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This is a feasibility study which has a Longitudinal Cohort design, following up participants at selected time points over a 1 year duration. The study will recruit 2 distinct groups: (1) patients with symptoms of cognitive impairment, and (2) study partners who are cognitively normal. The patients recruited to group 1 will have been recently referred to a Memory Assessment Service by their GP with suspected Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) & mild dementia. All patients referred to a Memory Assessment Service for this reason will be potentially eligible for inclusion in the study. Close friends or family members involved in looking after the cognitively impaired participants will also be asked to participate as study partners to attempt to measure the impact that looking after a partner, friend or family member with memory problems can have on a carers Quality of Life and other variables such as financial burden. Both cognitively impaired participants and their study partners will be given the option of additionally participating in two sub-studies:

Mobile data collection: Using a web/mobile app to collect self-reported data on a more regular basis from home

Wearable device: Using a wearable device that looks like a watch to collect information on activity and sleep

The aim of the Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) project is to identify the neural mechanisms underpinning successful cognitive ageing. The study recruitment participants over 18 from resident within Cambridge City and used epidemiological, behavioural, and neuroimaging data to understand how individuals can best retain cognitive abilities into old age. A major aim of the research programme is to understand the nature of brain-cognition relationships across the lifespan, and to highlight the importance of abilities that are maintained into old age.

This population study was not designed to have repeated measures for each participant, but rather as one extended and comprehensive study visit that took place over 3 stages.

This project comprises of two complementary parts. One part is aimed at the development of innovative diagnostic techniques to detect molecular signatures of AD based on disturbances of amyloid metabolism and glutamate neurotransmission. In this part, the focus is on the two most promising diagnostic approaches in AD: (molecular) imaging techniques and molecular diagnostic tests of CSF. In the second part of this study, techniques for which proof-of-concept has been found in humans are applied in a large group of AD patients. These patients are recruited in an established network of 4 collaborating memory clinics in The Netherlands, which use a standardized diagnostic protocol and share an extensive common database. Furthermore, more mature molecular, structural, and functional imaging and molecular diagnostic CSF techniques as well as the conventional diagnostic work-up will be applied from the start of the study in patients from the same network of memory clinics.

The Health 2000 Survey, carried out in 2000-2001 in Finland, was coordinated by the National Institute for Health and Welfare, THL (the former National Public Health Institute) in co-operation with an extensive network of organizations and experts. The aim of the survey was to provide information on major public health problems, their causes and treatment, health service needs and utilization as well as functional and working capacity. The data for the survey were collected in comprehensive health examination including blood sampling, in interviews and in self-administered questionnaires. The nationally representative sample included 8,028 persons aged 30 or over of whom 85% participated in the health examination conducted at 80 areas in the mainland Finland. In addition, 1,894 young adults (18-29 years) were invited to the health interview and fill in the questionnaire. Further, 1,278 people who had taken part in Mini-Finland Health Survey carried out in 1978-1980 were invited to the re-examination.

The follow-up of the Health 2000 Survey, the Health 2011 Survey, was carried out in 2011-2012. All members of the Health 2000 sample (n=8,135), who were living in Finland in 2011 and had not refused requests to be invited to further studies, were invited to the Health 2011 Survey. In 2011, they were at least 29 years of age. A total of 59% of them participated in the health examination conducted at 59 areas in Finland. In addition, a new random sample of young adults (aged 18-28, n=1,994) was taken. A total of 415 of them were invited to the health examination and the rest of them (1,579) received only the postal questionnaire. Further, 920 people who had previously taken part in the Mini-Finland Health Survey and invited to re-examination in 2001 were invited.

The Health 2000/2011 cohort is also continuously followed-up by linkage to Finnish nationwide registers.

The Lifelines Cohort Study is a large population-based cohort study and biobank that was established as a resource for research on complex interactions between environmental, phenotypic and genomic factors in the development of chronic diseases and healthy ageing. The Lifelines cohort distinguishes a children’s cohort (aged 0-18), an adult cohort (aged 18-65) and the elderly cohort (aged 65+). The protocol for these three sub-cohorts is largely the same, but focuses in part on the characteristics of the specific participant groups.

Between 2006 and 2013, inhabitants of the northern part of The Netherlands and their families were invited to participate, thereby contributing to a three-generation design. Follow-up visits are scheduled every 5 years, and in between participants receive follow-up questionnaires. Linkage is being established with medical registries and environmental data. Lifelines contains information on biochemistry, medical history, psychosocial characteristics, lifestyle and more. Genomic data are available including genome-wide genetic data of 15638 participants. Fasting blood and 24-h urine samples are processed on the day of collection and stored at -80 °C in a fully automated storage facility. The aim of Lifelines is to be a resource for the national and international scientific community. Requests for data and biomaterials can be submitted to the Lifelines Research Office ([email protected]).

The CARTaGENE (CaG) study is both a population-based biobank and the largest ongoing prospective health study of men and women in Quebec. CaG targeted the segment of the population that is most at risk of developing chronic disorders, that is 40-69 years of age, from six census metropolitan areas in Quebec. The sampling was stratified by age, sex and postal groups and is proportional to the density of the population in these areas. Over 43,000 participants consented to visiting 1 of 12 assessment sites where detailed health and socio-demographic information, physiological measures and biological samples (blood, serum and urine) were captured. Participants are followed-up based on linkage to governmental health administrative databases and direct reassessment through a web portal.

Last update 21/09/2017

The Open Access Series of Imaging Studies (OASIS) is a project aimed at making MRI data sets of the brain freely available to the scientific community.

OASIS: Cross-sectional MRI Data in Young, Middle Aged, Nondemented and Demented Older Adults
This set consists of a cross-sectional collection of 416 subjects aged 18 to 96. For each subject, 3 or 4 individual T1-weighted MRI scans obtained in single scan sessions are included. The subjects are all right-handed and include both men and women. 100 of the included subjects over the age of 60 have been clinically diagnosed with very mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Additionally, a reliability data set is included containing 20 nondemented subjects imaged on a subsequent visit within 90 days of their initial session.

OASIS: Longitudinal MRI Data in Nondemented and Demented Older Adults
This set consists of a longitudinal collection of 150 subjects aged 60 to 96. Each subject was scanned on two or more visits, separated by at least one year for a total of 373 imaging sessions. For each subject, 3 or 4 individual T1-weighted MRI scans obtained in single scan sessions are included. The subjects are all right-handed and include both men and women. 72 of the subjects were characterized as nondemented throughout the study. 64 of the included subjects were characterized as demented at the time of their initial visits and remained so for subsequent scans, including 51 individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Another 14 subjects were characterized as nondemented at the time of their initial visit and were subsequently characterized as demented at a later visit.

Last Update 21/09/2017

The aim of GS: SFHS is to establish a large, family-based intensively-phenotyped cohort recruited from the general population across Scotland, as a resource for studying the genetics of health areas of current and projected public health importance. It aims to identify genetic variants accounting for variation in levels of quantitative traits underlying the major common complex diseases (such as cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, mental illness) in Scotland.

Baseline data was collected at a single clinic visit. Longitudinal data is available by linkage to NHS medical records. Some participants are being invited to new clinic visits in 2015-17. This profile also includes scanning information from the Stratifying Resilience and Depression Longitudinally (STRADL) study to which approximately 1500 GS participants are being invited for scanning.

Last Update 21/09/2017

The EVA study was a 9-year longitudinal study with 6 waves of follow-ups. During the two-year period 1991-1993 (EVA0), 1389 men and women born between 1922 and 1932 were recruited.

The aim is to investigate vascular ageing, decline in brain and cognitive function and associated factors with a longitudinal follow-up study. The secondary objective is to determine to role of biological factors linked with oxidative stress and brain ageing.
Inclusion criteria Subjects from both genders born between 1922 and 1932 (59 to 71 years old at enrolment), included in electoral registers in Nantes, can speak French and living in Nantes.

Last Update 21/09/2017

The EADC-PET project (EAPP, The European Alzheimer’s Disease Consortium PET project) is a spontaneous multicentric study (ProtocolDraftSep2008; ProtocolDraftFeb2009) involving at the moment five Centres in four Countries (CENTRES), belonging to the EADC consortium. It was launched during the EADC meeting in Amsterdam, during fall 2007, by Flavio Nobili (Genoa) who is the Principal Investigator.

The project aims at sharing FDG-PET, MRI, neuropsychological, genetic, EEG and clinical information of patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and matched healthy controls. Information is uploaded in a safe FTP facility on the server of University of Genoa. Username and password have been provided to all participants. Use of data is regulated by a ‘Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement’ that can be downloaded from this web site (Confidential_Disclosure_Agreement). The Centres propose original studies by sending a formal proposal to all participants who can agree or disagree, or propose modifications/suggestions to the original proposal.

The objective is to follow-up aMCI patients with clinical and neuropsychological examinations to pick up conversion to Alzheimer’s dementia or to other forms of dementia. FDG-PET can be analyzed by means of several post-processing strategies to highlight glucose metabolic information and to identify the characteristics of what is today called ‘prodromal’ AD.

Last Update 21/09/2017