Community study following older Hong Kong adults for early Alzheimer's detection through blood tests

AI summary

From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.

The study is looking for older adults in Hong Kong, with normal thinking, mild memory problems or early Alzheimer's, who can give consent and have blood drawn.

Age

60 Years to 75 Years

Sex

All sexes can join.

Disease stage

Normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, early Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

Earlier treatment

Cannot be in another clinical trial that could interfere with this study.

Main reasons for not taking part

• Cannot give consent, even with an informant present
• Cannot or will not give blood samples or complete the assessments
• Known illness that prevents long-term follow-up, such as epilepsy, brain tumour, stroke, HIV or cancer
• Active delirium or a reversible cause of memory problems, such as vitamin B12 deficiency or an underactive thyroid
• History of major psychiatric illness, alcohol dependence or substance use disorder

The registry criteria, word for word

Check if you might fit

Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.

• Are you between 60 and 75 years old?YesNo

What the trial wants to find out

Population aging is reshaping societal dynamics and presents significant global challenges. By 2050, it is projected that 1.6 billion people worldwide will be over the age of 65. Given that aging is the primary risk factor for many common chronic diseases, reducing the burden of age-related illnesses and promoting healthy aging have become critical public health priorities. Notably, Hong Kong has one of the largest proportions of elderly and the highest life expectancy in the world. Dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD), is a multifaceted condition influenced by both biological and behavioral factors. There is a paucity of robust, community-based prospective data in ethnic Chinese populations that integrate clinical and cognitive measures with objective biomarkers and neuroimaging, especially at earlier stages such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early AD. This community-based project aims to establish a cohort of elderly in Hong Kong, with longitudinal follow-up for 2-3 years. A key strength of this research is the incorporation of a panel of blood biomarkers, which will provide a less invasive and more affordable screening tool to identify Alzheimer's disease at a much earlier stage in the community. Additionally, through benchmark with MRI and PET imaging gold standard, these biomarkers have the potential to predict the conversion risk 1) from clinically normal to mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease (AD dementia); 2) from clinically MCI to Alzheimer's disease (MCI-AD dementia) or remain static; and differentiate non-AD dementia from Alzheimer's disease (dementia-AD). Collectively, these data will facilitate monitoring of aging processes and cognitive decline, help to identify candidate modifiable factors associated with resilience, and generate a de-identified, Chinese-specific resource to advance healthy aging in Hong Kong.

The 3 groups in the trial

• Cognitively normal (CN)

  Participants with normal cognition

  Treatment: Observational

• Mild cognitive impairment (MCI)

  Participants with MCI

  Treatment: Observational

• Dementia

  Participants with dementia

  Treatment: Observational