TBI in AD/ADRD: Diagnosis and clinical measurement of progressive neurodegeneration (Milestone 11.K)

In Progress

Timeline Start - End

2020 - 2032

Research Implementation Area

Enabling Technologies and Disease Monitoring

AD-Related Dementias Focus

Characterize the heterogeneous clinical and biological phenotypes and time course of progressive dementia following varied TBI exposure histories by developing biomarkers and methods to quantify lifetime head trauma exposure and diagnose post-TBI dementias.

Success Criteria

Develop and disseminate best practices for collecting and sharing clinical data in research studies of AD/ADRD outcomes following TBI.
Establish a longitudinal study of individuals with TBI to identify features of AD/ADRD risk following TBI.
Support discovery and validation of biomarkers related to AD/ADRD outcomes following TBI.

Summary of Key Accomplishments

A current NIH-funded study (supported under RFA-NS-19-026) is seeking to distinguish between the type of TBI that can trigger gradual, progressive cognitive decline (i.e., dementia) versus TBI that causes chronic, stable cognitive impairment (i.e., not dementia). The study team will leverage already collected TBI data in addition to longitudinally following a cohort and identifying clinical biomarkers (imaging and fluid based) that are specific to TBI/dementia-associated brain changes. The findings from this study will inform future diagnostic research on TBI and dementia and hopefully help clinicians identify individuals with TBI who are at risk for dementia at an early stage.

The key accomplishments summary is current as of July 2022.

Accomplishments/Implementation Activities

Funding Initiatives

Research Programs and Resources

Research Highlights

Workshop: Imaging the Future of In vivo Neuropathological Diagnosis through Postmortem Analyses