Tennessee Alzheimer's Project for Aging and Cognitive Health

The Tennessee Alzheimer's Project is an observational study (meaning no new treatments are given) aiming to understand Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related memory problems better. Researchers are collecting information from people aged 60 and older, including those with normal memory, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or Alzheimer's disease. The goal is to create a large group of participants (up to 1000 people) to help local and national researchers study AD and develop ways to detect, prevent, and treat it. The study will look at your cognitive status (memory and thinking abilities), your APOE gene type (a gene linked to AD risk), and the volume of white matter hyperintensities (changes in the brain often seen with aging). The current recruitment status is unclear.

Study design
This is an observational study with a planned enrollment of up to 1000 participants. It is not testing a specific drug or intervention.
What's involved
Participants will be followed annually. Procedures may include blood draws, questionnaires, physical exams, echocardiograms, memory tests, brain imaging, and spinal fluid collection.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Participants' cognitive status, APOE genotype, and white matter hyperintensities volume will be measured at baseline and annually for up to three years.

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NCT05372172

Tennessee Alzheimer's Project

Recruiting
Not specifiedAges 60+Observational
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
~1,000 participants
Updated 2026-02-05 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:none, observational study

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Cognitive status
Measured over baseline to year 3
+12 more outcomes measured
Aging
Alzheimer Disease
Biomarker
Cognitive Dysfunction
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Dementia
Cognition
1 sites across 1 states
Tennessee1
  • Angela Jefferson, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Professor of Neurology

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Age 60 or older
Meet standard criteria for (a) cognitively unimpaired, (b) mild cognitive impairment, or (c) Alzheimer's disease
English speaking
Individuals who lack decisional capacity to provide informed consent at baseline will not be enrolled in the study

Exclusion

No available reliable study partner (reliable is defined as someone who interacts significantly with the participant and is available to participate in study visits in person or by phone)
History of major psychiatric illness (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar), neurological illness (e.g., epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease), or head injury with significant loss of consciousness.
Unable to undergo MRI (e.g., claustrophobia, ferrous metal in body)
  • Cognitive statusbaseline to year 3

    Change in cognitive status assessed by the Uniform Dataset according to the National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer's Association Workgroup guidelines determined by a consensus team.

  • APOE Genotypebaseline to year 3

    APOE e4 allele status

  • White matter hyperintensities Volumebaseline to year three

    White matter lesion volume measured by FLAIR imaging modality

  • Grey Matter Volumebaseline to year three

    Grey matter volume measured by T1 imaging modality

  • Cerebral Blood Flowbaseline to year three

    Resting cerebral blood flow to brain regions measured by T3 perfusion

  • Lacunar infarctsbaseline to year three

    Number of lacunar infarcts measured by MRI

  • Microbleedsbaseline to year three

    Number of microbleeds measured by MRI

  • Left ventricular ejection fractionbaseline to year three

    Left ventricular ejection fraction measured by echocardiogram

  • Cardiac outputbaseline to year three

    Amount of blood the heart pumps from each ventricle per minute (litres per minute (L/min)), measured by echocardiogram

  • Stroke volumebaseline to year three

    Stroke volume measured by echocardiogram

  • Heart ratebaseline to year three

    Heart rate measured by echocardiogram

  • Biological markers for Alzheimer's diseasebaseline to year three

    Tau, amyloid, and neurodegenerative levels in cerebrospinal fluid samples

  • Blood based biological marker for Alzheimer's diseasebaseline to year three

    Tau, amyloid, and neurodegenerative levels in blood samples