API Generation Program
Principal investigator Eric Reiman, M.D.
A landmark prevention study will advance Alzheimer's disease science for generations to come. Led by Eric Reiman, M.D., executive director of Banner Alzheimer's Institute and CEO of Banner Research, the Alzheimer's Prevention Initiative (API) Generation Program comprises two separate clinical trials, Generation Study 1 and Generation Study 2, that are testing experimental Alzheimer's treatments in individuals who carry one or two copies of the high-risk gene apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE4). APOE4 is estimated to be implicated in more than 50 percent of all cases of older-onset Alzheimer's, the most common form of the disease. The Alzheimer's Association, GHR Foundation and FBRI have jointly committed $10 million to leverage the program's infrastructure and participant base by adding three innovative components
- Improved clinical trials participant recruitment via expansion of API's Alzheimer's Prevention Registry. . The Registry supports enrollment in prevention studies across the country. Our funding is enabling the Registry to include online cognitive testing and GeneMatch, a first-of-its kind program for identifying potential participants by conducting their APOE genotyping by mail. APOE genotyping is enabling faster enrollment in the Generation Program trials and other trials.
- Improved clinical trials participant monitoring via tau PET brain imaging. Amyloid "plaques" and tau "tangles" are the two major hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers increasingly believe that plaques set the disease process in motion but tangles likely do more actual damage. Tau PET brain imaging is a cutting-edge technology that could help reveal when and where tangles start accumulating in the brain, with significant implications for Alzheimer's diagnosis, staging and intervention. Our investment is enabling tau PET brain imaging at baseline and a two-year follow-up for 125 participants in Generation Study 1 each year.
- Improved clinical trials participant outcomes via remote genetic counseling. Individuals participating in the Generation Program are learning they are at elevated risk for Alzheimer's — potentially distressing news. Our commitment is enabling a subgroup of trial participants to undergo genetic disclosure and counseling via phone and videoconferencing. Researchers will then evaluate these remote genetic counseling approaches to improve the delivery of such information. Our commitment alsomakes possible a study of the impact APOE genetic disclosure has on objective and subjective cognitive performance.
This Project Advances:
Discovery Science
Early Detection
Treatment
Prevention
Learn more about the key outcome areas >
