Asian Cohort for Alzheimer’s Disease (ACAD)
Project Goals: The Asian Cohort for Alzheimer’s Disease (ACAD) study will recruit 500 participants of Chinese ancestry each year to study genetics of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementia. We will analyze genetic and clinical data to investigate impact of lifestyle risk factors, genetic variants for risk. We will replicate these findings through meta-analysis collaborations with international Asian cohorts and AD studies from other populations.
Project Website: http://acadstudy.org
Project Summary: Scientists continue to seek clues to origin of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in large genetic studies as well as studies of lifestyle and other factors. But while susceptibility to diseases may differ by ethnicity, and indeed small genetic studies suggest that Asians may have a distinct set of genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s, studies of this disease (and many other complex diseases) so far have recruited mostly populations of European Ancestry. A key goal of the new project, which is called the Asian Cohort for Alzheimer’s Disease (ACAD), is to enroll a population of at least 5,000 participants of Asian Ancestry in the United States and Canada—a large enough sample to enable the discovery of new gene variants related to AD risk. ACAD will be recruiting participants over age 60 who have evidence of cognitive impairment, as well as age- and sex-matched controls who have no cognitive complaints. The researchers will compare the DNA, medical histories, and lifestyle factors of these two groups for clues to risks for dementia, and will track participants’ memory and other cognitive test scores. ACAD will demonstrate the feasibility of the wider project by first enrolling and beginning studies of a smaller cohort of ethnic Chinese participants at a number of academic centers in the US and Canada. In addition, ACAD will conduct pilot studies for recruiting Korean and Vietnamese Americans to validate recruitment strategies and assessment procedures in preparation for the full project. ACAD investigators have invested heavily in the enrollment team’s crucial role in engaging directly with local ethnic Asian communities and their senior populations, with bilingual staffing and in a culturally sensitive way, to develop long-term trust and thereby enhance the recruitment effort. Dr. Jun will lead Data Management (DM) and Analysis (DA) Cores in the ACAD consortium.
ACAD on social media:
WEBSITE: http://www.acadstudy.org/
TWITTER – https://twitter.com/acadstudy
FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/acadresearchstudy
INSTAGRAM – https://www.instagram.com/acadstudy
YOUTUBE – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXXRD2vMqVelogMoh00ujvw