A BRAIN Study aimed to pinpoint the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease is seeking volunteers in Oxford.

Researchers at Oxford University are recruiting volunteers aged 50 plus who have either mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or early-stage dementia, as well as neurologically healthy people as an essential comparison to those with memory impairment.

The study is called New Therapeutics in Alzheimer’s Disease (NTAD), which aims to find the best way to detect brain changes that will speed up clinical trials of new treatments for dementia.

Recruitment for NTAD in Oxford was interrupted this year by COVID-19. However, the Oxford team has got the go-ahead to safely resume the study at the NIHR Oxford Cognitive Health Clinical Research Facility, Warneford Hospital.

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The study involves several visits: first to check that people are a good match for the study, then two brain scans. In only a month since restarting the study, five people have completed the study, but the team needs another 50 volunteers.

Study volunteer Simon Knapper, from Faringdon, said: "From the very start, I was made to feel very welcome by the NTAD researchers. Every task was explained in detail, and the team always made it clear there was no pass or fail. Some memory and thinking tasks I found easy, some rather harder, and some required a huge amount of concentration. But I was always left with a great sense of achievement however well I did. I also learned a lot about my own mental abilities."

Jemma Pitt, a research assistant on the Oxford NTAD study, said: "PET scans and lumbar punctures can both be used to determine which proteins and chemicals are present in the brain. Using this information, we can determine if the presence of different molecules is linked to Alzheimer’s disease. If they are, they can be considered biomarkers – or biological indicators – of the disease."

To take part in the Oxford branch of the NTAD study, please contact Jemma Pitt at ntad@psych.ox.ac.uk.

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