Exciting research that seeks to use digital cognitive tests based on smartphone technology for the detection of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease will be conducted by Louisa Thompson, Ph.D., recipient of a Clinician Scientist Fellowship Grant Award from the Alzheimer’s Association. Dr. Thompson is a research scientist with the Butler Hospital Memory and Aging Program and an Instructor in Psychiatry & Human Behavior at Brown University.
This new funding will support research to evaluate how to use smartphone (app-based) and online cognitive tests, as well as other digital assessment tools, to detect subtle changes in memory and thinking that occur prior to the onset of major clinical symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
The project’s goal is important to developing more effective strategies for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease to facilitate treatment research, and give patients and providers a greater window for treatment and care planning. In light of the current pandemic, the project (called the DigiCog AD study) is also timely in providing older adults with an option to participant in Alzheimer’s research remotely, without the need for in-person study visits.
The grant award provides Dr. Thompson with $174,993 over three years to evaluate the effectiveness of such digital testing, particularly as it compares to traditional paper and pencil tests that are currently used to detect symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
The Alzheimer’s Association is the largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research in the world. The Association is currently investing $167 million in more than 500 active best-of-field projects in 27 countries.
Attracting brilliant and innovative scientists to the Alzheimer’s field is a major goal of the Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant and Fellowship Awards. The program funds primarily early-career scientists working on new ideas in Alzheimer’s research. The hope is that this will lead to future grant applications to government and other funding sources, including larger grants available through the Alzheimer’s Association.
“The only way we will achieve a world without Alzheimer’s is through research. Funding Dr. Thompson not only supports this critical project, but is part of a broader Alzheimer’s Association effort to keep the best and brightest scientists working on this disease,” said Donna M. McGowan, Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Association Rhode Island Chapter.
Dr. Thompson conducts neuropsychological assessments with older adults in the memory clinic and serves as the lead psychologist on the Atlas of Retinal Imaging Study. She also conducts research focused on Alzheimer’s early detection, with particular interests in evaluating novel technologies and methods for identifying individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, and improving screening methods for Alzheimer’s clinical trials.
“Independent scientific research is critical for determining which new forms of technology might be most effective for Alzheimer’s screening. Minimizing burden for patients and healthcare providers without compromising the accuracy of our tests is a major goal. Using mobile technology to conduct a more dynamic assessment of cognitive function is particularly exciting to me. This real-time approach may be helpful for capturing very subtle cognitive decline within the context of daily living.”
The Research Grant and Fellowship Awards are part of the broader Alzheimer’s Association International Research Grant Program. Alzheimer’s Association funding has led to some of the most important research breakthroughs, including the first Alzheimer’s drug studies and the ability to visualize amyloid plaque buildup in the living brain.
Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. It kills more Americans than diabetes and more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association 2019 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is projected to rise to nearly 14 million, barring the development of medical breakthroughs to prevent, slow or stop the disease.
If you are interested in participating in this study, please join Butler’s Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry at butler.org/AlzRegistry. To speak with a member of the Outreach Team please email them at memory@butler.org or call 401-455-6402.
Related Resources
Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry at Butler Hospital
Learn more about research studies at the Memory and Aging Program at Butler Hospital
If you’re 40+ with normal memory or mild memory loss, you can help in the fight against Alzheimer’s. Here’s how: butler.org/ALZregistry
Groundbreaking Alzheimer’s Study Administers First Dose
The first infusion of an investigational drug that aims to delay or help to prevent the earliest memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease took place in September at Butler Hospital in Providence, R.I., researchers announced.
Passion for Fitness Fuels Sam Slezak’s Leadership in National Study to Protect Brain Health
Sam Slezak originally set out to become a trainer for professional athletes. Here’s how and why he became a project manager for a landmark national Alzheimer’s study instead.
Dr. Hwamee Oh Awarded NIH Grant for Study of Neuroimaging Markers of Early Alzheimer’s
The study seeks to identify new cognitive and neural biomarkers of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease, which would aid in earlier diagnosis and interventional treatment for the disease.
Katie Brandt Shares 5 Critical Dementia Caregiving Tips
Caregiver to both her young husband and her father with dementia, now she’s supporting others in the caregiver journey.
Butler Hospital among first in U.S. to launch new study of promising Alzheimer’s treatment
AHEAD 3-45 is a clinical trial for a treatment aimed at preventing cognitive decline in people with preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).
The Fight Against Alzheimer’s Continues Amid Coronavirus
MAP Director Dr. Stephen Salloway, along with other international leaders in the fight against Alzheimer’s, talk with the Providence Journal and WJAR NBC10 about how the fight to end Alzheimer’s continues despite coronavirus.
Drug studied at Butler Hospital could become first to meaningfully change course of Alzheimer’s
Aducanumab, an investigational drug for the treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, has been submitted to the FDA for approval with a request for Priority Review. If approved, it would become the first therapy to reduce the clinical decline of Alzheimer’s disease.
RI Chosen as 1 of 5 Sites for First Nationwide Study of Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk of Cognitive Decline
The U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (U.S. POINTER) is sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association and is the first such study to be conducted in a large, diverse group of Americans across the United States.
FDA Approves First Drug to Be Used as Tool for Diagnosing Alzheimer’s
Butler Hospital was one of 27 sites across the U.S. to study the drug flortaucipir through a partnership between its Memory and Aging Program and Rhode Island Hospital.