Biomedical Frontiers: Winter 1995, Vol.2, No.2
Untangling Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Studies

The epidemiology of dementia in an urban community:

Dr. Richard Mayeux, director of the Sergievsky Center, studies the incidence, prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes of dementia among elderly residents in Northern Manhattan.

Gene-environment interactions in Alzheimer's disease:

Dr. Mayeux examines genetic and environmental factors in Alzheimer's disease patients. DNA is obtained from peripheral blood in patients and their siblings in order to characterize their apolipoprotein E alleles and to screen for mutations in the coding region and upstream promoter sequences of the amyloid precursor protein gene on chromosome 21 and for trisomy 21 mosaicism.

Predictors of disease course in Alzheimer's disease:

Cohort study, run by Dr. Yaakov Stern, associate professor of clinical neuropsychology, is designed to develop a model for predicting the occurrence of specific AD-related changes based on clinical signs. Two other sites involved in this study include Harvard and Johns Hopkins.

Age related evoked potential measures of memory in Alzheimer's disease:

Study evaluates event-related potentials and performance measures in patients with AD, headed by Dr. David Friedman, professor of clinical psychology.

Family aggregation of Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease:

Investigation of risk of AD in the families of adults with Down's syndrome, is led by Dr. Nicole Schupf, associate research scientist at the Sergievsky Center.

Coalition to establish an Alzheimer's disease registry:

Standardized neurological and neuropsychological evaluations for this multicenter registry are performed. Run by Dr. Richard Mayeux.

Alzheimer's disease cooperative studies unit:

Consortium established to investigate new AD treatments. Run by Dr. Mary Sano, assistant professor of neuropsychology and former Irving Clinical Research Scholar.