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September 2018

The ADNI Study

The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, abbreviated ADNI for short, is a historic study of brain aging that focuses on helping quicken the pursuit to prevent, treat and one day cure Alzheimer’s disease. Since its launch almost fifteen years ago, almost $200 million has been contributed by the public and private sector to fund ADNI. This innovative study has made tremendous contributions towards revolutionizing Alzheimer’s disease research, in part by enabling data-sharing between researchers worldwide. Dr. Michael Weiner, ADNI Founder and Principal Investigator, as well as the Principal Investigator of the Brain Health Registry, continues to lead this multisite, cooperative study as it evolves to incorporate the latest technological advancements in the brain health field.

Overall Goals of ADNI

1. To detect Alzheimer’s disease at the earliest possible stage (pre-dementia) and identify ways to track the disease’s progression with genetic testing (using biomarkers).

2. To support advances in Alzheimer’s intervention, prevention, and treatment through using new methods of testing at the earliest possible disease stages (when intervention may be most effective).

3. To continue ADNI’s innovative data-access policy, which provides all data at no cost to scientists in the world.

Eligibility

The study uses state-of-the-art imaging to monitor brain levels of two proteins—tau and amyloid—both of which are significant indicators of Alzheimer’s disease. No medication is involved in ADNI. Eligible participants:

– Are between the ages of 55-90,

– Are in good health,

– Have a diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s disease or Mild Cognitive Impairment,

– Are willing and able to undergo in-clinic assessments, memory testing and other test procedures, and

– Have a study partner who can accompany participants to all clinic visits.

Additionally, the Brain Health Registry has teamed up with ADNI to collect online data from ADNI participants, which will then be linked to ADNI data collected in-clinic to therefore create even more comprehensive datasets. By collaborating together, ADNI and Brain Health Registry are unifying data to enable additional hypotheses to be tested, to ultimately gain greater insight and understanding into normal aging as well as Alzheimer’s disease progression.

To date, there are 59 ADNI sites located throughout the US and Canada. Click here to find out if there is a site located close to you. Anyone, including those already participating in the Brain Health Registry, who wants to learn more and possibly enroll in ADNI may do so by visiting the ADNI3 webpage. We also welcome you to invite your family and friends to learn more.

And, to those who are already enrolled in ADNI, we graciously thank you for your continued support and participation. We greatly value all of the effort participants like you invest in helping us advance brain health research.