Research

CURRENT RESEARCH

Auditory biomarkers

We are working with Dr. Jenna Littlejohn in the University of Manchester's Auditory Science Biomedical Research Centre to see whether changes in hearing are associated with a decline in memory and other aspects of cognitive function. This study is funded by the Manchester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).

Gabriella

A clinical trial to look at how well RO7269162 works in people who are at risk of Alzheimer’s disease or who have mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease and how safe RO7269162 is at different doses

READ-OUT

Led by research teams at University College London and Dementias Platform UK based at the University of Oxford, the READ-OUT project will capitalise on recent breakthroughs in potential dementia blood tests and generate the evidence needed for them to be validated for use in the NHS within the next 5 years. 

Hearing assessment

We are using the HEARX application to examine whether a tone-based hearing assessment is acceptable to people in Manchester  memory clinics and Brain Health Clinic. People will receive a personalised audiogram and information on how to access hearing aids as well as information on why hearing matters in cognitive impairment.

The new normal

Using data from the European Prevention of Alzheimer Disease  (EPAD) we have established new education, age and sex-adjusted normative scores for the Repeated Battery for Neuropsychological Assessment (RBANS) which we and others can use to help diagnose the earliest stages of cognitive problems.

Renal function and cognition

We're using the GM Care Record to examine the links between chronic kidney disease and dementia risk across GM. We're collaborating with Prof. Phil Kalra and Dr. James Tollitt in Salford as well as the GM Care record team.

Stratastem II

Our work with Stratastem takes blood sampels from people living with Alzheimer's disease and uses cutting  edge science to turn these blood cells into neurons. By stressing these neurons we can examine whether they themselves have Alzheimer-like changes, and use them to test new medications. 

The All-In-One Study

We are working with Dr. Laura Parkes and Prof. Karl Herholz (UoM), Prof, John O'Brien (Cambridge), Prof Henrik Zetterberg (UCL) and others to establish whether a combination of advanced MRI scanning (Arterial Spin Labelling) and blood biomarkers can be combined to increase the certainty of diagnosis and prognosis in Alzheimer's Disease. The study has been generously funded by the Alzheimer's Society.

PLANNED RESEARCH / STUDIES IN SETUP

ENVISION

This phase IV study of the already licensed (USA) medication Aduhelm  from Biogen will provide ongoing safety and efficacy data. for the US Food and Drug Administration.

LuCID-GM

LuCID-GM aims to lower the barriers to participating in research. Participants will not have to undertake any study procedures, they simply give us permission to use their routinely collected NHS data for research. This will allow us to better tailor testing and service provision and answer a host of scientific questions using data which normally sits unused in people's NHS records.

ARIADNE

This study, led by Dr. Adam Greenstein in the University of Manchester, aims to use already licensed medicines to improve brain blood flow in people living with mild cognitive impairment. Read about the science behind the project here.

MaVRICS

This study aims to recruit people aged 50 or over with two or more cardiovascular risk factors. We will conduct cognitive assessments, advanced cardiovascular measurements and blodo sampling on participants in order to better predict events like stroke and vascular dementia.

PREVIOUS RESEARCH

The SIDD study

We are currently recruiting people with mild cognitive impairment to this neuroimaging study in the University of Manchester.

The EVOKE trial

The Evoke and Evoke+ trials have been designed by NovoNordisk Inc. to examine whether Semaglutide, a drug already licensed in Diabetes, can slow the progress of Alzheimer Disease. 

The Aspect study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of an investigational drug for agitation associated with Alzheimer’s dementia. The ASPECT study can help us learn more about a potential treatment for agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s dementia.

CICERO

The CICERO srtudy will examine cognitive impairment in those living with long COVID. The study is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and led by Prof. Dennis Chan at University College London.

CELIA

This Phase 2 study sponsored by Biogen will assess if BIIB080, an antisense oligonucleotide against Tau, is effective, safe and tolerable when injected into the Cerebrospinal Fluid of participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer's Disease (AD) or Mild AD Dementia between 50 and 80 years of age

The INVOKE trial

The Invoke trial examines whther AL002 - 2 which acts via immune mechanisms, can halt or slow the progress of early Alzheimer disease.

COGNETIVITY

This study, sponsored by Cognetivity, and funded by the UKRI i4i programme examined the utility of a language-neutral cognitive assessment on a tablet computer, and its ability to distinguish between people with MCI or Dementia and healthy controls.

IN-CITU

Have you been diagnosed with dementia? Do you use public transport? If so, a researcher from the University of Manchester would like to accompany you on one of your journeys, to learn about your experiences. This can involve capturing photos and videos for an exhibition if you wish. To learn more, contact James Fletcher: james.fletcher@manchester.ac.uk or Phone: 07477663026.

EPAD

The European Prevention of Alzheimer Disease study recruited nearly 2100 participants from all over Europe as part of a cohort study and planned platform trial.

EMBARK

The EMBARK study is a long-term safety study of Aducanumab, an antibody against Amyloid, one of the abnormal proteins laid down in Alzheimer disease. This study is not recruiting and was only open to those previously in the ENGAGE or EMERGE studies.

SENSECOG

SENSE-Cog is a European wide project focused on understanding the impact of dementia, age-related hearing and vision impairment.

Empowered conversations for carers

We have been recruiting for this his feasibility study run by Dr. Lydia Morris in the University of Manchester. The RCT aims to examine the feasibility of a future multi-site RCT.