PREVENT Study

The goal of PREVENT is to help doctors diagnose dementia sooner by using serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Late-life dementia often begins many years before symptoms are detected. Although the prevalence of dementia is expected to double in Canada by 2037, no cure is currently available and extensive efforts to prevent dementia are urgently needed. Studies have now shown that patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA) have a 4-fold increase in late-life dementia. Therefore, TIA patients are an understudied group of patients who are suitable for the study of dementia. This study aims to identify TIA patients who are at risk for dementia before they show cognitive decline. We hypothesize that individuals who have had a TIA will be more likely to show early signs of dementia via higher rates of brain shrinkage and cognitive decline compared to healthy individuals over a 5-year period. The PREVENT study will collect data on 600 individuals by cognitive testing and brain imaging at baseline, 1, 3 and 5 years. We may also gather additional data, such as cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples, which will allow us to detect genetic markers or proteins that are associated with dementia (optional). While the causes of dementia are complex, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia frequently co-exist and are associated with modifiable vascular risk factors (e.g. high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity). Consequently, early identification of individuals at high risk for developing dementia may allow for future targeted therapeutic interventions, such as aggressive management of vascular risk factors, to prevent cognitive decline.

What do participants have to do?

If you agree to participate in this study and you meet all of the entry criteria, the study doctor will collect information from you and will review your health records and access your medical history and blood parameters such as random and fasting glucose, lipid profile as part of the study.

• If you consent to participate in the study as a control, you will return to the Foothills Hospital at your convenience for a 30 minute MRI and an hour-long standardized cognitive test. The MRI and cognitive testing will be repeated at 1, 3 and 5 years. Optionally, you can choose to consent to a blood sample and a lumbar puncture (so we can measure proteins in your cerebrospinal fluid).
• The standardized cognitive test will either take place in person or online. When taking the test online, the test will take place over the “Zoom” video conferencing platform. We will be using a Zoom profile specifically under AHS which pays for the licensing fees for high-level security functions that protect the confidentiality and privacy of the patient. These videos will not be recorded and only the results of the cognitive study will be collected.
• If you take part in the main study, you will also be asked to take part in a one-time blood sample as part of an ancillary, or secondary, study of biomarkers. Biomarkers are molecules found in blood, other body fluids, or tissues that are signs of a specific condition or disease. We will collect about 3 tablespoon of blood (approximately 15 mL) from you for a type of test called an “APOE genotyping” on your blood and some other biomarker tests.
• These samples will be stored at FMC and later sent to Alberta children’s hospital for APOE genotyping and to Professor Zetterberg in Gothenberg Sweden for Alzheimer’s Biomarker testing.