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Find more clinical trials

Tau Kinetics in Healthy Aging and Alzheimer's Disease

Start: August 2015
End: July 2023
Enrollment: 100

What Is This Study About?

This study will assess how the Alzheimer's-associated protein tau is made, transported, and cleared using a novel approach to measure tau with an essential amino acid called leucine, which is naturally available in many foods. Researchers are recruiting younger and older adults who are cognitively normal and older adults with Alzheimer's disease. Participants will either be given leucine through intravenous infusion (IV) or in a drink. The IV method will first be tested in a young control group. Meals will be provided by the research kitchen to control for the natural leucine found in people's diets. If IV infusion is not successful, the study will use a proven oral method of providing leucine. Participants will pick up food three times a week, along with a leucine supplement that they will mix and drink in Kool-Aid three times a day for 10 days. All participants will undergo five lumbar punctures in order for researchers to analyze tau in their cerebrospinal fluid.

Do I Qualify To Participate in This Study?

Minimum Age: 18 Years

Maximum Age: N/A

Must have:

  • No evidence of a neurologic disorder or traumatic head injury
  • Able to take food and drink by mouth safely
  • Absence of exclusion criteria

Must NOT have:

  • Require tube feeding for nutrition and/or hydration
  • On a special diet (e.g., gluten free)
  • History of bleeding disorder
  • Allergy to the local anesthetic lidocaine
  • Pregnancy
  • Any reason participant can't have lumbar puncture (e.g., blood thinners)

If I Qualify, Who Do I Contact?

Contact study personnel listed either under the general study contact or the location nearest you.

Need Help?

Contact NIA’s Alzheimer’s and related Dementias Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center at 800-438-4380 or email ADEAR.

Where Is This Study Located?

Who Sponsors This Study?

Lead: Washington University School of Medicine

Collaborator Sponsor

  • BrightFocus Foundation
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03938870

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An official website of the U.S. government, managed by the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health