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NCT03560960Active, not recruitingEarly phase 1

Multi-Center Development of a Novel Diagnostic Test for Alzheimer's Disease

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 28 May 2026

Brief summary (registry, in English)

In this multi-center study, the investigators plan to develop a simple blood-based test for early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The test is based on a single injection of Pramlintide, an amylin analogue and FDA-approved drug currently used for treatment of diabetes. The investigative team has provided evidence in humans with full-blown AD and AD-relevant mouse models that a single injection of Pramlintide transiently renders the blood brain barrier (BBB) more permeable to Amyloidbeta (Aß) peptides, allowing their efflux from the brain compartment into the blood. This Aß efflux causes a corresponding transient elevation of blood levels of Aß, the magnitude of which the applicants believe is proportional to the brain amyloid load as determined by AV-45 PET. The measured difference in the level of plasma Aß taken just before and a short time after injection should reveal the magnitude of the transient increase in blood Aß levels. Supportive preliminary data comes from later stage (full-blown) AD patients with more in-depth background studies in Tg2576 and 5X Familial Alzheimer's Disease (FAD) mouse models. If successful for use as an early AD biomarker (i.e., at the Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) stage), this could be a game-changer for both early AD diagnostics and clinical trials aimed at identifying and testing the efficacy of drugs useful for treatment of AD at early stages. If Pramlintide is effective in releasing mobile pools of Aß from the brain into the blood, this could also have some therapeutic potential, with the goal of reducing brain amyloid load. Three groups of participants will be studied: 1) amnestic MCI with or without positive AD imaging pathology, 2) probable AD with positive imaging AD pathology, and 3) controls who have normal cognition and do not have memory complaints.

Status (registry)
Active, not recruiting
Phase (registry)
Early phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
57 (actual)
First submitted
25 May 2018
Start date
4 Feb 2020
Primary completion date
Nov 2026
Lead sponsor
Boston University
NCT number
NCT03560960

What you commit to

  • Study type: Interventional · Early phase 1
  • Participants enrolled: 57
  • From 4 Feb 2020 to the primary completion date, Nov 2026
  • 3 sites in 1 country
  • Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Other illness

  • Diabetes mellitus
  • History of stroke
  • Seizures or use of anti-seizure medications
  • History of brain injury and loss of consciousness
  • Infection within 1 month

Lab values

  • Unexplained hypoglycemia (glucose ≤ 60 mg/dL) or hyperglycemia (glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL) pre-injection

Other

  • Gastroparesis
  • Use of insulin, pramlintide, other injectable anti-hyperglycemic agents, such as glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1), or oral anti-diabetic products
  • Diagnosed cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA)

Who the study is looking for

  • Current research subjects at the BU , Memory Center VA Boston Healthcare, or Indiana University Alzheimer Disease Center
  • A consensus diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's Disease (AD), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or control
  • BMI of 20-35
  • Probable AD subjects must be confirmed for positive AD pathology in the central nervous center (CNS0
  • Probable AD subjects must have a designated research proxy signed before they became demented.

Age in the registry: 60 years to 90 years · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (3)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

SiteCityCountrySite status
BU Alzheimer Disease Center
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
BostonUnited StatesUnknown status
Indiana University Alzheimer Disease Center
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
IndianapolisUnited StatesUnknown status
Memory Center VA Boston Healthcare
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
Jamaica PlainUnited StatesUnknown status

This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.