Challenges and Opportunities of Clinicopathological Investigation on Longitudinal Studies of Alzheimer'S Disease

Abstract

After organizational involvement on a clinicopathological investigation of Alzheimer's Disease for a decade, the present appears an appropriate time to reflect upon both the major challenges encountered as well as the exciting opportunities presented by such a longitudinal study. Problematic areas have included: (a) brevity of research grant intervals (generally one-or two-year); (b) turnover of support personnel, as a consequence; (c) limited biostatistical and data management expertise dedicated to the Study objectives; (d) limited neuropsychological manpower on this specialized sphere; (e) “distillate” effect of postmortem retrieval, by which only some of the many clinical cases expire during any grant period, only some of those receive autopsy permission, only some of those demonstrate (pure) Alzheimer's Disease neuropathologically, and only some are harvested quickly enough for specialized (e.g. biochemical) analyses; (f) ensuring the scientific optimization of available tissue samples; and (g) paucity of cases dying on the early stages of the illness. Significant achievements include; (a) demonstration of the opportunities for young researchers committed to careers on behavioral neurology, psychogeriatrics or neurodegenerative pathology; (b) development of improved testing protocols for psychometric, electroencephalographic and neuroradiological evaluation of the demented elderly; (c) ethical enrolment both of a large cohort of Alzheimer patients and a sizeable normative (control) population; (d) public cooperation permitting a postmortem compliance rate exceeding 75%; (e) rapid autopsy retrieval times (50% < 6 hours); (0 utilization of human postmortem synaptosomal preparations for neurochemical investigations; (g) availability of fresh autopsy tissues for other specialized techniques (e.g. magnetic resonance spectroscopy, in situ hybridization); and (h) a collegial forum for the regular exchange of scientific data. While the challenges to be met are certainly not unique to our Study, the interdisciplinary and longitudinal nature of this approach could magnify their potentially retardatory effect upon research quality. By contrast, however, surmounting these hurdles enables the participant scientists to share on an incomparable opportunity for observational insights into the cellular and pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the cognitive decline of Alzheimer patients. The vigour with which my numerous collaborators at the University of Western Ontario meet such challenges may serve as a model for other Alzheimer centres where a similar research system is likewise expected to justify the anticipation of its supportive funding agencies, and of the patients whom we are pledged to comfort. © 1986, Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation. All rights reserved.