Summary

• Study director: William W. Seeley, MD [1]
• Sponsors: National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Larry L. Hillblom Foundation
• Recruiting?: Yes
• Official study title: Anterior Cingulate, Insular and Frontoinsular Vulnerability in FTLD and AD
• Conditions studied: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) [2], Alzheimer's disease (AD) [3] and other closely related neurological disorders including corticobasal degeneration (CBD) [4], progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) [5] and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) [6] with dementia.
• Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how brain activity relates to autonomic responses in healthy subjects and patients with FTD, AD and other closely related neurodegenerative diseases.

Eligibility

• Inclusion criteria: Subjects must be enrolled in either the Frontotemporal Dementia: Genes, Images and Emotions [7] study or New Approaches to Dementia Heterogeneity [8] study. Subjects must meet criteria for one of the neurodegenerative diseases studied (frontotemporal dementia (FTD) [9], Alzheimer's disease (AD) [10] and other closely related neurological disorders including corticobasal degeneration (CBD) [11], progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) [12] and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) [13] with dementia), unless participating as a healthy control [14]. Subjects must also have a Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) score above 15.
• Exclusion criteria: Past or current history of alcohol abuse, substance abuse, head trauma (with loss of consciousness greater than 15 minutes), intraparenchymal brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, parkinsonism, hydrocephalus, intracerebral hemorrhage, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Any cortical or more than four lacunar strokes, intraparenchymal structural lesion or prominent periventricular white matter disease. Current history of pacemaker, ferromagnetic matter in body, respiratory failure (oxygen-dependent), unipolar depression, anxiety disorder and claustrophobia also exclude subjects from participating.

What is involved?

• Testing: fMRI and physiological measurements take approximately 45-60 minutes.
• Frequency of visits: One visit
• Materials needed prior to evaluation: None
• Costs: No costs will be charged for any of the study procedures. Parking will be validated for Millberry Parking Garage for study visit.

Contact information

• Coordinator: Stathis Gennatas [15], 415-514-0868