Clinical trial NCT00249080: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of Brain Iron in Neurodegenerative Disease
Official title: High Field MRI of Brain Iron in Neurodegenerative Disease
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Neurodegenerative Diseases
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Keywords: 3T MRI
neurodegenerative disease
Alzheimer's disease
spectroscopy
Normal, healthy subject without memory complaint
Not pregnant
MR compatible
Lead sponsor: Albany Medical College
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: United States Department of Defense
First posted: 2005-11-07
Enrollment: 182
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Approximately equal numbers of subjects with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and normal controls (age and gender matched).

Brief summary: Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis are recognized as a major health concern at the present time. There is information in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies regarding the role of brain iron in normal brain aging that may be enhanced with the use of better scanning equipment and procedures, and by correlating this information with clinical data. This research study aims to develop and evaluate a number of techniques that can potentially improve the effectiveness of three tesla (3T) magnetic resonance imaging of neurodegenerative brain disorders.

Detailed description: Eligibility: A healthy person without memory complaints or someone with neurodegenerative disease. However, the person should not have metal in the body (ie, pacemaker, implants, shrapnel, etc.), should not be pregnant, and should not have claustrophobic anxieties.

Study Procedures: During a regular office visit, a neurologist will perform a routine physical and neurological examination, including your medical and family history, to determine your eligibility for this study. You will then be scheduled for a series of neuropsychological tests, which take between 1 to 1.5 hours, and an MRI scan, which takes approximately 1 hour to complete. This is a longitudinal study and you may be asked to repeat these procedures approximately every six months for the duration of this 2 year project.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 18 years or older
* Healthy person without memory complaints OR person diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease (ie, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis)

Exclusion Criteria:

* MR contraindication such as metal in body (ie, pacemaker, implant, shrapnel, etc.)
* Pregnant
* Claustrophobic anxieties

Primary outcomes:
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
Study officials:
affiliation: Albany Medical College
name: Earl A Zimmerman, MD
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
affiliation: GE Global Research Center & Neurosciences Advanced Imaging Research Center
name: John F Schenck, MD, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Schenck JF, Zimmerman EA. High-field magnetic resonance imaging of brain iron: birth of a biomarker? NMR Biomed. 2004 Nov;17(7):433-45. doi: 10.1002/nbm.922.
citation: Schenck JF. Magnetic resonance imaging of brain iron. J Neurol Sci. 2003 Mar 15;207(1-2):99-102. doi: 10.1016/s0022-510x(02)00431-8. No abstract available.
citation: Schenck JF. Safety of strong, static magnetic fields. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2000 Jul;12(1):2-19. doi: 10.1002/1522-2586(200007)12:13.0.co;2-v.