MEG Study of Alzheimer’s Disease: Early Stages of Cognitive Impairment

     Alzheimer’s Disease is the focus of a new study at the Brain Sciences Center and the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.   The project involves collaboration among the BSC, the Minneapolis VAMC’s GRECC Clinic (Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center) and The MIND Institute.  Researchers will use MEG technology to investigate the progression of this destructive neurological disease that affects millions of patients and their families.

     Four million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease, and according to the National Institutes of Health, medical costs related to this disorder total over 100 billion dollars a year.  Since the chances of getting the disease rise dramatically at age 65 and beyond, solving the puzzle of Alzheimer’s is increasingly important as millions of Americans have already reached this at-risk, age-range.  Left unchecked, the disease’s impact continues to escalate, as by the year 2011, the first round of 78 million baby boomers turn 65 years of age. 

The Study

     Researchers will collect images and data from three groups of subjects as they perform a visual-spatial-memory task within the MEG chamber.  The three subject groups are:

• Alzheimer’s Disease patients
• Mild cognitive impairment patients
• A control group of healthy elderly people

     As the subjects complete a maze task,  investigators will look for differences in brain activity among the groups. By investigating the progression of the cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease, researchers hope MEG technology will help detect the earliest changes in brain function,  and provide a background for future studies on treatment.