Alzheimer's Disease

Research

Since the 1980s, Mayo Clinic researchers have also been studying normal and abnormal cognitive aging through a research program, the Alzheimer's Disease Patient Registry. This program, funded by the National Institute on Aging, has involved studies on changes in memory and other cognitive functions as people age. Some participants are older than 100 years of age. Patients who have mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease, and other disorders affecting cognition have also participated, which has helped gather information on risk factors, research on the effectiveness of drugs, and other aspects of patient care.

Mayo researchers have discovered a way to view amyloid plaques in living brain tissue.

The Mayo Alzheimer's Disease Research Center is one of 29 Alzheimer's disease research centers (ADRCs) across the country designated and funded by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health.

In Arizona, Mayo Clinic is part of the Arizona Alzheimer's Research Consortium, a statewide research collaboration designed to "capitalize on the state's complementary resources in brain imaging, computer science, the basic and behavioral neurosciences, and clinical and neuropathological research to help in the understanding, early detection, treatment, and prevention of Alzheimer's disease."

Scientists at Mayo Clinic in Florida have been studying how Alzheimer's disease develops since 1989, and its programs are part of the NIH-funded ADRC. In addition, the Florida clinic is a state-designated Memory Disorder Clinic. Such clinics are sponsored in part by Florida's Department of Elder Affairs and are the state's focal points for research, training and services directed to residents with symptoms of Alzheimer's or related dementias. The services are available to all residents of Florida, regardless of their ability to pay. Read more about the Memory Disorder Clinic.

Mayo Publications

See a list of publications by Mayo doctors on Alzheimer's Disease on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.