Brain Aging in Vietnam War Veterans (DOD-ADNI)
Recruiting
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common combat-related problems and may be associated with a greater risk of Alzheimer's disease. This study will examine the possible connections between TBI and PTSD, and the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's in Vietnam War veterans as they age.
Minimum Age | Maximum Age | Gender | Healthy Volunteers |
---|---|---|---|
50 Years | 90 Years | All | Yes |
All Participants
- Veteran of the Vietnam War
- Living within 150 miles of an Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative clinic
Cognitively Healthy Controls
- Comparable in age, gender, and education with TBI and PTSD groups
- May be receiving Veterans Affairs (VA) disability payments for something other than TBI or PTSD or have no disability at all
Participants with TBI
- Documented history of moderate to severe, nonpenetrating TBI, which occurred during military service in Vietnam (identified from Department of Defense or VA records)
- TBI will be defined as loss of consciousness with post traumatic amnesia of more than 24 hours OR alteration of consciousness or mental state for more than 24 hours
Participants with PTSD
- Current, chronic PTSD (identified by records and verified by our telephone assessments)
- Current Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) score of at least 50 as determined by telephone assessment
- Both related to a Vietnam War-related trauma
All Participants
- Mild cognitive impairment or dementia
- History of psychosis or bipolar affective disorder
- History of alcohol or substance abuse/dependence within the past 5 years or prior prolonged history of abuse
- MRI-related exclusions: aneurysm clips, metal implants determined to be unsafe for MRI, and/or claustrophobia
- Contraindications for lumbar puncture, PET scan, or other procedures in this study
- Any unstable major medical condition, including but not limited to clinically significant hepatic, renal, pulmonary, metabolic, or endocrine disease; cancer; HIV infection or AIDS; cardiovascular disease
- Seizure disorder or any systemic illness affecting brain function during the past 5 years
- Clinical evidence of stroke
- History of relevant severe drug allergy or hypersensitivity
- Current, clinically significant, unstable medical conditions that pose potential safety risk
Cognitively Healthy Controls
- Exclusionary criteria applied to TBI and PTSD groups (see below)
Participants with TBI
- Presence of PTSD or CAPS score of more than 30
- History of PTSD
Participants with PTSD
- Documented or self-report history of TBI
- Any history of head trauma associated with injury, cognitive complaints, or loss of consciousness for more than 5 minutes
Evidence suggests that TBI and PTSD, common problems resulting from military service, increase the risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. To further assess this risk, researchers will compare brain changes over time in veterans with TBI or PTSD (with or without MCI) to brain changes in cognitively normal veterans. Specifically, they will look for changes associated with Alzheimer's, including brain atrophy (shrinkage) and amyloid and tau levels in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid. All participants will undergo brain scans, lumbar puncture, and neuropsychological tests.
The results will have major implications for identifying veterans at increased risk for Alzheimer's, a possible need for early detection of Alzheimer's in veterans with histories of TBI and PTSD, and a possible need to employ prevention and treatment measures to avoid accelerated development of Alzheimer's in this population.
This study is a first step toward a larger, more comprehensive study of dementia risk factors in veterans and design of a trial to prevent Alzheimer's.
For more information about this trial, please contact Jacqueline Hayes at 415-221-4810 x4593 or jacqueline.hayes@va.gov.
Name | City | State | Zip | Status | Primary Contact |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Banner Sun Health Research Institute |
Sun City | Arizona | 85351 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
University of California, Irvine |
Irvine | California | 92697 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
University of California, San Diego |
La Jolla | California | 92093 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
University of Southern California |
Los Angeles | California | 90033 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
VA Palo Alto HSC / Stanford School of Medicine |
Palo Alto | California | 94304 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
University of California, San Francisco |
San Francisco | California | 94117 | Recruiting |
Elise Ong 415-514-5753 elise.ong@ucsf.edu |
Georgetown University |
Washington | District of Columbia | 20057 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
Howard University |
Washington | District of Columbia | 20060 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
Wien Center for Clinical Research |
Miami Beach | Florida | 33140 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
Premiere Research Institute |
West Palm Beach | Florida | 33407 | Terminated |
|
Rush University Medical Center |
Chicago | Illinois | 60612 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
Brigham and Women's Hospital |
Boston | Massachusetts | 02115 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
Cornell Medical Center |
New York | New York | 10021 | Terminated |
|
Columbia University |
New York | New York | 10032 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
University of Rochester Medical Center |
Rochester | New York | 14620 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
Duke University Medical Center |
Durham | North Carolina | 27710 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
Roper St Francis Healthcare |
Charleston | South Carolina | 29401 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
U of WA / VA Puget Sound Alzheimer's Disease Research Center |
Seattle | Washington | 98108 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
University of Wisconsin |
Madison | Wisconsin | 53705 | Enrolling by invitation |
|
University of Southern California
- United States Department of Defense
- Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center
- Northern California Institute of Research and Education
- San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute
Name | Role | Affiliation |
---|---|---|
Michael W. Weiner, MD | Study Director | University of California, San Francisco |
Paul Aisen, MD | Principal Investigator | USC Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) |
Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD | Principal Investigator | Mayo Clinic |
Name | Phone | |
---|---|---|
Jacqueline Hayes | 415-221-4810 x4593 | jacqueline.hayes@va.gov |
Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder on Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in Veterans Using Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)
- Mueller SG, Weiner MW, Thal LJ, Petersen RC, Jack CR, Jagust W, Trojanowski JQ, Toga AW, Beckett L. Ways toward an early diagnosis in Alzheimer's disease: the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Alzheimers Dement. 2005 Jul;1(1):55-66.
- Weiner MW, Aisen PS, Jack CR Jr, Jagust WJ, Trojanowski JQ, Shaw L, Saykin AJ, Morris JC, Cairns N, Beckett LA, Toga A, Green R, Walter S, Soares H, Snyder P, Siemers E, Potter W, Cole PE, Schmidt M; Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. The Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative: progress report and future plans. Alzheimers Dement. 2010 May;6(3):202-11.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2010.03.007. Review.
- Jack CR Jr, Knopman DS, Jagust WJ, Shaw LM, Aisen PS, Weiner MW, Petersen RC, Trojanowski JQ. Hypothetical model of dynamic biomarkers of the Alzheimer's pathological cascade. Lancet Neuro