US launches $60m drive into Alzheimer's:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
A $60m, five-year initiative to help doctors identify and treat Alzheimer's disease earlier has been launched in the US. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) in conjunction with other Federal agencies, private companies and organisations has formed the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative partnership to test whether serial magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, other biological markers, and clinical and neuropsychological assessment can be combined to measure the progression of mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's disease. "The initiative should become a landmark study in the development of neuroimaging and other biomarkers, helping us to find biological changes early so that we can identify the people at highest risk of the disease and test the effectiveness of new therapies more quickly and efficiently," said NIA director Richard Hodes. The study will start recruiting about 800 adults in April 2005.