Participate in Research

WHY RESEARCH?

Alzheimer's disease was first described in 1906, but over 100 years later we still don't have effective treatments. A major reason is that we just don't understand enough about the brain. Unlike other organs in the body, it is hard to get a sample (biopsy) of the brain when someone is living without significant risks. Because of this, almost everything we know about brain chemistry and brain diseases comes from after people have died - and we project that one freeze-frame to DECADES of brain aging. This is not good enough. We must understand how the brain is working when the person is living.

WHY ME?

It turns out that each of us ages differently - including twins! To best understand risk and protective factors for accelerated brain aging or brain diseases, we need many people to participate so we don't mistake a signal for eye color for a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

BUT I DON'T HAVE DEMENTIA!

We especially need you in research because we need to understand aging-related changes in healthy people, as well as people who develop brain changes that put them at high risk of dementia. If we find something worrisome, we will connect you with our clinical team to best help you stave off cognitive decline.

WHAT IS A LUMBAR PUNCTURE?

A lumbar puncture, sometimes known as a spinal tap, is a safe procedure done in a normal memory clinic exam room with local anesthetic. It is similar to an epidural injection for back pain or during child birth, and lasts about 5-15 minutes. Dr. Hu's experience also makes a difference - see the below video from our past participants on their worries and actual experiences.

WHAT STUDIES ARE YOU RECRUITING FOR?

Here are some studies we are actively recruiting for:

Markers of inflammation in aging and Alzheimer's disease

Our work has shown that some forms of inflammation are actually protective in Alzheimer's disease. We are now developing scans to detect how inflammatory cells act in the brain. We are looking for healthy people (60+) as well as people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's dementia.

WE ARE RECRUITING IN NJ. Please contact us at Memory411@rutgers.edu

Alzheimer's biomarkers in Black/African Americans

We know that African Americans are more likely to develop MCI and Alzheimer's disease than White Americans, and we led the first study to show that Alzheimer's biomarkers developed in largely White studies led to an under-diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in African Americans. Now we are leading the effort to change that by testing new markers without these biases.

WE ARE RECRUITING IN NJ. Please contact us at Memory411@rutgers.edu

WE ARE ALSO ACTIVELY RECRUITING IN ATLANTA. Please contact the Wharton Lab at whartonlabemory@gmail.com

Why progranulin mutations lead to FTD?

DNA changes which lead to familial FTD (aka mutations) are present from birth, yet symptoms generally do not develop until the 4th or 5th decade of life. We have developed new tools to study this in people who carry the mutations.

WE ARE RECRUITING IN NJ AND REST OF THE US. Please contact us at Memory411@rutgers.edu

Novel CSF biomarkers for Lewy body disease

There is still no reliable test to diagnose Lewy body disease (LBD). Dr. Hu's laboratory has been working since 2009 to identify new tests for related disorders, but LBD has always evaded our effort. Over the past few years, scientists have discovered small cargoes called "exosomes" that carry materials from one cell to another. Because our collaborators Drs. Virginia Lee and John Trojanowski at University of Pennsylvania showed that the main LBD protein - alpha-synuclein - can spread from cell to cell, we are now investigating if cargoes carrying alpha-synuclein spread the disease. This work is supported by the Patterson Family Foundation.

WE ARE RECRUITING IN NJ. Please contact us at Memory411@rutgers.edu