Preventing Alzheimer's before symptoms in people with inherited risk
DIAN-TU Primary Prevention Trial
This project gives a medication or placebo to people who carry an inherited Alzheimer's gene but have no symptoms yet to try to stop amyloid from building up in the brain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Washington University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Saint Louis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11377938 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you carry a dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s mutation and are more than 15 years before your expected symptom onset, you could join a four-year, randomized, blinded study testing a drug aimed at preventing amyloid plaques. Participants are assigned to active treatment or placebo and will have regular brain scans, biomarker tests, and cognitive checks over the study period. The trial is run through the DIAN-TU platform at many international sites and supports multiple languages. The main goal is to keep amyloid from forming in people who currently have minimal or no amyloid in their brains.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are asymptomatic carriers of dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s mutations who are more than 15 years before their estimated year of symptom onset and have little to no amyloid on baseline scans.
Not a fit: People who do not carry an inherited AD mutation, who already have symptoms, or who have substantial amyloid plaque at entry are unlikely to benefit from this prevention-focused trial.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the approach could prevent or delay amyloid build-up and later dementia in people with dominantly inherited Alzheimer's mutations.
How similar studies have performed: Previous anti-amyloid trials in symptomatic or early-stage patients have had mixed results, and DIAN-TU's earlier secondary-prevention work is ongoing, so primary prevention of amyloid is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Saint Louis, United States
- Washington University — Saint Louis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mcdade, Eric Martin — Washington University
- Study coordinator: Mcdade, Eric Martin
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.