Clinical research

Clinical research tests the effectiveness of new drugs and therapies. Mayo Clinic neurologists examine patients, take careful family histories, administer memory tests and use imaging such as MRI to examine regions of the brain. The Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center focuses on three areas of clinical research: healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment and dementias.

Aging research

The Alzheimer's Disease Research Center studies the entire spectrum of aging, from healthy aging to mild cognitive impairment to dementia. This work is carried out in cooperation with the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, one of the largest and longest running studies on aging. The study began in 2004 in Olmsted County, Minnesota. To include a more diverse population, it has since expanded to Jacksonville, Florida, and Jackson, Mississippi.

Research on mild cognitive impairment

Mild cognitive impairment is the stage between the typical decline in memory that happens with age and the more serious decline of dementia. Mayo Clinic researchers study the signs and symptoms of people with mild cognitive impairment and follow them over time.

Through this research, researchers in the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center have learned why some people progress to Alzheimer's disease quicker than others. Center scientists use clinical trials to test treatments that may slow down the disease.

Research on other dementias

In addition to Alzheimer's disease, investigators in the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center study other types of dementia, especially frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body dementia. Scientists study people with these dementias over time and in clinical trials.