Wake Forest University School of Medicine has joined the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative Healthcare System Preparedness Accurate Diagnosis Project, a global study that will deploy blood-based biomarker testing to aid in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). The project is led by the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative, a worldwide initiative seeking to cure Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and represents the first-ever global implementation study to examine how biomarker pathology assessments impact the ADRD diagnostic pathway.
The goal is to enable health care providers to better use blood tests, traditionally employed in research settings, in everyday clinical practice and accelerate the translation of validated tools from research to timely patient care.
The Wake Forest University School of Medicine study will be led by Michelle Mielke, Ph.D. professor and chair of epidemiology and prevention, and Jeff Williamson, M.D. professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine.
“Blood-based biomarker testing is becoming a valuable tool in early detection of Alzheimer’s disease because it is minimally invasive and allows us to monitor disease progression over time,” Mielke said.
While cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and amyloid PET scans have also proven useful in assessing patients for ADRD, Williamson said that the potential of these innovations can only be realized if health care systems and consumers are prepared to incorporate them into regular clinical care.
Williamson said that recent FDA approvals for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease treatments have also created an urgent need for an efficient and cost-effective diagnostic process in primary care practices.
With the support of a $1.3 million grant from the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative, the research team will share learnings from 700 participants aged 55 and older in the High Point area who are patients of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and who are concerned about having early cognitive impairment. After a telephone-based cognitive screening, blood-based biomarker testing will be used to triage eligible participants for further diagnosis, treatment and/or appropriate health counseling. Some patients may also require in addition to existing diagnostic tools such as brain imaging and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers.
To benefit other health systems around the world that are interested in adopting similar efforts, the learnings and practical resources from the Accurate Diagnosis project will be shared as part of the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative Early Detection Blueprint.
“These findings will help assess the barriers and readiness of health systems in implementing these diagnostic tools,” Mielke said. “We will evaluate our application strategies for deploying blood-based biomarkers to patients, which could lead to earlier detection, more accurate diagnoses and improved access to care.”
Other sites participating in the project include University of Kansas Health System and University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Alzheimer Center Amsterdam at Amsterdam UMC; Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; Ludwig-Maximilians University Hospital Munich – Alzheimer’s Therapy and Research Center; and Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology.
“We are committed to advancing timely diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in all resource settings, in every country, thus leveraging learnings for the benefit of all,” said George Vradenburg, founding chairman of the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative. “The Accurate Diagnosis project at Wake Forest Baptist will help catalyze health care system change and will make patient-centered care and support more widely accessible.”
Enrollment for the study is expected to begin in November. People in the High Point area who wish to learn more or participate in the study should contact their primary care physician within the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist network.
Media contact: Myra Wright, mgwright@wakehealth.edu