods: Participants were recruited using digital advertising and completed digital surveys (e.g.
Importance: Black or African American (hereinafter, Black) and Hispanic or Latino/a/x (hereinafter, Latinx) adults are disproportionally affected by Alzheimer disease, but most research studies do not enroll adequate numbers of both of these populations. The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative-3 (ADNI3) launched a diversity taskforce to pilot a multipronged effort to increase the study inclusion of Black and Latinx older adults.
Objective: To describe and evaluate the culturally informed and community-engaged inclusion efforts to increase the screening and enrollment of Black and Latinx older adults in ADNI3.
Background: Unsupervised online cognitive assessments have demonstrated promise as an efficient and scalable approach for evaluating cognition in aging, and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, usability, and construct validity of the Paired Associates Learning task from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery® in adults enrolled in the Brain Health Registry.
Design, Setting, Participants, Measurements: The Paired Associates Learning task was administered to Brain Health Registry participants in a remote, unsupervised, online setting.
Introduction: This study aimed to understand whether older adults' longitudinal completion of assessments in an online Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD)-related registry is influenced by self-reported medical conditions.
Methods: Brain Health Registry (BHR) is an online cognitive aging and ADRD-related research registry that includes longitudinal health and cognitive assessments. Using logistic regressions, we examined associations between longitudinal registry completion outcomes and self-reported (1) number of medical conditions and (2) eight defined medical condition groups (cardiovascular, metabolic, immune system, ADRD, current psychiatric, substance use/abuse, acquired, other specified conditions) in adults aged 55+ ( 23,888).
Background: Although Black/African American older adults bear significant inequities in prevalence, incidence, and outcomes of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, they are profoundly under-included in Alzheimer's Disease research. Community-Engaged Research (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In Alzheimer's disease (AD) research, subjective reports of cognitive and functional decline from participant-study partner dyads is an efficient method of assessing cognitive impairment and clinical progression.
Methods: Demographics and subjective cognitive/functional decline (Everyday Cognition Scale [ECog]) scores from dyads enrolled in the Brain Health Registry (BHR) Study Partner Portal were analyzed. Associations between dyad characteristics and both ECog scores and study engagement were investigated.
Importance: The Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) is a well-validated instrument widely used to detect and stage dementia due to Alzheimer disease. The digital Electronic Clinical Dementia Rating (eCDR) can be remotely self-administered and automatically scored, with potential to facilitate efficient dementia screening and staging.
Objective: To evaluate the association of the eCDR with the CDR and other in-clinic assessments for screening older adults for cognitive impairment.
Background: This study aims to understand whether and how participant characteristics (age, gender, education, ethnocultural identity) are related to their feedback about taking a remote, unsupervised, online cognitive assessment.
Methods: The Brain Health Registry is a public online registry which includes cognitive assessments. Multivariable ordinal regressions assessed associations between participant characteristics and feedback responses of older (55+) participants (N=11,553) regarding their Cogstate Brief Battery assessment experience.
Background: Failure of Alzheimer's disease and related diseases (ADRD) research studies to include and engage Black participants is a major issue, which limits the impact and generalizability of research findings. Little is known about participation of Black adults in online ADRD-related research registries.
Objectives: As part of the Community Engaged Digital Alzheimer's Research (CEDAR) Study, this study aims to increase our understanding of facilitators and barriers of Black adults to participating in ADRD-related online registries, as well as to understand their preferences for communication channels.
Introduction: Remote, internet-based methods for recruitment, screening, and longitudinally assessing older adults have the potential to facilitate Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials and observational studies.
Methods: The Brain Health Registry (BHR) is an online registry that includes longitudinal assessments including self- and study partner-report questionnaires and neuropsychological tests. New initiatives aim to increase inclusion and engagement of commonly underincluded communities using digital, community-engaged research strategies.
Introduction: This culturally tailored enrollment effort aims to determine the feasibility of enrolling 5000 older Latino adults from California into the Brain Health Registries (BHR) over 2.25 years.
Methods: This paper describes (1) the development and deployment of culturally tailored BHR websites and digital ads, in collaboration with a Latino community science partnership board and a marketing company; (2) an interim feasibility analysis of the enrollment efforts and numbers, and participant characteristics (primary aim); as well as (3) an exploration of module completion and a preliminary efficacy evaluation of the culturally tailored digital efforts compared to BHR's standard non-culturally tailored efforts (secondary aim).
Introduction: Use of online registries to efficiently identify older adults with cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an approach with growing evidence for feasibility and validity. Linked biomarker and registry data can facilitate AD clinical research.
Methods: We collected blood for plasma biomarker and genetic analysis from older adult Brain Health Registry (BHR) participants, evaluated feasibility, and estimated associations between demographic variables and study participation.
Introduction: The Dutch Brain Research Registry aims to facilitate online recruitment of participants for brain disease studies.
Methods: Registrants were primarily recruited through an online social media campaign. The registration process included a short questionnaire, which was subsequently used in the prescreening process to match participants to studies.
Alzheimers Dement (N Y)
February 2021
Introduction: Remote data collection, including the establishment of online registries, is a novel approach to efficiently identify risk for cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in older adults, with growing evidence for feasibility and validity. Addition of genetic data to online registries has the potential to facilitate identification of older adults at risk and to advance the understanding of genetic contributions to AD.
Methods: 573 older adult participants with longitudinal online Brain Health Registry (BHR) data underwent apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotyping using remotely collected saliva samples and a novel, automated Biofluid Collection Management Portal.
Introduction: Assessment of functional status is associated with risk of cognitive decline and diagnosis of dementia, and can be assessed by participants and study partners (SPs).
Methods: In 770 older adults enrolled in the Imaging Dementia-Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS) study and the online Brain Health Registry (BHR), we estimated associations between online assessments and clinical variables related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk.
Results: Worse online learning scores and SP-reported functional decline were associated with higher probability of AD dementia diagnosis and poor in-clinic cognitive assessment, and with higher odds of amyloid beta (Aβ) positivity when combined with participants' report of less decline.
Introduction: This study aimed to identify the relationship of sociodemographic variables with older adults participation in an online registry for recruitment and longitudinal assessment in cognitive aging.
Methods: Using Brain Health Registry (BHR) data, associations between sociodemographic variables (sex, race, ethnicity, education) and registry participation outcomes (task completion, willingness to participate in future studies, referral/enrollment in other studies) were examined in adults aged 55+ (N = 35,919) using logistic regression. All models included sex, race, ethnicity, education, age, and subjective memory concern.
Background: Effective and measurable participant recruitment methods are urgently needed for clinical studies in Alzheimer's disease.
Objectives: To develop methods for measuring recruitment tactics and evaluating effectiveness.
Methods: Recruitment tactics for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI3) were measured using web and phone analytics, campaign metrics and survey responses.
Introduction: The purpose of this study is to compare online neuropsychological test performance of older adults across self-reported diagnoses of being cognitively normal, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia due to Alzheimer's disease and to determine the association of memory concerns and family history of dementia on cognitive performance.
Methods: Participants completed the Cogstate Brief Battery unsupervised at home.
Results: Data from 6463 participants over the age of 55 years were analyzed.
Alzheimers Dement (N Y)
October 2018
Introduction: Methods for efficiently identifying cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are a critical unmet need. The goal of this work was to validate novel online study partner (SP)-reported outcomes to identify cognitive decline in older adults.
Methods: In older adults enrolled in the Brain Health Registry, we analyzed associations between SP-reported cognitive decline, measured by the Everyday Cognition Scale, and either (1) participant cognition, assessed by Cogstate Brief Battery or (2) participant-reported diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment or AD.
Study Objectives: To investigate interactions between high and low amounts of sleep and other predictors of cognitive performance.
Methods: We used four cognitive tests to determine whether sleep time interacted with age, personal history of a memory problem, parental history of a memory problem, or personal concerns about memory and were associated with cognitive performance. Data were collected from an internet-based cohort study.
Introduction: Recruitment, assessment, and longitudinal monitoring of participants for neuroscience studies and clinical trials limit the development of new treatments. Widespread Internet use allows data capture from participants in an unsupervised setting. The Brain Health Registry, a website and online registry, collects data from participants and their study partners.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis qualitative study examined the impact of cultural barriers on self-management of diabetes among Hispanic participants in LA VIDA (Lifestyle and Values Impact Diabetes Awareness), a diabetes intervention program in southwestern New Mexico. As part of the LA VIDA program evaluation, in depth interviews were conducted with 50 Hispanics who had participated in one or more activities, including diabetes education classes, grocery store tours, and support groups, and who had interacted with promotores (community health workers). LA VIDA participants reported that a sense of empowerment and increased self-efficacy enabled them to overcome cultural barriers related to the traditional Hispanic diet, lack of social support, and denial about having diabetes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Cortical malformations (CMs) are increasingly recognized as the epileptogenic substrate in patients with medically refractory neocortical epilepsy (NE). The aim of this study was to test the hypotheses that: 1. CMs are metabolically heterogeneous.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF